GrammarBlog

Mocking Poor Grammar
Since 2007

A noun that is formed from a verb and which describes an action. In English it ends in -ing, eg 'the baking of bread' and 'Smoking damages your health'.

Hide these tips

13 Comments »

1. Now hang on. I quite like Marcus Brigstocke; despite making a career out of ‘appearances’ on panel shows and Room 101, he’s actually very good at making massively offensive jokes which belie his soft, nerdy persona.His argument here, however, is paper-thin and discoloured by esoteric, out-of-context circumstances. Clearly dyslexia is an affliction/disability/ailment and clearly his was appallingly overlooked and badly handled during his education. But using dyslexia as some sort of lever to attack correct grammar is like saying that “2+3=8″ is perfectly acceptable because some people suffered oxygen starvation at birth and thus can’t do maths very well. It’s crass, it’s ignorant, it screams of a large chip on one’s shoulder, it’s insulting to the massive number of dyslexic people who don’t consider their condition an excuse, and it’s all the more laughable because one of our patron saints is dyslexic.Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Mr AA Gill.

   Comment by Tom — 5th July, 2007 @ 12:25 am

2. Can’t really add anything to Tom’s comment, but I’ll try. I do think the vitriol is justified; in my view most grammatical errors occur because people are lazy and cannot be bothered to check what they’re writing.The rules of grammar, particularly those pertaining to commas, apostrophes and full stops, are very easy to grasp. To be honest if someone can just get those basics correct, they will be (pretty much) back on track and I will no longer feel the need to throttle them.

   Comment by Paul — 5th July, 2007 @ 8:16 am

3. I once appeared on stage with Marcus Brigstocke, having been volunteered by my then-girlfriend, who was fat. I had to give a name to my penis and then walk through a giant rubber vagina.I was only there because he was outside giving free tickets away.Another one of those tomorrow. Oh, like that bloke Jesus in some novel or other, I’m with Thomas and Paul here.

   Comment by Dan — 5th July, 2007 @ 1:18 pm

4. Thank you, dear contributors for reaffirming my faith in the righteousness of grammar.

   Comment by Gez — 5th July, 2007 @ 6:17 pm

5. Erm, how does one “do” an apostrophe and what is “lightheated”? Did you sit under a bulb for 20 minutes, or was the gas turned low? PS. Why don’t your names have capital letters on this comment page?

   Comment by Emma-Louise — 6th July, 2007 @ 4:15 pm

6. You’re trouble, you are. Typos are not the same as errors resulting from ignorance. Thanks for pointing them out though. As for the capital letter issue – speak to Google.

   Comment by Gez — 6th July, 2007 @ 6:06 pm

7. Also, “Do a few misplaced apostrophes…?” was the beginning of a question – not a command.So ner!

   Comment by Gez — 6th July, 2007 @ 6:09 pm

8. Haa ha, I can’t help myself. I think this site is really funny. I can picture you all with steam coming from your head!

   Comment by Emma-Louise — 9th July, 2007 @ 2:43 pm

9. Tom Cruise have dyslexia and yet he is still a very successful actor.“’

   Comment by Harrison Ward — 9th July, 2010 @ 4:59 pm

10. dyslexia is not that debiliating but it is somewhat limiting to the kind of job that you can get-`,

    Comment by Luca Richards — 19th July, 2010 @ 3:48 am

11. my sister has dyslexia but she can live a very normal life eventhough she can’t read that much~*~

    Comment by Max Wood — 11th October, 2010 @ 8:52 am

12. dyslexia can affect anyone of use but this disease is not very debilitating anyway-:;

    Comment by Optocoupler : — 22nd October, 2010 @ 7:05 pm

13. ,*; I am very thankful to this topic because it really gives great information ;.-

    Comment by UPVC Windows — 25th January, 2011 @ 5:45 pm

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL

Leave a comment