Quote:
Originally posted by ThurgreedMarshall
Wrong. Bad grammar, (like poor spelling or boring conversation) used in such a way that makes it obvious the user will make the mistake again and again, subjecting themselves to additional ridicule and potential embarassment is the exact example of something that can be remedied before more damage is done.
TM
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Concur that it will likely be repeated, however, I don't concur that it is likely to be correctable, particularly if it is a general pattern of bad usage rather than a rarity. The problem with bad grammar isn't so much that there is a limited series of corrections they need to learn - if that was it, they could pick up a book and sort it all out themselves, had they the desire. The real problem is that people who routinely make these errors haven't developed a habit of critically thinking through and editing what they are going to say before it comes out. That can't really be "corrected" by an outsider pointing out this mistake or that.
As for one of your other examples, boring conversation is a deeply ingrained disability, for which the only cure is either a vow of silence or years of hard training and practice (on immediate family members, not the unsuspecting public). Sufferers should be pitied not corrected.
The cure for bad spelling in someone out of their teens is spell check. Jr. associates giving you stuff with typos should be reintroduced to it forcefully. (Personal letters should be re-written longhand after being run through, of course.)
