Having graduated with a degree in English Education, I pride myself in the ability to use correct grammar. Now, I know I'm human. I have made my share of mistakes -- even *GASP* with grammar. Ironically, because I have such a "passion" for the proper use of the English language, many people feel inclined to correct me. (If I had my way, I'd be correcting posts on Facebook all day long. However, I'm not an asshole, so I don't).
I recently updated my bio on the dating sites to include a disclaimer paragraph, so to speak. In summary, the disclaimer says to not message me if you don't have a handle on basic grammar. It is a huge pet peeve when someone writes to me, 'Your so beautiful!" REALLY? How is this concept so difficult to grasp? I can't even be flattered by the compliment. I'm so annoyed at the improper use of "your," I want to punch something! Get it together, people!
Today, I received a message from a guy claiming that he found a grammatical error in my bio. Like I mentioned above, I'm human, so this is possible (but highly unlikely). If I'm writing about grammar, I tend to read and re-read everything to make sure I'm not making a fool out of myself. Of course, because I do pride myself in my grammatical skills, I am quite defensive when individuals attempt to correct me. I don't like being wrong, but I will admit to it if I am.
The bald and unattractive man claimed that my sentence ending "'one of the boys.'" had an incorret usage of punctuation. He claimed it should read, "'one of the boys'." (Deep breaths, Melissa. It will be okay.) Since he is bald and unattractive, I normally would not reply (see previous post about taking a hint). This douche, however, took it too far (or I'm overreacting -- both very probable).
I replied, "Actually, comma and periods always go inside quotation marks." I also included a link to the Purdue University writing guide for citation. #winning. He replied with some tail-between-his-legs comment, and I immediately deleted it.
Today's lesson: If you are going to correct a Grammar Nazi's grammar, make sure you are actually correct. Not only does this guy have nothing going for him in the looks category, we now find out that he also is poorly educated. Good luck finding a girl, bud!
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