A reader asks: How does one gently correct someone’s poor grammar? I usually let it slide but I want to help them to sound better educated.
I have a few basic rules:
I feel I have an obligation to correct the grammar of my wife or my kids, though I try not to do this in public.
If you’re a friend and you make a mistake that is bound to be seen or heard repeatedly, e.g., a mistake in a business presentation, you’ll receive an email from me on the subject.
There have been people in my life who have asked me directly to correct their mistakes when I come across them. This doesn’t happen frequently, but I eagerly accept the invitation when it comes up.
I try not to be pedantic. There are grammatical errors that we learned not to make in second or third grade, e.g., “My parents sent my brother and I to a nice school,” or “I should have went to the store.” I’m much more likely to address something like this than I am minor issues that few people care about, e.g., “Their mission was to boldly go.” (split infinitive), or “I appreciated him coming to me and apologizing.” (failure to modify a gerund with a possessive).
It depends on what you believe.
Fox News will tell you that our southern border is no longer being overrun, that we’ve discovered that vaccinations are unsafe, that we’re standing up against Sharia Law, we’re preventing Iran from building a nuclear weapon, prices are coming down (or soon will be), Trump is an honest and effective servant of the American people and that the U.S. is once again respected on the world stage.
We live in a country where tens of millions of idiots believe every word of this.
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I met a guy today from a rural part of Central England–“nothing but farms and pubs,” as he put it. His father was an epidemiologist working for the United Nations, and so, as a boy, he lived all over the world and grew up largely in developing countries that suffered from horrific diseases.
He and his wife had the conversation one would expect from such people:
- Why are we so content to ignore climate change that is ruining our planet?
- Why are people so indifferent to the suffering of others?
- How is it possible that billionaires expect to live well here on Earth while 99.9% of us suffering with wildfires, devastating storms, blistering heat, losses of landmasses, and desertification?
- At the end of the day, is money really that precious?
Obviously, not everyone thinks this way, but to be in something of a “lovefest” for just a few minutes was a great relief.
relief.
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