Grammar: Why Do We Care?

Because it shows that YOU care.

As an editor, I’m a stickler for proper grammar. Of course, there is a time and a place: in many situations, when I notice errors, I let them go. A high school English teacher taught me that one of the rudest things you can do is correct someone's grammar while they are speaking. When texting, it's rare to use punctuation—in fact, it is often a stylistic choice to make deliberate errors, like foregoing any capitalizations, using run-on sentences for effect, or spelling words wrong to add emphasis.  

When you enter the realm of the written word, however, grammar becomes necessary for clarity. Commas create lists and separate ideas. Quotation marks signal speech. Grammar exists to help the readers understand what you’ve written. 

So what about the rules-for-the-sake-of-being rules, the nitpicking of grammar? What about the grammar that makes you wonder who came up with it and why it stuck around? I am talking about split infinitives, much vs. many, you and me vs. you and I. Why not forgo these structures that honestly don’t make our break our understanding of a text? Why do your readers, your publishers, your editors, and, especially, your critics care? Because it shows that YOU care. It is the final way to polish your manuscript before the world sees it. Grammar is the piped frosting on top of a bakery cake; it’s the crisp-collared shirt and shiny shoes you wear to your job interview. The level of editing and attention to detail you give your piece becomes the way your piece is presented to the world; don’t you want it to look stunning?