(Operated by Rich Turner – Grammarian, Curmudgeon, and Old Poop)
(Also known as The Mudge)
(We support Sploofus, a website for trivia buffs)
Grammar and Grammar Tips – Style – Word Usage – Writing Tips – Essays and Articles – Opinions and Discussion Groups – Education and Teaching – Memorabilia – Grumbles – and Much More
VIEW THE CURMUDGEON'S PHOTO ALBUMS OFF-SITE AT WEBSHOTS.
POLLS NOW OPEN: PICK THE DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE AND THE PROBABLE WINNER IN THE GENERAL ELECTION (THREE SEPARATE POLLS)
The contents of this site may not be published elsewhere without my written permission or, in the case of contributors to this site, without the written permission of the author.
Sign up for:
The Grammar Discussion Board to discuss grammar and usage
The ESL Board to ask questions about English as a second language
The Message Board to introduce topics of general interest
The Education Board for topics relating to education
The Literature Board to discuss topics of literary interest
(These message boards currently have 793 registrants.)
[Message board members may post test messages on The Workbench]
SEARCH THIS SITE: To search this site only, click the second circle under the search box and enter the search term in the box. (Clicking the first circle will search the entire Web – a traditional Google search.)
MAIN DIVISIONS OF THIS SITE are accessible by clicking on the index buttons to the left. Following are quick links to subdivisions (see the Site Map for details).
Writing: Essays and Articles (composed exclusively for this site); Essay Archives (earlier essays); Memorabilia; Grumbles; Pet Peeves (about language misuse); Just for Fun.
Words and Grammar: Writers' Guide; Grammar FAQs; Word and Usage FAQs (commonly confused words); Word Trivia; Words (vocabulary); ESL Notebook.
Personal, Family, and Photos: Adventures in Acadia; Main Photo Albums No. 1, 2003, and 2005; Videos.
Hidden Pages: Recommend This Site (for sending e-mail and a link to friends); Wit and Wisdom (quotations); Clippings (items from other sources).
This is a dynamic site – in the sense that it is being constantly expanded and revised. Especially for frequent visitors, here's an update on what has been added or revised recently, usually with a direct link to the appropriate page. Listings usually comprise the most recent 15 to 20 additions. They appear in reverse chronological order, with the most recent revisions first.
> 4/29/08 – The May issue of The Grumpy Grammarian suggests limits to excessive concern about grammatical trivialities.
> 4/23/08 – Our election survey on the Polls page has expanded to include two polls regarding an Obama-McCain contest and a Clinton-Obama contest, respectively. A third poll for preducting the Democratic nominee is still online.
> 4/06/08 – The April issue of The Grumpy Grammarian discusses the avoidance of pretentious words. Big is not always best.
> 3/08/08 – The March issue of The Grumpy Grammarian is online. We reflect on results of our poll concerning why people do not use proper English.
> 2/16/08 – The February issue of The Grumpy Grammarian is now online.
> 2/13/08 – We've opened a new poll for predicting the Democratic presidential candidate and indicating your preference.
> 2/10/08 – A new article, Public Education: The Downward Spiral, argues that, if we want to improve our dysfunctional schools, we need to seriously revise how we think about education.
> 2/03/08 – Our current Grumble, "Phone-y Tips for Politicians," suggests how to deal with political phone calls.
> 1/21/08 – "Banks and Usury" (in the Essays and Articles section) contends that credit cards constitute the greatest scam since the snake persuaded Adam and Eve to bite into the forbidden fruit.
> 1/16/08 – The January issue of The Grumpy Grammarian explains, clearly and concisely, what is more important for effective writing than mere correctness.
> 12/25/07 – The first new entry in our "Just for Fun" section consists of some "Messages to Reform the World," suggestions that we are sure any sane person would approve.
> 12/18/07 – A new essay, "Seasonal Reflections," considers some of the ways we spoil the holidays for ourselves – but it's not the usual, tiresome rant about materialism.
> 12/09/07 – The December Grumpy Grammarian, concerning clichés, is now online.
> 11/20/07 – Part 2 of the November issue of The Grumpy Grammarian, the conclusion of our discussion of literary study, is now online.
> 11/20/07 – In our first new essay in a long time, "Thanksgiving 2007" suggests that we put the "Thanks" back into "HallowThanksMas."
