Thursday, June 4, 2009

Why Newspapers Columnists Don't Like to Check Their E-mail

June, as a former English teacher, I noticed your split infinitive in your first paragraph. I'm sure it was just a simple error, but it is one that irritates me. I hope you don't mind. I do enjoy reading your column!


It's so satisfying to hear that she enjoys reading a column in which I have repeatedly written, "There's no such thing as a split infinitive."



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6 comments:

Joel said...

:-)

As an NPR freak, I feel compelled to repeat my recommendation of the Nunberg interview I mentioned on Facebook, especially the last four minutes of it.

June Casagrande said...

Thanks for putting that here, too! I appreciate it!

Linnee said...

Maybe she's a former English teacher because she had the tendency to often correct non-mistakes.

June Casagrande said...

: )

I figured "former" was just because she was living in the Dark Ages.

LL Blackwell said...

Shows how often she reads your column if she hasn't figured that out!

June Casagrande said...

I get a lot of this one, too: "Keep fighting the good fight against bad grammar and the erosion of our language."

I do no such thing. I don't fight "bad" grammar -- though I do try to help those who want help -- and I certainly don't bemoan the "erosion" of our language. I believe the experts who say it's not eroding, just evolving. Still, people assume I'm a member of prescriptivist police just because I write on the topic.

It's a weird feeling.

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