Although I am well aware that the first post of any blog rarely gets read I thought I’d use the opportunity to tell you what GrammarBlog is all about and my reasons for starting it up.

I think I’m fairly normal kind of bloke, I’m not particularly anal or fussy and I’m certainly not a neat freak, but every time I see a misplaced apostrophe or get a text from someone calling me a “m8″ I get annoyed, really annoyed.

You see grammar is important. The English language, due to the nature of its multiple origins, is brilliantly diverse and flexible. A well written piece of prose can convey so many levels of meaning but this meaning can be lost if the grammar is neglected. And yet is it being neglected all the time. I see examples everyday: on signs; on the internet; in speech and even in newspapers.

What isn’t being neglected is being actively destroyed. In the last ten years the instant communication of email and text messages has meant that people value speed of response above all else. This led to smileys.

Well no more. Not in my name!

It’s time for me and my fellow bloggers to fight back. GrammarBlog will be used to demonstrate examples of English that just makes us want to pull our hair out and hopefully we’ll stop being annoyed long enough to find some of it funny.