The 1 Time You Shouldn't Correct Someone's Grammar

Grammar is important. It's how we make words add up in order to create meaning. But there are times when it's OK to point out someone's grammatical errors and there are times when you should absolutely not correct someone's grammar. And while this video about when not to correct grammar from College Humor might be a little bit of a hyperbolic take on how awful the grammar police are, it does throw into sharp relief how obnoxious those people sound. (I'm looking at you, people who found a mistake in this graph.)

Of course, we all have our grammar mistakes that drive us a little batty. For me, it's when people misuse the word literally, and I'll admit to correcting more than a few people over the years. I don't even care if the dictionary definition has been changed, it's still wrong. But I am also able to recognize that most of the time, trying to correct someone is just a bad idea.

Because while grammar is important, the most important thing for day-to-day communication is simply making sure that you're understood. That's the whole point of having grammar in the first place. If what someone is saying is clear, it doesn't really matter if they violated some obscure or confusing rule of grammar.

There are some language faux pas that should be corrected right away — like when people use the wrong pronouns for trans people, for instance. But verb tenses? Not so much. So if you are one of those people who can't let a grammar slip go, know that this is more or less how you sound.

Image: College Humor/YouTube