This is something fun I found on Facebook. How many errors can you find?
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/314064_458527897499539_1483855922_n.jpg)
I can't even get through all of it...it's too painful to read.
Quote from: Ali on July 16, 2012, 09:44:43 PM
I can't even get through all of it...it's too painful to read.
It reminds me too closely of some of my students' essays. And they were the better ones.
Given that you are a lawyer, I would assume that your students were studying law. If that's so, I shudder for the future of the profession. :D
I don't know if it's 27 or not, but yes, I can find a buttload of mistakes and bad language.
Quote from: Ali on July 16, 2012, 09:56:19 PM
Given that you are a lawyer, I would assume that your students were studying law. If that's so, I shudder for the future of the profession. :D
I exaggerated a little but in truth the standards of liiteracy and the capacity for self- expression in what (in my grouchy declining years) I brand as the Facebook Generation are often quite dismal. Higher Education in the UK has degenerated in the most part into a ferocious internecine struggle between Academic institutions to secure bums on seats , with, to maintain the anatomical theme, a consequent race to the bottom.
In my experience, most Facebook-generation kids are actually quite literate when it matters... But it may well be a local thing.
Still, I have no real trouble understanding the language they use in textmessages and the like either, so... No complaints here.
Reads like my writing. But I cant spot a damn thing :'(
I got to number 6 in the second line and then I had to stop. Ow, my brain.
Quote from: Crow on July 16, 2012, 10:14:06 PM
Reads like my writing. But I cant spot a damn thing :'(
You're looking but not seeing...
QuoteSharpen You're Your Grammar Skill's Skills!
How does do good grammar skills help we us as people? Being that Since I used to teach english English, I've drove driven people crazy, men and woman women alike, giving there their grammar a work out workout. Punctuation, sentence structure, and verb tenses drug drag out to infinity. With training, people can learn to gradually make alot a lot less many fewer mistakes then than before, but how dose does good grammar give me and you you and me a better way of life? I don't think it should be for it's its own sake, but rather a hole whole mindset that you operate with. This mindset is one of respect for one's language, and a of distaste for slovenly communication. You can always choose to improve yourself, and to begin, you you'd better be your own worst critic, and not other people's!
I only found 24, though if somebody were being overnice and following the "no prepositions at the end of a sentence" pseudo-rule, they would write "mindset with which you operate." Also, the last sentence could be split after "yourself" to avoid being a run-on sentence. :D
Quote from: Scissorlegs on July 17, 2012, 12:31:34 AM
You're looking but not seeing...
Well I can see loads now (probably all of them) but I just don't notice the mistakes in the first pass. The longer I look the more mistakes I start to see as a pattern emerges. For me it's easier to spot the odd mistake in well constructed grammar as it stands out like a sore thumb, but if its bad in the first place I find it hard to see, I will notice that something is wrong but won't be sure. The bad Language is easy to spot as it doesn't make sense but that detracts from the grammar, the awful typography is even worse for this. With dyslexia you have to be aware of your own limitations and find a method that works with the accepted conventions, but one method that might work for one person doesn't work for another so you constantly have to experiment.
Quote from: Recusant on July 17, 2012, 12:52:54 AM
QuoteSharpen You're Your Grammar Skill's Skills!
How does do good grammar skills help we us as people? Being that Since I used to teach english English, I've drove driven people crazy, men and woman women alike, giving there their grammar a work out workout. Punctuation, sentence structure, and verb tenses drug drag out to infinity. With training, people can learn to gradually make alot a lot less many fewer mistakes then than before, but how dose does good grammar give me and you you and me a better way of life? I don't think it should be for it's its own sake, but rather a hole whole mindset that you operate with. This mindset is one of respect for one's language, and a of distaste for slovenly communication. You can always choose to improve yourself, and to begin, you you'd better be your own worst critic, and not other people's!
