Rant from a Grammar Geek

[beatrice_otter]

I was just reading a story that I like very much. Imagine my horror when one of my pet peeves was found in the very first paragraph of the newest chapter!

I absolutely hate modern educational methods that don't bother to teach people proper grammar!

"Mr. Santos told both she and David ..." [Names have been changed to protect the innocent]

It should be "her," not "she." Think of it this way: you would never say "Mr. Santos told she ..." would you? The appropriate form of pronoun does not change when you add other nouns to it. For the same reason, "Mr. Santos told David and I" is not proper grammar because "Mr. Santos told I" is not proper grammar. I know it sounds more formal the other way, but it is incorrect!

And if modern school systems would do their job, people would know this! Aargh! /rant


This public service announcement was brought to you by Grammar Geeks, USA.

Comments

[redbyrd-sgfic.livejournal.com]

Have you read "Eats Shoots and Leaves" by Lynne Truss? It is truly the book for you. In the first chapter, she advocates ninja grammar squads who don their balaclava helmets and black face paint and go out at night elimininating unnecessary apostrophes from signage and correcting spelling and grammatical errors. I gave the book to my mom, whose immediate reaction was, "Where do I sign up?"

[ellalou73.livejournal.com]

Hello, I added you to my friends list, and it's fixed now...

Ella

[beatrice_otter]

Hi! I don't automatically friend people back, usually; I shouldn't spend as much time on LJ as I currently do. It's nothing personal, I just have a lot less time now that I'm in grad school!

[ellalou73.livejournal.com]

Hey not a problem. Thanks for reading my fics..

Ella

[theutah.livejournal.com]

Exactly!!! I'm glad I'm not the only one concerned with this grammar problem.