I think it’s time for a little lesson…

Hello everyone! I’ve received many messages in the past regarding my spelling and grammar and I think it’s high time I addressed them publicly. 

First and foremost, you are not wrong in your corrections. So please don’t take offence to this post, this isn’t meant to be offensive at all - I just want to clear some things up and hopefully stem the flow of messages and comments that I’ve received that seem wildly offended by my apparent disregard for the English language.

As I live in Canada, my English is influenced by both American English and British English because we are a part of the British Commonwealth, but are located in close proximity to the United States. As a result, the spellings I use are something of a grey area in between the two.

In the past I have used ‘realise’ which is the British spelling for the American ‘realize’. The British also use ‘apologise’, ‘organise’, ‘recognise’, etc. Americans, however, tend to use the ‘-ize’ suffix (this rule similarly applies to ‘-yse’ and ‘-yze’ suffixes). Whichever spelling you use, you are not incorrect. Technically, both spellings are correct, but one is more prevalent than the other depending on where it is you live.

Some words, and not just suffixes, are also different. For instance, the British spell ‘pyjamas’ what Americans spell ‘pajamas’. Both are correct. If you want more examples of different spellings (or simply if you don’t believe me), feel free to check out either this link or this link. 

Regarding grammar, I wish to focus on the ‘who’ and ‘whom’ distinction. In an English sentence, there is a subject, which is typically the person or thing performing the main action. For instance, in the sentence ‘I am jumping’, I is the subject. There is sometimes also an object, to which the action is being performed. In the sentence ‘I am jumping over you’, I is still the subject, but you is the object.

When distinguishing between ‘who’ and ‘whom’, ‘who’ takes the place of the subject and ‘whom’ takes the place of the object. So if you were to switch the same sentence around to ask a question, you could ask, ‘Who is jumping over you?’ Here, ‘who’ takes the place of ‘I’, which was the subject. You could also ask, ‘Whom am I jumping over?’ Here, ‘whom’ takes the place of ‘you’, which was the object. 

Unfortunately, ‘whom’ is not found in most people’s vernacular, so whenever it is used, it sounds wrong and out of place. I assure you, I don’t throw it around simply because I think it sounds smart. 

Wow, this was quite a post! I hope you found it informative and that I have not just wasted five minutes of your time. If anyone has any questions, feel free to drop me a line at my Ask page. 

Hello, darlings,

this is just another reminder to everyone who has any suggestions for future posts! Anything regarding etiquette, fashion, beauty, or even life, is welcome, so feel free to drop by my Ask page and submit whatever you have in mind. I’m also always on the lookout for great quotations by anyone and everyone. So please, don’t be shy, drop me a line!

And if anyone has any questions, I’d be more than happy to answer them (especially now with this new ‘answer privately’ feature)!