I freely admit to being one of those really annoying individuals who will silently correct your grammar as you speak, or sigh inwardly at yet another misused apostrophe on someone’s blog/website/post. I can’t help it – it’s practically a reflex action! But the point here is that I do it silently, or at least not publicly. And let’s face it – the internet is already too full of people who feel entitled to loudly declare their expertise on matters, whether they are correct or not.
Astonishingly, the Princess of Wales became a target for online snottiness, for the supposedly poor grammar in her statement acknowledging the support that she and Prince William received following her cancer chemotherapy treatment (https://stroppyeditor.wordpress.com/2024/06/18/people-will-judge-you-and-me-and-you-and-i-for-our-bad-grammar/). In fact, there was nothing at all wrong with the grammar in her statement. What this highlights is that (a) people should always think twice before they post, and (b) perhaps there may be a certain lack of nuance in the way that grammar is taught?