Celebrate Social Media Day with These 5 Tips

Happy World Social Media Day!

It’s no secret that we love social media. And as Grammarly’s Social Media Manager, I’ve devoted most of my professional life to figuring out what the cool kids are doing online. And today, I’m here to help you do the same. Let’s dive into all the things you should (and shouldn’t) be doing on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter.

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1Write, Reread, Ponder, Then Post

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I’d wager that 99 percent of social media “fails” could have been avoided if the poster had taken thirty seconds to reconsider that tweet, comment, or post before hitting publish. Before you post, ask yourself the following three questions:

1. Do I mean what I said in this post? Am I comfortable with how it will be shared?

2. Will I be proud of this post one, three, five years from now?

3. Does this post hurt someone else? Could it hurt someone if they found it?

Those extra few seconds you spend avoiding a grammar mistake or embarrassing photo are worth the wait. Remember what your mom told you: Facebook photos are forever.

2Don’t Join a Social Channel Just Because It’s Hot or New

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If you’re the trend-obsessed, meme-creating maven of your social circles, skip this tip and move on to the next. But if you’re a mere mortal, you probably don’t need to be on every social network in existence. Find a community that resonates with you, and spend your social media hours there. (A personal note: for me, that channel is Instagram, but not everyone loves the ‘gram as much as I do! Follow your arrow.)

3If You Don’t Know What It Means, Don’t Use It

Say what?

One of the most beautiful facets of the Internet is its effect on language. From “spam” to “geeks” to “phubbing,” the ways online culture has influenced English are legion. And brand new online slang is as inevitable as it is ubiquitous. But what do you do when you see a new hashtag, word, emoji, or reaction gif?

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If your answer is “use it immediately and without question,” it might be time to reconsider your approach. Many brands have gotten into trouble by jumping on inappropriate “trending” hashtags, and we all should learn from their mistakes. You don’t want a milkshake duck situation on your hands.

4Don’t Feed the Trolls

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As Grammarly’s Social Media Manager, I’m no stranger to trolls. We receive dozens of messages telling us to “shut it down” or “go home” each month. But instead of the ever-popular clapback, we’ve chosen to leave the trolls alone to shout into the endless Twitter void.

Here’s a tip: Having problems with grammar trolls? Here are a few steps to stop them.

Of course, avoiding antagonizers is much harder when they’re attacking you personally. The first step is to remember that you aren’t alone: 51 percent of women and 50 percent of men experience online harassment. After that, make sure you know your rights, and follow steps like these to ensure your safety without feeding one of those pesky trolls.

5Remember, People Online Are Just People

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Despite evidence to the contrary, I think sincerity is not yet dead on the Internet. Whenever I look at the wonderfully supportive comments on Grammarly’s Facebook, I remember that there are individual humans behind each avatar online (except bots, but let’s not go there). At the end of the day, you can’t choose how you’re treated online, but you can choose how you respond. And for me, the “social” part of social media is the most important: we have to want to engage with one another as real human people. And of course, I think Grammarly’s follower-people are the best humans.

So on this Social Media Day, I want to say thank you to all of the communication enthusiasts who read, share, and respond to Grammarly’s various musings. We love each and every one of you.

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Do you think there should be “rules” to social media? Let me know in the comments below! I’d love to hear from you.

Appositives—What They Are and How to Use Them

An appositive noun or noun phrase follows another noun or noun phrase in apposition to it; that is, it provides information that further identifies or defines it. Such “bonus facts” are framed by commas unless the appositive is restrictive (i.e., provides essential information about the noun).

Appose is a very old word that one doesn’t cross paths with much except in the realms of grammar and science. It came to English from Middle French via Latin, and means “to put near, side by side, or alongside.” It doesn’t quite mean the same as oppose, but it is quite close in meaning to juxtapose. Apposition is used in medical science to describe how cell walls defend themselves by thickening themselves with layers of protection. In grammar, an element is said to be placed in apposition to another element if it provides an extra layer of description to it.

