Ramblings of an idiot who's in need of winter break...

It's time for show and tell. I'm a weirdo.

Most ridiculous video of me singing about homophones

Please do not judge my singing ability (or lack thereof). This video is meant for the amusement of people who are annoyed by other people who cannot spell. 

Also, the lyrics aren't easy to hear the whole way through because the Spice Girls are LOUD.

Here is Spice Girls Rewritten:

Oh, what do you think about that
Now you know how to spell
You say, you know your grammar and use it well  
(Are you for real?)
It’s very easy, so give it a try,
But if YOU’RE really stupid, then I'll say buh-BYE

Yo I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want
So tell me what you want, what you really, really want
I wanna, (ha) I wanna, (ha) I wanna, (ha) I wanna, (ha)
I wanna really, really, really want for you to learn how to spell

If you wanna be a smarty, you gotta learn how to spell
It’s really very easy, and it makes you look so swell
You gotta learn some homophones, and tell these words apart
Acting dumb is easy, but intelligence is an art

So, here it is real E to the Z.
You wanna get the grade, you gotta hear my tirade

We got too many guys who want to poke you in the…eye
You wanna be smarter than a donkey, then
Proofreading does no harm; works like a charm
And if you don’t? Ha sound the alarm.   

They’re all laughing at you and rolling on the ground
They’re all laughing at you and rolling on the ground

If you wanna be a smarty, you gotta learn how to spell
It’s really very easy, and it makes you look so swell
You gotta learn some homophones, and tell these words apart
Acting dumb is easy, but intelligence is an art

Whoooo or whoooom? (to be said like the caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland)

Well, I can assure you that the caterpillar was correct. It is, in fact, who are you, not whom are you.

Okay, so what is the difference between who and whom?

In my post about me vs. I, I briefly discussed subjects vs. objects. I = subject and me = object. In terms of who vs. whom, who = subject and whom = object.

Questions using who vs. whom:

• Who told you I pick my nose? (I don't pick it. I'm scratching an itch, thank you.)
• Who farted?
• Who farted on whom?
• Whom do you love? (Yes, Bo Diddley had it wrong.)
• Whom will Santa give big, fat, turd-sized coal to this year? 
• Whom are you asking to the Sadie Hawkins dance (in his khaki pants)? (If you know that allusion, I owe you a cookie.)

Do questions confuse you? Here is a tip. Turn the sentence into a statement and see whether he (subject) or him (object) fits better. 

• He told you I pick my nose.
• He farted.
• He farted on him.
• You love him.
• Santa will give big, fat, turd-sized coal to him this year
• You are asking him to the Sadie Hawkins dance.

Clauses using who vs. whom:

1. Again, if you're talking about the subject of a clause, use who.
• Santa Claus, who brings fossilized poop to naughty children, actually loves to find out that you've been nice. (He goes not enjoy the smell of feces.)
• Ms. Wo, who acts like a total whackadoo, always finds new ways of amusing her students.
• Everyone laughs at the crazy teacher, who always leaves a lasting impression on her students. 
• The pattern: In the clause, who is the subject. You could make it a sentence by replacing it with he/she. 
• He brings fossilized poop.
• She acts like a total whackadoo.
• She always leaves a lasting impression. 
2. If you're talking about the object of a clause, use whom.
•  Santa Claus, whom children fear will bring them fossilized poop, would much prefer for you to be nice, not naughty; he really does not enjoy catching wind of your stinky stocking contents. 
• Ms. Wo, whom students look at with raised eyebrows, always acts like a whackadoo just to see how students will react.  
• Everyone laughs at the crazy teacher, whom students never forget. 
• The pattern: In the clause, whom is the object. Another noun in the clause actually functions as the subject. You could write them as sentences by replacing the whom with him/her. 
• Children fear him. 
• Students look at her with raised eyebrows. 
• Students will never forget her. 

     Whom do you love for telling you about who vs. whom? 

ME!

Every day's word of the day: POOP. (video post)

Why I hate doorknobs...and thongs...but not my brother (video)

The video speaks for itself.

The difference between me and I.

Here's the thing: when me and I are by themselves (ourselves?), people typically know which one to use. It's when one of these little buggers comes with a friend that people become quite confused. Allow me to break it down, homeskillet.

In previous posts, I've mentioned what are called the subjects and objects of sentences. 

•  In layman's terms, a subject is what (or whom) the sentence discusses. Check it: Mary had a little prairie dog (come on, the lamb is so cliché). About whom is the sentence? Yes, grasshopper, it is MARY. After all, there's just something about that Mary, so Mary is the subject.  
• The object is what receives the action of the sentence. For example, if you said, "Ow, you flicked my wenis!" In this sentence, the action word is "flicked."  What was flicked? In other words, what is the object that receives this action? Who or what feels the flicking? Yes, the wenis. Therefore, wenis is the object. 

