Why Worry About Grammar?

Although I am not an icon of perfect grammar by any means, I do put a bit of effort in using it properly.

There are a few abuses of grammar which for some reason stick in my craw. I don't know why these particular ones irritate me, but they do. Here is one: Everyday vs Every Day.

"Everyday" means common, unremarkable, nothing special.

"Every Day" means at least once in a cycle of 24 hours.

The two words are not interchangeable, people.

Yesterday I told my local baker that his sign, which advertised "Baked Fresh Everyday" was actually an insult to his baking uniqueness, and he got his nose bent out of shape. As if proper grammar was somehow an inappropriate topic to be discussed in public.

Sigh......

Thanks for putting a comment here. I worry that my periodic rants on grammar get skipped by my regular readers. Thanks for letting me know someone is reading them.

Thanks for the comment on my blog post on Michelle Obama's embarrassing grammatical gaffe (April 16). No, you are definitely not alone in thinking grammar, spelling and punctuation are important, and I enjoyed your post on this. It was excellent. Jan

Thank you.

I was worried that you might take it as a bit of shameless self-promotion. And, while I am not above such acts, in this case I really was happy to hear that I am not alone in my concerns and thought you might actually appreciate the article.