National Grammar Day Is Here!

National Grammar Day Is Here!

Robert Lowth, bishop¹ of London in the 18th century, wrote a book of grammar rules that are still used today.

What will you be doing on Friday? How will you have spent your day?

Do you have trouble understanding these questions? Then you should mark your calendar!

Language teachers, learners and other professionals across the United States are celebrating National Grammar Day on March 4.

The holiday celebrates the rules and best practices for the English language.

Martha Brockenbrough created National Grammar Day in 2008. Brockenbrough is the founder² of the Society for the Promotion³ of Good Grammar, or SPOGG.

SPOGG operates a website where Brockenbrough writes about different language issues.

Brockenbrough also wrote a book of advice about grammar and language called “Things That Make Us [Sic.]”

Mignon Fogarty is organizing National Grammar Day celebrations this year. She wrote the book “Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing.”

Fogarty appeared on the NBC television program “Today” on Wednesday. She discussed new additions to the English language.

“People think that dictionaries choose [new] words because they’re proper,” she said. “But mostly they choose words because people use them.”

The American Dialect⁴ Society chooses a word every year that is new or used in a new way. The choice for 2015 Word of the Year was “they,” used as a gender-neutral singular⁵ pronoun⁶.

The Oxford⁷ English Dictionary adds new words after finding⁸ evidence people are using the words often. Researchers for the dictionary also look for evidence the words will be used well into the future.

Grammarly is a software application, or app, that can study writing and find grammar mistakes. In preparation for National Grammar Day, Grammarly studied the writing on the Twitter accounts of the 50 people with the most followers⁹ in the world.

Grammarly counted the average number of mistakes in the writing on all 50 twitter accounts. The app then listed the top 10 accounts with the fewest mistakes.

Comedian¹⁰ Conan O’Brien had the best grammar. He averaged 0.21 mistakes for every 100 words he wrote. Businessman Bill Gates had the second best grammar, with an average of 0.22 mistakes.

President Barack Obama came third with an average of 0.26 mistakes.

The National Grammar Day website has many resources for language learners. You can celebrate National Grammar Day by reading our weekly series “Everyday Grammar.”

Words in This Story

calendar – n. a document or chart that shows the days, weeks, and months of a year

practice(s) – n. something that is done often or regularly

gender-neutral – adj. not referring to either sex but only to people in general

software application – n. a computer program that performs one or more tasks

follower(s) – n. a person who likes and admires someone or something very much

comedian – n. a person who performs in front of an audience and makes people laugh by telling jokes or funny stories or by acting in a way that is funny

1 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

2 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

3 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

4 dialect   

n.方言，土语，地方话

参考例句：

• He wrote a play in a local dialect.他用当地方言写了一个剧本。
• They began to speak rapidly in dialect.他们开始叽里呱啦地说起地方话来。

5 singular   

adj.个人的，单数的，独一的，唯一的，非凡的；n.单数

参考例句：

• The young man has a singular ear for music.这个年轻人对音乐有非凡的欣赏力。
• The noun is in the singular.这个名词是单数形式。

6 pronoun   

n.代词

参考例句：

• The relative pronoun is often dropped if it is the subject.关系代名词做受词时常被省略。
• Here you should use plural pronoun.这里你应该用复数代词。

7 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

8 finding   

n.发现，发现物；调查的结果

参考例句：

• The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
• That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。

9 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

10 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。