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GaKaye said:
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tmsxmsails said:
Well, I *don't* correct people but it sometimes takes all my might to resist. I wish there was a way to *politely* point out to people that they may want to check their grammar. It's kind of like seeing someone with food in their teeth - You want to help them avoid embarrassment but the very act of doing so embarrasses them (and gets you labeled a Grammar Nazi).



Interestingly, there are a lot of people who don't care that their grammar isn't perfect, and aren't in the least embarrassed when they use improper grammar, spelling, or punctuation. My husband is one of those people. I used to correct his errors for the very reason you mention: to save him embarrassment. After several years of marriage, he finally told me he didn't care, and that he was pretty sure people knew what he meant. So now, while I still cringe at the errors, I just let it go.


Yeah, I guess it's a good thing when people are not overly concerned with the opinions of others - to a point. In your case, you know how your husband feels. In cases like we are talking about here, you don't know if the person knows and doesn't care, doesn't know and doesn't care, or doesn't know and would be embarrassed if they knew.

I can't help but feel embarrassed for them though. I had a manager who used the term "For all intensive purposes..." in an email that included other high ranking people. Clearly a case where he mis-heard the phrase initially - like a song lyric you've been singing wrong all this time. Innocent enough but it still looked bad in front of his bosses. I suspect he wishes someone would have set him straight previous to this use...