 Now that we've discussed the subject versus the object, let's move on to this whole me and I business. 

Me is always the object in a sentence. I is always the subject/doer of an action. (Man, if you read those two sentences out of context, it'd look like I sure did have me some bad grammar.)


Let's take a roll in the proverbial, asexual hay and try out me and I. 


Part 1: Me (remember, it is the object in a sentence.)

• Santa said to little Sally, who always eats her broccoli because her mommy says Santa brings only coal to boys and girls who do not eat their greens, "I cannot believe you sat on me and farted. You are not sugar and spice and everything nice. You are flatulence and lice and you'll pay the price. No presents for you."
• Mr. Gingerbread Man saw the rotund boy come at him with a glass of milk and a hungry sneer. He cried, "No! No! Do not eat me, dough boy!"

Part 2: I (Do not forget, is is the subject of the sentence.)

• I have got a lovely bunch of coconuts. Dee da la dee. There they are a standing in a row. 
• Yes, I ate all of the cookies in the cookie jar. What are you going to do about it? Huh? Get at me!

Now, are you confused when me or I make friends with he, him, she, her, it, they, them, and you? Do not worry. I have an easy test for you. 


TEST: Take the friend out of the equation to see if the sentence makes more sense with I or me.

• Incorrect Example: He and me played Polly Pockets until the cows came home.
• Take out "he." Me played Polly Pockets until the cows came home. 
• Unless you are a caveman, then you would say, "I played Polly Pockets...."
• Therefore, put he back into the equation: He and I played Polly Pockets until the cows came home. (I really should have picked a shorter sentence.)
• Incorrect Example: Mom is taking her and I to play Dungeons and Dragons in Draco's basement. 
• Take out "her." Mom is taking I to play Dungeons and Dragons in Draco's basement. 
• Perhaps you have been indulging in D&D a little too long and your brain is a bit charred. Well, douse your neurons with a some water and take note. 
• The correct sentence would read Mom is taking her and me to play D&D in Draco's basement. (Note: In this situation, many people would substitute "her and me" for "us.") 

Are you worried again? Is your brow furrowed because now you're not sure whether you should say he or him, she or her, they or them, or we or us? 

• Remember our earlier lesson about subjects and objects? Well, here's the break down:
• He, she, they, and we are all subjects.
• He pooped.
• She pooped.
• They pooped. (Hopefully not in the same room)
• We pooped. (We kept our eyes closed.)
• Him, her, them, and us are all objects.
• He poked him.
• He poked her. (I read this post to my husband, and he argued that saying "he" poked her sounds sexual, which automatically makes the sentence much funnier. Thus, we have "He poked her" instead of "She poked her.")
• They poked them.
• They poked us. (Saying we poked us sounds much too much like self pleasure, and it's just weird.)

I hope you now feel much more at ease about this whole me and I business. If you need me to edit this post by clarifying any areas of confusion, please post in the comment section. I will gladly elucidate for you (unless you're an idiot, then no amount of clarification will help you). However, I ASSume that you must not be an idiot if you're concerned enough about your grammar to consult this blog post.  Smart people read about grammar. Or maybe it's nerds who read about it. In any case, you may leave this post smarter than you came to it.
 

When I read it, I breathed, so I must need a comma.

Though this rule sometimes applies, a lot of people are long winded while others are quick winded (totally made up that term), so the poor comma might feel either neglected or abused. Neither option is very fair to the sweet, helpful, wonderful comma.

Let's talk about all many of the places (truly, too many to cover in one post) we use the versatile comma.

Place #1: Include commas after introductory words or phrases (sentence parts which cannot stand alone because they miss a subject/verb combination).

• Introductory word: Unfortunately, you smell like feet. 
• Introductory phrase: With a look of regret on her face, my dog cowered in the corner after she urinated all over the rug. 
• Introductory phrase #2: Just for the record, cleaning up a trail of urine is worse than cleaning up a puddle of pee.
  

Note: Be careful with these introductory phrases. You don't want to misplace them unless you actually mean "Eating poop, my dad scolded the dog" and not "My dad scolded the dog eating poop." I certainly hope your dad is not a poop eater. Ew.


Place #2: Include commas after a subordinate clause only if the subordinate clause comes at the beginning of the sentence. People frequently break this rule, so pay close attention.

