So, I am the queen of the typo.
Since I’m not AI and just human and since I write about a million words a year just on our paper, my little brain hitches occasionally in the most annoying ways to some people who read us.
It’s not like I don’t know the rules.
I totally do.
I just have a tendency to forget them in my own writing when my brain is in ‘cognitive overload’ phase or sometimes I deliberately make a choice to blow them off because I think a certain rule in a certain sentence seems hoity-toity.
The cool thing about grammar rules or even word meanings is that they evolve and tweak and change just like we do. They aren’t necessarily static things.
Wow, right? The rules fluctuate like my weight. Just kidding! Just kidding! Sort of.
So let’s get into a few of them.
Oh, look at that. It’s like a wrestling match-up with the VS in there.
As Grammarly explains, “Who is the subject of a sentence, whereas whom is the object of a sentence.”
Who will be cleaning the toilet this weekend after we ate that contaminated lettuce?
To whom should I send the toilet plunger?
“Who’s is a contraction of who is. Whose is the possessive form of who, a relative pronoun,” Grammarly helpfully tell us.
Who’s ready for that toilet clean-up?
Whose contaminated produce was that?
I felt so super-star when I learned this. I do not feel that way when I forget it. It just doesn’t have the same effect. Ha! See what I did there?
“Affect is a verb that means “to cause an effect.” Effect is a noun that refers to a result,” Grammarly says.
How will a broken toilet affect your life plans?
An increased wastewater bill from the Town of Bar Harbor will have a major effect on me having to move away. DRAT! That contaminated produce!
In our next round-up, we have a WHO standing somewhat tentatively against the ropes and THAT bouncing around in the center ring.
According to Grammarly, “Who refers to a person. That refers to an inanimate object. However, that can also refer to a group of people in cases where the group, rather than its members, is emphasized.”
So tricky!
My brother is the one who broke the toilet.
I took a long dive into toilet cleaning that changed my perspective on climate change, wastewater mechanics, and all things toilet.
We’re part of a town that promotes eating produce. Now I wonder, “Why? WHY! Why?” Give me Doritos!
I think this one is a tiny bit scary, too.
“That is used to introduce a clause that adds necessary information to a sentence,” Grammarly explains. “Which is used to introduce a clause that adds detail but isn’t critical to the sentence.”
One of the women at the gala, the one that also ate the salad, needs to get a new toilet.
My cat, which is a Maine coon cat, is trying to promote litter box use in humans. A box in every room, she says. She may have a good idea.
This blog/newsletter/Substack/whatever will always be free to read now, but it’s also part of how I pay my mortgage.
If a paid subscription is way too big an ask, I’m always thankful for help buying dog treats.
Or, honestly, just sharing that this Substack exists is super cool.
I usually send these emails twice a week.
*My WRITE BETTER NOW posts also come one to two times a week if you sign up for them, too, which you should.
And COMFORTING is where I just have no filter at all and am totally schmaltzy is here. That’s once a week or so.
Note: I will not be terribly, perfectly, grammatically correct.
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