Present Perfect: Mind What You Say, It's National Grammar Day

"Language is something to celebrate, and March 4 is the perfect day to do it. It's not only a date, it's an imperative: March forth on March 4 to speak well, write well, and help others do the same!"

So says Grammar Girl, host of National Grammar Day, being observed Sunday by those who still cherish the joy and precision of proper syntax and usage.

For one day, at least, Grammar Girl implores that you mind to whom you are speaking and not lay aside the rules of English – even if your typical communication reads something to the effect of: "LOL so what U doing L8TR?"

Here are some tidbits from the Grammar Girl website:

National Grammar Day was established in 2008 by Martha Brockenbrough, founder of the Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar (SPOGG) and author of Things That Make Us [Sic].

National Grammar Day for 2012 is hosted by Mignon Fogarty, the author of the New York Times best-selling book Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing and The Grammar Devotional.

On the website, you can find dozens of discussions about grammar, including this year's Top Five Tips:

• Affect Versus Effect
• Who Versus Whom
• Lay Versus Lie
• Ending a Sentence With a Preposition
• I.e. Versus E.g.

The website also offers:

Ten Grammar Myths Exposed

(Read the explanations before you write to express your outrage.)

1. A run-on sentence is a really long sentence.
2. You shouldn't start a sentence with the word "however."
3. "Irregardless" is not a word.
4. There is only one way to write the possessive form of a word that ends in "s."
5. Passive voice is always wrong.
6. "I.e." and "e.g." mean the same thing.
7. You use "a" before words that start with consonants and "an" before words that start with vowels.
8. It's incorrect to answer the question "How are you?" with the statement "I'm good."
9. You shouldn't split infinitives.
10. You shouldn't end a sentence with a preposition.

Brief explanations with links to more detailed discussions