Quote:
Originally Posted by gmw
Grammar really is important. It's an integral part of what a writer produces, it's part of the story and cannot be separated from it, the same sequence of words with different grammar can tell a different story - or were you too busy eating Grandpa to really understand the point of that example? It was never about the comma, it was about how the reader understood what was written. If you get the grammar wrong but your message is still clear, then sure, the grammar mistakes are not important. But, if you get the grammar wrong and your story goes astray, then these are technical errors for which you only have yourself to blame.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ScalyFreak
And this would be my point. If the grammar mistakes make a sentence mean something other than what the writer wants it to mean, then that writer should perhaps not be a writer... or should at least have that editor of theirs question and ask about what exactly they meant.the writer means by looking at how they use it. But as why make it harder than it has to be for the reader to discern the meaning of a sentence?
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Exactly.
As someone (and you know this by reading my forum posts, which contrary to common belief I proof read many times over before posting) who struggles with rules of grammar and spelling, I can get a
grammatically correct page out of MS Word by using all the automated tools, Google searches, and reference books... BUT none of that would save grandpa! That is why I have always used editors of some level (friends, family, grad students, etc), and recently moved up to a professional editor.