I am a bit behind on some projects, including blog posts, so today, I’m just going to direct you to an excellent article from a blogger I follow: Jonathon Owen of Arrant Pedantry (I love his blog’s name too. Who can spot the reference?)

I wish I could say I’ve always avoided Owen’s “12 Mistakes Nearly Everyone Who Writes About Grammar Mistakes Makes,” but I was once much more of an arrognant grammar pedant than I am now. I hope I have avoided all of these mistakes over the past two years of the WriteAtHome Blog, but I can’t be sure. Feel free to point out any hypocrisies you’ve noticed.

I’ve listed his twelve points, but you really should read the whole article. It’s short. Here’s the link:

12 Mistakes Nearly Everyone Who Writes About Grammar Mistakes Makes

Here’s a quick list of the mistakes:

1. Confusing grammar with spelling, punctuation, and usage.
2. Treating style choice as rules.
3. Ignoring register (i.e., context, circumstances).
4. Saying that a disliked word isn’t a word.
5. Turning proposals into ironclad rules.
6. Failing to discuss exceptions to rules.
7. Overestimating the frequency of errors.
8. Believing that etymology is destiny.
9. Simply bungling the rules.
10. Saying that good grammar leads to good communication.
11. Using good grammar to put people down.
12. Forgetting that correct usage ultimately comes from users.

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Feel free to add your comments in the Reply section below. Bad grammar is always welcome.