I only found 24, though if somebody were being overnice and following the "no prepositions at the end of a sentence" pseudo-rule, they would write "mindset with which you operate." Also, the last sentence could be split after "yourself" to avoid being a run-on sentence. :D
QuoteSince I used to teach english English, I've drove driven people crazy, men and woman women alike, giving there their grammar a work out workout.
I'd stick a "by" after "alike".
Since I used to teach English, I've driven people crazy, men and women alike, by giving their grammar a workout. I'd probably also stick em-dashes before and after "men and women alike", but that's more personal preference.
QuotePunctuation, sentence structure, and verb tenses drug drag out to infinity.
I'd change "sentence structure" to "sentence structures" since "verb tenses" and "punctuation" are already plural (I may have cheated and consulted my hubby about whether "punctuation" should be considered plural).
Uhhh, beyond that, there's a whole lot of redundant language that I'd probably cut out, but I don't know how much of it would technically count as errors.
I think I would have to print it out and mark it up in order to sort it out.
Quote from: Whitney on July 17, 2012, 02:43:30 AM
I think I would have to print it out and mark it up in order to sort it out.
Haha, ditto. I ran out of fingers and then gave up. Not sure what I expected to happen :D
Quote from: Recusant on July 17, 2012, 12:52:54 AM
QuoteSharpen You're Your Grammar Skill's Skills!
How does do good grammar skills help we us as people? Being that Since I used to teach english English, I've drove driven people crazy, men and woman women alike, giving there their grammar a work out workout. Punctuation, sentence structure, and verb tenses drug drag out to infinity. With training, people can learn to gradually make alot a lot less many far fewer mistakes then than before, but how dose does good grammar give me and you you and me a better way of life? I don't think it should be for it's its own sake, but rather a hole whole mindset that you operate with. This mindset is one of respect for one's language, and a of distaste for slovenly communication. You can always choose to improve yourself, and to begin, you you'd better be your own worst critic, and not other people's!
I only found 24, though if somebody were being overnice and following the "no prepositions at the end of a sentence" pseudo-rule, they would write "mindset with which you operate." Also, the last sentence could be split after "yourself" to avoid being a run-on sentence. :D
My single contribution to this excellent thread.
I can't find any fresh ones. Some of these are artificial and improbable: who today would write '...skills help we'?
Quote from: OldGit on July 17, 2012, 09:10:20 AM
I can't find any fresh ones. Some of these are artificial and improbable: who today would write '...skills help we'?
Someone studying English as a second language certainly would. :) My students do all the time. "Us", "them", "we", "they" etc are all commonly confused.
For anyone who felt like tearing their hair out trying to read this, I read this type of stuff at least every second day. People need help with resumes, essays, the grammar work I assign them... and this sort of thing comes up all the time. It doesn't make me cringe anymore. I just select a text tool in a different colour and go over it with a fine tooth comb. And then I often make them write it over again, so they can see the differences.
I actually used this exercise for one of my younger students, he LOVES paragraph correction stuff, and it went over very well. He loved seeing that his spelling and grammar were far better. :D
Quote from: AmicaleSomeone studying English as a second language certainly would.
True, good point. I was only thinking about native speakers, though I have taught English in German schools.
In my experience, this text is just a little below average grammar usage. Meh.
I couldn't finish reading it. I was skirting dangerously close to opening a vein just to end the torture.
Personal pet peeve that drives me insane when reading MMO chat is a person typing "casted" for the past tense of "cast". I don't know why but the hair on the back of my neck stands up when I see that.
I know that it's an irregular verb and I should cut everyone some slack.
But it drives me nuts.
Quote from: Non Quixote on July 18, 2012, 04:03:25 PM
I couldn't finish reading it. I was skirting dangerously close to opening a vein just to end the torture.
Personal pet peeve that drives me insane when reading MMO chat is a person typing "casted" for the past tense of "cast". I don't know why but the hair on the back of my neck stands up when I see that.
I know that it's an irregular verb and I should cut everyone some slack.
But it drives me nuts.
I think I like you quite a lot...