> 10/25/07 – Part 1 of the November issue of The Grumpy Grammarian is now online. A departure from our usual topics, this month's column discusses literary study. The second part will appear sometime in November.
> 10/04/07 – The October issue of The Grumpy Grammarian, about Internet shorthand, is now online.
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ABOUT THIS SITE
Nothing makes a confirmed curmudgeon crankier than misuse of the English language, especially if that curmudgeon has devoted his adult life to studying and teaching English – and even more so if he has spent countless hours editing bad prose. This site is an outlet for an old guy who is tired of hearing teenagers punctuate every sentence with a half dozen likes, baffled by the apparent inability of many presumably literate adults to distinguish between it’s and its, and a little tired of explaining to college freshmen why “Mary and me went to the movies” is wrong. I hope that, in the course of venting, I can also contribute some useful information – and perhaps even add a little fire and wit to that dull-as-proverbial-dust subject, grammar.
As this project has developed, I have expanded the site to include many other features. Though my principal (that's always principal as an adjective and never principle) focus is still English grammar and usage, I have incorporated many other features, such as the photo albums and photo-essays derived from our vacation outings. More recently, though, I tend to post photos off-site in my Webshots albums. My essays and articles (contained in several sections) cover a variety of topics, both serious and humorous. Indeed, humor (albeit, my peculiar brand of humor) is an important ingredient here.
I have endeavored to make this site as navigable and user-friendly as possible. The buttons to the left link to the main sections; the Site Map itself describes briefly what each section contains. Having utterly astounded my technologically challenged self by learning how to create links, I provide internal links wherever possible. To save regular visitors the trouble of searching for "new stuff," I am very diligent about listing the most recent entries in the "What's New?" section (above on this homepage). The Google Site Search (above and accessible via the third button on the left side of each page) is a handy tool for conducting an internal search for specific topics.
I can't cover everything, of course. Thus, I have incorporated a Links for Writers section that gives an ongoing listing of some of the better writers’ references on the Internet. The Grammar Discussion Board allows visitors who register there to post or answer questions about grammar and usage, the ESL Board is especially for questions from non-native speakers of English, and the Message Board is a forum for general topics of interest. The Literature Board (launched in 2006) invites participants to comment on literary topics.
Because this is meant to be a substantive site (yes, Virginia, it is correct to begin a sentence with because), I wanted to keep the so-called eye candy to a minimum. However, I can’t resist the temptation to fool around with a few graphics and animations. Besides, I’ll do almost anything to make grammar appear to be entertaining. Inside this body are two minds – one that takes language very seriously and one that asks, “What good is it if you can’t have fun with it?”
Thank you for visiting. If you don't find what you were looking for, please post a message on the Message Board (registration required).
My Credentials
I hold a B.A. (1958) and M.A. (1959) degree in English from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and did additional postgraduate work at the University of Texas. After beginning my career as a college instructor, teaching mostly writing and introductory literature courses, I moved into copyediting and editing. I worked for a few years as a proofreader for Opinion Research Corporation in Princeton, NJ; served as a literature editor for a new encyclopedia that was later acquired by Grolier; and finally became the supervisor of research editing at a market research firm in Princeton. I am now retired from that position, but I currently teach English Composition as an adjunct professor at Mercer County Community College in West Windsor, NJ, something I have been doing for nearly twenty years.
Words and language have fascinated me all of my life. I enjoyed writing from the start, and it has always been a hobby. I have never been very successful with "creative" writing, finding my niche more in expository writing. Perhaps because successful expository writing requires command of sentence structure and attention to the minutiae of grammar, I became a grammarian, a wordsmith, a verbivore. It was a self-perpetuating proposition. The more I learned about English grammar, the more I discovered I had still to learn. Sharing the fruits of that journey is one reason for this site.
Site Mascot
Every curmudgeon needs a cat. Every site should have a mascot. Here is this curmudgeon's cat and this site's mascot. Her name is Booper. As a kitten, she was found abandoned in the ladies' restroom at the offices of the local newspaper, and my wife brought her home, where she has been ever since. Who could resist those eyes?
WANT TO ASK A QUESTION OR ENTER A DISCUSSION? The Grammar Curmudgeon offers five message boards – Grammar Discussion, ESL, Literature, Education, and General Discussion (links are near the top of this page). I check these boards daily. Instructions for registration are on the pages themselves; registration on any board permits posting on all of them.
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