Good grammar is a rare and delicate creature on the Internet—hard to find, misunderstood, and readily dismissed by the masses. And should you actually dare to correct someone’s terrible spelling or punctuation, you may end up the one under attack, called “elitist” and in extreme cases, a “grammar nazi.”
You’re far from alone. Matthew Inman of The Oatmeal is sick of all the bad grammar out there as well, and he’s found a way to address this pressing issue in a light and informative manner, using comics.
He illustrates when to use i.e. in a sentence, the three common uses of irony, ten words you need to stop misspelling, and how to use an apostrophe; this phrase exists merely to demonstrate the proper use of semicolons.
Once you’ve mastered the basics of grammar, The Oatmeal offers a few other informative cartoons for your perusal:
- Five Reasons Pigs Are More Awesome Than You
- Twenty Things Worth Knowing Without Beer
- Seventeen Things Worth Knowing About Your Cat
- Fifteen Things Worth Knowing About Coffee
The site is a perfect example of using humor to educate—though, I would think twice before taking his word on why bacon is better than true love.