What Is an Appositive?

At its heart, an appositive is bonus information.

Hermione Granger, a witch at Hogwarts School, is accomplished at spells.

The core of this sentence is Hermione Granger is accomplished at spells. A witch at Hogwarts School is an appositive noun phrase that gives us additional information about Hermione Granger.

The Eiffel Tower, Gustave Eiffel’s masterpiece, can be found on the Champs de Mars.

This is a sentence about where the Eiffel Tower can be found. The appositive phrase Gustave Eiffel’s masterpiece tells us a bit more about the sentence’s subject noun, Eiffel Tower.

My childhood friend, Anne-Marie, loved horses.

Here, the core sentence is My childhood friend loved horses. It works as a sentence on its own, but the appositive, the proper noun Anne-Marie, gives the reader supplemental information about my friend. It renames her.

Commas and Appositives

Appositive nouns and noun phrases are often nonrestrictive; that is, they can be omitted from a sentence without obscuring the identity of the nouns they describe. Another word for nonrestrictive is nonessential. Always bookend a nonrestrictive, appositive noun or phrase with commas in the middle of a sentence. If the noun or phrase is placed at the end of a sentence, it should be preceded by a comma.

Use Commas to Frame Nonrestrictive Elements

Frédéric Chopin a Polish composer was one of the most celebrated virtuoso pianists of his day.

Frédéric Chopin, a Polish composer, was one of the most celebrated virtuoso pianists of his day.

My brother often likens himself to Zeus the god of thunder.

My brother often likens himself to Zeus, the god of thunder.

Depending on the tone you want to achieve and the context, you may also choose either parentheses or brackets to frame a nonrestrictive appositive phrase.

My brother often likens himself to Zeus (the god of thunder).

My brother often likens himself to Zeus—the god of thunder.

Whichever way you choose to punctuate it, the key is to realize that My brother likens himself to Zeus is the core sentence and that the god of thunder is nonessential to that sentence. It is nice to know, but it is not essential in terms of function.

Think of a sentence with a nonrestrictive appositive in it as a motorcycle with a sidecar attached to it. The sidecar is a lovely addition to the motorcycle and changes the overall experience of taking it for a spin, but the motorcycle could go on without it. The nonrestrictive appositive is your sidecar, and it needs punctuation to attach it to the motorcycle, which is your sentence.

Commas and Restrictive Elements Don’t Mix

When an appositive noun or noun phrase contains an essential element without which a sentence’s meaning would materially alter, do not frame it with commas.

My friend, Bill, owes me fifty dollars.

My friend Bill owes me fifty dollars.

There are no commas here because Bill is an essential description of my friend. We can assume from this sentence that the speaker has many friends, but the one who owes him or her money is Bill. The unlikely circumstance under which the first sentence could be construed as correct would be if the speaker has only one confirmed friend, and that friend’s name is Bill.

Now think of a motorcycle again, except now without the sidecar. This is the restrictive appositive motorcycle. If anyone wants to hitch a ride on this motorcycle, he or she will have to ride double behind the driver. With this type of appositive, there is no disconnection between the driver and the passenger; one has his or her arms around the other. The restrictive appositive motorcycle zooms out of sight—without commas.

What is the Most Maddening Writing Error? Misused Apostrophes

Grammarly’s cut-throat competition to determine the most “maddening” writing error concluded on April 6, 2014 with MISUSED APOSTROPHES crowned as the undisputed Grammar Madness bracket champion.

Tens of thousands of grammarians voted in 16 separate match-ups representing the most annoying errors in English writing.

According to one voter in the final match-up between YOUR/YOU’RE and MISUSED APOSTROPHES: “[I]t seems like there is a whole new wave of people who believe that you NEED an apostrophe and an ‘s’ to make a word plural.”

