Celebrate National Grammar Day Every March 4

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It’s National Grammar Day!

Are you a grammar nerd? Do you dot your i’s and cross your t’s? Know the difference between “they’re,” “their,” and “there?” Get a little crazy when other people don’t?

Then this is the day for you.

Martha Brockenbrough started the day in 2008. She is the founder of the Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar (SPOGG).

Since then Mignon Fogarty (Grammar Girl) seems to have taken over the reigns of the day as its host.

Her quick and dirty tips are a user-friendly way to learn–and remember–good grammar rules.

Speaking of grammar (yes, we were), the word itself comes from the Old French gramaire for “learning” and the Greek grammatike tekhne for “art of letters.” It originally referred to learning in general. And grammar schools were places where “the learned languages were grammatically taught.”

The current definition to refer to the rules of language is a relatively recent usage.

Scroll down for some ideas on celebrating this unofficial but grammatically correct holiday.

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Ideas to Celebrate National Grammar Day

According to the original National Grammar Day website, we should “March forth on March 4 to speak well, write well, and help others do the same.”

So make sure your own grammar is up to snuff before you start venting about others’! (Having a style guide handy when you write is a good way to do this.)

And in fact, don’t vent. Be kind and recognize that on places like social media, using the wrong word could be a simple typo or that *$%&!! autocorrect.

Autocorrect is just plain mean.

And although National Grammar Day seems to be custom-made for correcting bad grammar wherever you find it, don’t. Resist the urge.

If you don’t know the person you’re correcting, it’s likely to come off as smug and condescending.

But if you do know the person, a gentle reminder might be welcome.

If you’re considering correcting grammar in honor of this day, we’d recommend reading A Plea for Sanity this National Grammar Day. The author both loves the day (because grammar, duh!) and hates it (because grammar “asshattery,” as she puts it). It’s an awesome read.

A good place to start brushing up on your own grammar is Grammar Girl’s Top 10 Language Myths. You wouldn’t want to be passing on wrong grammar information, would you?

Check out some funny errors, many of which went out in newsletters and emails. See, everybody makes mistakes. Sometimes mistakes even make into our published work. Sometimes they’re funny. Other times they’re cringe-worthy. Either way, fix them if you can (e.g. online) and move on.

There’s even a National Grammar Day Theme Song and video:

 

 

So how will you be spending National Grammar Day? What are your grammar pet peeves? Share!

 

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