• Correct: After they randomly planked on their desks, my brilliant students decided it was time to start their vocabulary tests. 
• Incorrect: My brilliant students decided it was time to start their vocabulary tests, after they randomly planked on their desks. (Again, you do not actually want that red comma.)
• NOTE: If the part of the sentence which cannot stand alone (subordinate clause) comes FIRST, you need a comma. If it comes at the end of a sentence, you do NOT need a comma.

Place #3: Include a comma between two independent clauses only if a coordinating conjunction follows it. (I'll provide a list of coordinating conjunctions.)

• Correct: Kevin had a 7% in my class, so he began fabricating stories to explain why he didn't have assignments. Apparently, he thought I was stupid enough to believe that rapscallions attacked a bagel shop, and he needed to use his vocabulary flashcards as throwing stars. 
• Why is it correct? In the correct sentence, what comes before the red font is a complete sentence (Kevin had a 7% in my class); what comes after the red font is also a complete sentence (he began fabricating stories...). Therefore, you need to invite our friend, the comma, to the party. The comma goes before the conjunction. 
• NOTE: Some misguided souls place the comma after the conjunction. YO! The comma is supremely awesome, so it goes before the conjunction.
• Incorrect: Kevin ate too many beans, and stunk his classmates out of the computer lab.
• Why is it incorrect? What comes before the blue font is a complete sentence, but what comes after the blue font is NOT a complete sentence. It's just one sentence. What do I mean? I mean, this sentence has one subject (Kevin) and two verbs (ate and stunk) to go with that one subject. Because you cannot split the sentence into two sentences, you do not want a comma before and. 
• Moral of the story? If you can make two complete sentences with what comes before the conjunction and what comes after the conjunction, then put a comma before the conjunction. If you cannot make two complete sentences, because you're missing a second subject, then you do not need the comma. (Hey, commas need naps just like we do.) 

 The list of Coordinating Conjunctions spells out FANBOYS (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so).

Place #4: Between multiple adjectives describing the same noun (if you're not using the conjunction and).

• Correct: You, my swaggerific, dirty friend, are my hero. 
• Why is it correct? Lists need commas. I provided a (short) list of adjectives for my friend, so I needed to separate that small list with a comma. Yes, you can add a third adjective: You, my swaggerific, dirty, bombastic friend, are my hero.
• Incorrect: You are swaggerific (new teenage colloquialism), and dirty (apparently a new teenage way of actually complimenting someone/something). 
• Why is it incorrect? You used and in between the two adjectives, so no adjective is necessary. 
• Incorrect: My wacky, English teacher writes funny sentences. 
• Why is it incorrect? Technically, wacky and English serve as adjectives; however, let's look at two things. One, replace the comma with and. Does it make sense? "My wacky and English teacher writes funny sentences." Unless you're saying she's English (from England), that pairing makes no sense. Two, could you flip flop the adjectives and make a logical sentence? "My English and wacky teacher writes funny sentences." Umm...no. So, try these two tests to determine if your "list" of adjectives actually goes together and needs a comma.

Place #5: Use commas before or after you directly address someone. 

• Richard, who's your favorite Little Rascal? Is it Alfalfa, or is it Spanky? Sinner.
• Stop looking at me, Swan. 
• Note: If these sentences sound familiar to you, then you're awesome because you've obviously watched Tommyboy (example #1) and Billy Madison (example #2).

Place #6: Use commas in a list. (In place #4, I already talked about the list of adjective, so I will not belabor that point again. I will provide you with different lists.)

• Example: As a teacher, I've learned many new things: how to jerk, what "coning" is, who makes the best YouTube videos, and where to go online if I want to rot my brain.
• Please note: Some people do not place a final comma before the word and. I hate these people. Okay, not really, but I want to shove a hot poker into their eye socket. Okay, not really, but it grinds my gears. See the following visual for what you need to know about the Oxford comma. 

 Place #7: Place commas before, around, after elements of the sentence (clauses, phrases, words) that you could live without

• Correct: You use semicolons really well. I am, however, unimpressed by your use of  commas.
• Why is it correct? You don't need however. It's just a transitional word, so place commas around it. In circumstances such as this one, consider the commas like little midget, chopped-in-half versions of a set of parentheses.
• I am not writing an incorrect sentence. I have been writing this post (on and off) for about a week. If I have to spend one more minute on this section of the post, I will scoop out my eyes with a melon baller. Deal. 

I realize that this post may have generated even more questions in your curious, eager mind. If you need a separate post on any of the grammatical terms, please let me know in the comments section.

NOTE: I try to avoid using really complicated, "Englishy" terms. I'm figuring that many of my readers fall into one of two groups: one, English teachers who want to show their brainless (I mean GENIUS) students how to stop abusing the comma, and two, people who aren't entirely comfortable with grammatical terms.