Most hated grammatical mistake

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Tue, 2001-04-17 17:47

Sorry to come over all schooly and boring, but there are some grammatical errors that *really* put me off reading a story or article, my most hated being apostrophe misuse.

Does anyone else feel this way? What mistakes are unforgiveable?

I hasten to add this post has been in no way inspired by work on this site, I just thought you might have an opinion on it.

Fri, 2001-04-20 07:22

Sue

Incidentally, do you think we could have a whip round to buy the editors at ABC a spell checker? There were two real whoppers on today's front page.

Fri, 2001-04-20 07:31

Sue

I take that back - there was only one (contributers!) and a typo (poem of stories), still...

Fri, 2001-04-20 19:25

max

Andrew, I'm always interested in recommendations for a 'good read' what genre does Neil Gaiman write? cheers

Sat, 2001-04-21 13:10

andrew pack

Hello Max. Neil Gaiman wrote an amazing 70 odd sequence of comics (I loathe the term graphic novels) called Sandman, all of which have been collected into book form. The sequence covered a vast host of genres, but essentially Sandman (Dream) was one of seven deities/entities with great responsibilities. There were huge family tensions and rifts, and the story deals both with ordinary people getting sucked into the internal politics of gods, and the huge character-flaws in the Gods themselves. Best not to start chronologically, as he didn't really get his voice until the second act - Season of Mists is excellent - Lucifer having sworn revenge on Dream basically gets it by quitting his job and insisting that Dream appoints his successor (also contains the wonderful line 'Did Mister Shouty really be sausages?') A Game Of You is a story about inner-life of people, what the hell gender really is and how you can make a dead man's face tell you secrets. They would be a good start.

Tue, 2001-04-17 18:51

andrew pack

Emily, I have some tolerance for bad grammar - mine is not brilliant, and in my new job I have to write forty page documents without using any commas - proper contracts don't have commas, they just run on and on. At school, my grammar didn't get much beyond the verb, noun, pronoun bit. I've added a worst opening line in tribute to your pet peeve. You have mentioned Neil Gaiman a couple of times on the site. Have you ever read his proper stuff (by which I mean Sandman) ? It went a little wobbly towards the end of the run, but A Game of You is one of the finest bits of fiction I've read, and perfect blending of art and words.

Tue, 2001-04-17 19:17

muzzy

aatmossferikmuse wass all that then, ave I bin doing it all 'rong? blardy 'ell

Tue, 2001-04-17 22:13

Emily Dubberley

Believe me, I'm not a grammar fascist - just interested to see if certain grammatical mistakes ruin the flow as much for other people as they do for me. I make as many mistakes as other people! Re: Sandman, I haven't read any yet - I've never really got in to graphic novels. However, I'm prepared to give it a go - I'll act on your recommendation. Cheers

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