There’s no doubt that misused apostrophes are maddening to word enthusiasts across the globe. Institutions that have taken a stand on apostrophes continue to stoke the fire:

• The Domestic Names Committee of the U.S. Board on Geographic Names doesn’t like apostrophes, according to the Wall Street Journal.
• The Cambridge City Council proposed to abolish the use of apostrophes on street signs (The Telegraph).
• The Internet doesn’t include apostrophes as part of Web addresses (for example: McDonald’s is mcdonalds.com).

Generally, an apostrophe is used to indicate possession – not plural – and to mark missing letters in contractions (for example: you are = you’re).

The Oatmeal has an amazing visual primer on how to use an apostrophe.

When in doubt, conventional wisdom tells us not to use an apostrophe in our writing. This may save us from any one of the following embarrassing – and very public – writing mistakes:

What’s the worst misuse of an apostrophe that you’ve seen in your daily life? We’ll post the best examples on our Facebook page for the consideration of more than one million actively engaged grammarians!

What kind of pirate are you?

Hey, mates! In honor of International Talk Like A Pirate Day on September 19th, we put together a wee test to find our which pirate ye be! Take the quiz to find out now.

Apologise or Apologize?

• Apologize is the standard American English spelling.
• Apologise is the standard British English spelling.

Wouldn’t it be embarrassing to have a spelling error in a letter of apology? And it’s even more cringe-worthy if the word you spell wrong is one of the key elements of your message! So before you say you’re sorry, find out whether apologize or apologise is the right word.

To understand the issue better, let’s break down apology into its parts. According to Dictionary.com, the prefix apo- comes to English via Greek, where it appeared with nouns that “denote a response or defense.” The -logy suffix comes from the Greek logos, meaning “speech.”

The Meaning of Suffixes -ize and -ise

When you add -ize, it means “to cause to become like something.” It can also mean to treat like a certain thing or to talk or refer to someone or something in a specific way. For example, to alphabetize is to cause a list of words to become like the alphabet—i.e., in ABC order. Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines -ise as -ize with the same set of definitions. Therefore, apologize and apologise mean the same thing. The difference between the two words isn’t in the definition. So, what is the difference?

The Real Difference between Apologize and Apologise

The real difference between the two terms is about 4,200 miles. Well, the United States (where apologize is the most common spelling) is about that far from the United Kingdom (where apologise is the most prevalent spelling.) British English often favors an -ise ending where American English uses -ize. To find out why, check out this article about realize versus realise.

Other British and American Spelling Differences

Honour vs. Honor Queue vs. Cue Learned vs. Learnt Judgement vs. Judgment Spelled vs. Spelt

Apologize and Apologise in Print

Here are some examples of these two words from books. Can you guess the nationality of the writer based on how they spell the term under discussion? The answers are below the quotes.

1. When a lady condescends to apologise, there is no keeping one’s anger.

2. Reflect on your relationship and apologize.

3. I apologise if you all know this, but the point is many, many people do not. Why else would they open a large play area for children, hang up a sign saying “Giant Kid’s Playground”, and then wonder why everyone stays away from it? (Answer: everyone is scared of the Giant Kid.)

4. There were times when an apology was best, she thought, even when one really had nothing to apologise for. If only people would say sorry sooner rather than later, Mma Ramotswe believed, much discord and unhappiness could be avoided. But that was not the way people were. So often pride stood in the way of apology, and then, when somebody was ready to say sorry, it was already too late.

1. English Anne Brontë, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall 2. American Philip D. Lukens, Seven Ways to Heal a Relationship (Bonus: Look at the quote in its entirety here.) 3. English Lynne Truss, Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation 4. British Alexander McCall Smith, No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency (Alexander McCall Smith was born in a British colony in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in Africa)

If you live in Britain or you are writing to someone who does, you might choose to apologise. However, if you are writing from the United States or to an American, apologize is what you want to do! You no longer have to worry about embarrassing yourself by mixing up apologize and apologise. The only task left is to find the right words to express how sorry you are.