Today’s Seattle Times had an terrific article on common grammar mistakes, and while James J. Kilpatrick had sound advice, I couldn’t help think that it’s all a bit too confusing.
On the one hand, there were excellent tips on using “that” and “which” (avoid “which” like the plague), and when to use “that” or “who” (”who” is for humans, “that” for everything else). But then things got a bit tricky.
For example, in the phrase “whether or not”, the “or not” is actually redundant, since “whether” implies an option. But, for some reason, it’s OK to be “benignly redundant” and include the “or not”.
Confused? Me too!
On the one had I enjoy the that grammar enables us to communicate better. That is if we have time to understand all the rules. But on the other hand, I tend to stick with a principle I came across a few years ago, namely write to be understood – and if it’s grammatically incorrect, that’s OK. As long as the message gets over.
One caveat is that if the communication is an important one – a business letter, a college essay, or a business proposal – then use a grammar checker like WhiteSmoke to clean up the errors. It’s well worth the investment to avoid a critical mistake when something important is on the line.
Tags: checker, grammar, whitesmoke