June 5, 2012

There vs. Their vs. They're

There are three reasons I'm making this post and I'm directing it toward all of my grammatically challenged friends. They're the greatest people in the world, but their grasp on certain concepts is infuriating, like the differences between similar, but VERY different words. My first inclination was to find their childhood English teachers and paddle their butts for not doing their job to effectively teach their students that there are specific reasons to use specific words. Don't get me wrong. I appreciate teachers and all of their efforts. I'm a junior high teacher myself. I just thought, "If they're not going to clarify things in their classrooms over there, how they're expecting their students to succeed is beyond my comprehension." Then I realized that some people have chosen to close their minds. No amount of effort by anyone will penetrate their stubborn barriers of ignorance. You won't become one of those people, right? You'll listen to all there is to learn about grammar, right? Good. There, that should do it.

(they're = "they are")
(their = possessive)
(there = everything else)

No comments: