Post by Milo Ventimiglia on Feb 4, 2011 6:03:55 GMT -5
These are some of my pet hates when it comes to role-playing. I’m not perfect either, far from it; but these are a few things that I see often and would like to offer some advice on.
I wrote this for another site and have transferred it here. It is all my own work. Enjoy!
Milo
Grammar Pet Hate
This is unbelievably common online and plenty of adults (who write often) are a culprit of it. This is NOT only found in role playing. This is also found on blogs, message boards general information websites, descriptions, short stories etc. Everywhere. Even poorly edited news articles, I'm dismayed to say.
When something is a plural (i.e. 'trees', 'photos', 'girls', 'countries') it does not have an apostrophe before the 's'.
'Trees' should not be 'tree's' unless the tree owns something or it is part of the tree (it's very late, forgive my lack of coherent explanations).
I saw five tree's - NO
I saw five trees - YES
The tree's crown was filled with fruits - YES
I have been to five country's - fuck no
I have been to five countries - yep
My country's wildlife is awesome - you bet it is, mate!
Milo's cat is a little brat - yes!
When something belongs to a group, the apostrophe generally appears after the 's'. In the first case, the house belongs to the girl's parents. In the second case, two or more boys are sharing the bedroom.
She trashed her parents' house
The boys' bedroom was a real mess
Grammar Pet Hate #2
Here is something else which drives me nuts!
The boy fell off of the wall.
The correct way to write this:
The boy fell off the wall.
There is no 'off of'! I hear this day in, day out from people who are generally very good at English. I'm not sure where the hell it came from but it just sounds really bad. I guess the fact it's always on TV and people hear it all the time is a big factor.
-------------------------
Spelling
Use Microsoft Word or something with spell check and save as you go capabilities to write.
Do this when you are creating a profile/biography and posting in threads. Use something with SPELL check. Having better spelling and grammar in your profile gives a good impression. I'm not an admin here but I have owned other RPG sites and I am particularly picky about who I allow to join. Have some pride in your work!
There is another benefit to using a Word program or notepad of some kind: you can save it as you go! This prevents post loss and the often resulting loss of muse!!
Spelling Snobs and British/American English
Once, I was on a drawing website and I came across a spelling snob. He was trying to have a go at me for some reason. Probably because I was the only other person in there who COULD spell. What a douche! What's worse than a spelling snob? A snob who corrects a person with the wrong information.
I spelled something like this: 'Traveller'. He says 'Gee, 'Traveler' only has one 'L'.' Know-it-all. Wow!
I said, 'Well, that's how we spell it in Australia, mate, suck it up.'
I just want to bring this to people's attention. British English differs in some ways to American English. I live in Australia, meaning I use some British English and some American English (we're somewhat Americanised).
British English:
American English
Those are just SOME examples. We don't care which you use here. So don't become all snobby about it, get your facts straight first!
More Spelling Snobs - Typos
Everyone makes typos. Don't come flying down like a thunderstorm if you spot one.
For more grammar tips:
This is someone's blog I found online today when I was looking for a picture to go with this post. This is a nice, simplified grammar tips page.
Click here!
No doubt I'll learn something too.
I wrote this for another site and have transferred it here. It is all my own work. Enjoy!
Milo
Grammar Pet Hate
This is unbelievably common online and plenty of adults (who write often) are a culprit of it. This is NOT only found in role playing. This is also found on blogs, message boards general information websites, descriptions, short stories etc. Everywhere. Even poorly edited news articles, I'm dismayed to say.
When something is a plural (i.e. 'trees', 'photos', 'girls', 'countries') it does not have an apostrophe before the 's'.
'Trees' should not be 'tree's' unless the tree owns something or it is part of the tree (it's very late, forgive my lack of coherent explanations).
I saw five tree's - NO
I saw five trees - YES
The tree's crown was filled with fruits - YES
I have been to five country's - fuck no
I have been to five countries - yep
My country's wildlife is awesome - you bet it is, mate!
Milo's cat is a little brat - yes!
When something belongs to a group, the apostrophe generally appears after the 's'. In the first case, the house belongs to the girl's parents. In the second case, two or more boys are sharing the bedroom.
She trashed her parents' house
The boys' bedroom was a real mess
Grammar Pet Hate #2
Here is something else which drives me nuts!
The boy fell off of the wall.
The correct way to write this:
The boy fell off the wall.
There is no 'off of'! I hear this day in, day out from people who are generally very good at English. I'm not sure where the hell it came from but it just sounds really bad. I guess the fact it's always on TV and people hear it all the time is a big factor.
-------------------------
Spelling
Use Microsoft Word or something with spell check and save as you go capabilities to write.
Do this when you are creating a profile/biography and posting in threads. Use something with SPELL check. Having better spelling and grammar in your profile gives a good impression. I'm not an admin here but I have owned other RPG sites and I am particularly picky about who I allow to join. Have some pride in your work!
There is another benefit to using a Word program or notepad of some kind: you can save it as you go! This prevents post loss and the often resulting loss of muse!!
Spelling Snobs and British/American English
Once, I was on a drawing website and I came across a spelling snob. He was trying to have a go at me for some reason. Probably because I was the only other person in there who COULD spell. What a douche! What's worse than a spelling snob? A snob who corrects a person with the wrong information.
I spelled something like this: 'Traveller'. He says 'Gee, 'Traveler' only has one 'L'.' Know-it-all. Wow!
I said, 'Well, that's how we spell it in Australia, mate, suck it up.'
I just want to bring this to people's attention. British English differs in some ways to American English. I live in Australia, meaning I use some British English and some American English (we're somewhat Americanised).
British English:
- Jewellery
- Travelled
- Colour
- Harbour
- Neighbour
- Mum
- Americanised
- Realised
American English
- Jewelry
- Traveled
- Color
- Harbor
- Neighbor
- Mom
- Americanized
- Realized
Those are just SOME examples. We don't care which you use here. So don't become all snobby about it, get your facts straight first!
More Spelling Snobs - Typos
Everyone makes typos. Don't come flying down like a thunderstorm if you spot one.
For more grammar tips:
This is someone's blog I found online today when I was looking for a picture to go with this post. This is a nice, simplified grammar tips page.
Click here!
No doubt I'll learn something too.