The Student News Site of Appalachian State University

The Appalachian

The Student News Site of Appalachian State University

The Appalachian

The Student News Site of Appalachian State University

The Appalachian

Newsletter Signup

Get our news delivered straight to your inbox every week.

* indicates required

Opinion: Correct grammar should be utilized in everyday life

Lindsay Bookout

Lindsay BookoutMany people complain, about having to learn grammar and how, it is not important to everyday life.

Reading that sentence was difficult, wasn’t it? That is because there were commas in the wrong places. That is grammar. If a person spoke like that, I would wonder if there was something wrong with him or her.

Maybe it’s because my two majors are languages and I want to be an editor after graduation, but I just have to disagree with the idea that grammar isn’t important.
I edit for a history periodical and my job is to edit the papers that are sent in. Sometimes the papers are not good enough because the writer simply cannot get his or her point across well enough, but other times it’s because the writers do not understand how grammar functions.

Now, while grammar is very important for writing papers, it is also important in everyday life. If a person does not know how to properly form a sentence, he or she simply sounds unintelligent.

I have met people, in here in college who do not know the difference between “their,” “they’re” and “there.” And of course we’ve all seen the horrible “your” versus “you’re” internal debate that many people face.

Those words, while they sound similar, all have completely different meanings.

If a person says, “I’ll see you their,” I get confused. I think that he or she did not finish his or her sentence properly, and I’m wondering “their what?” Because “their” is a possessive,  like “your.”

Not knowing how certain words work simply confuses those who do.

There are also people out there who say “I did good” instead of “I did well.” I know, it is shocking.

It literally hurts my ears to hear phrases such as that, and the problem is, the person doesn’t know what he or she is doing wrong.

The fact that grammar is being taught less and less scares me quite a bit. It shows that our government truly does not care if we sound like we are the most uneducated people.

I am truly glad that Appalachian’s general education curriculum forces students to take an English class every year that they are here, and I am especially glad that they force a “writing in your discipline” section because it shows students why writing is pertinent to their specific field.

Hopefully this class will show students why they need to not only be educated, but be able to portray themselves as being educated.

Bookout, a sophomore French and English major from Charlotte, is a news reporter.

Leave a Comment
Donate to The Appalachian
$1201
$5000
Contributed
Our Goal

We hope you appreciate this article! Before you move on, our student staff wanted to ask if you would consider supporting The Appalachian's award-winning journalism. We are celebrating our 90th anniversary of The Appalachian in 2024!

We receive funding from the university, which helps us to compensate our students for the work they do for The Appalachian. However, the bulk of our operational expenses — from printing and website hosting to training and entering our work into competitions — is dependent upon advertising revenue and donations. We cannot exist without the financial and educational support of our fellow departments on campus, our local and regional businesses, and donations of money and time from alumni, parents, subscribers and friends.

Our journalism is produced to serve the public interest, both on campus and within the community. From anywhere in the world, readers can access our paywall-free journalism, through our website, through our email newsletter, and through our social media channels. Our supporters help to keep us editorially independent, user-friendly, and accessible to everyone.

If you can, please consider supporting us with a financial gift from $10. We appreciate your consideration and support of student journalism at Appalachian State University. If you prefer to make a tax-deductible donation, or if you would prefer to make a recurring monthly gift, please give to The Appalachian Student News Fund through the university here: https://securelb.imodules.com/s/1727/cg20/form.aspx?sid=1727&gid=2&pgid=392&cid=1011&dids=418.15&bledit=1&sort=1.

Donate to The Appalachian
$1201
$5000
Contributed
Our Goal

Comments (0)

All The Appalachian Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *