Perfecting the Nuances of Grammar

BY Andy Payne

28th April 2010

We cringe when people start debating the finer points of correct grammar. From our perspective, as business communicators, we have a responsibility to get the fundamentals of spelling and grammar correct. Getting punctuation wrong, for example, can dramatically change the meaning of a message. There’s really no excuse for sloppiness. But where I struggle is when strict adherence to ‘proper grammar’ comes at the expense of sounding formal and impersonal. Some rules are there to be broken. Some rules are just myths. Like not starting sentences with the word “and”. And not writing sentences of one word. Stupid.

I believe we should replicate everyday language. We should write in such a way that makes it easy for others to read and understand. That’s not an argument to substitute rich description for text speak – this is not about dumbing down – rather saying what we want to say without overcomplicating the issue. Perfecting the nuances of grammar is fine for the classroom, less essential for the boardroom.

So when zealous writers get in a flap about pronouns in the objective case when following a preposition or a transitive verb, I’m inclined to say, “get over oneself!”

LOGISTIK GROUP: Sweet caffeinated joy - http://youtu.be/M0D3jKLz6sA. Our Brenda (the vendor) may need a little update hint hint.... ;-)

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Perfecting the Nuances of Grammar