Happy National Grammar Day! I love that this day falls on the fourth day of March. I always told my kids that this is the most active day of the year – march forth (I’ve taken liberty with my forth/fourth spellings).
In honor of this, my post today will contain some (oh the horror) grammatical errors. It’s up to you to find them, fair reader, as you read this true story of my pursuit of a cup of coffee. Please report your findings in the comment section of my blog. Let’s see how good you are. I believe there are four to seven errors. Three are totally unacceptable and the others are lesser offenses or perhaps matters of preference. I also realize that it is entirely possible that there might be other errors that I have not discovered. If you point out any of these, I will most likely give the impression that I made them on purpose. I’m the writer, so that’s my privilege.
I love having monkeys and butterflies on my coffee package.
Today as I write this post, I am sitting here drinking a cup of organic, shade-grown coffee from Costa Rica, which a friend of mine brought back for me from her recent trip. It is perhaps the most challenging cup of coffee that I have ever had the privilege to take a drink of.
It all started back around the first of the year. I had just cracked open a three pound bag of coffee from Costco days before Cindi gave me my present. Being the slightly anal person that I am, I decided to wait until that bag was exhausted before opening the new one.
That day finally arrived on Saturday. I was more than excited as I prepared to make myself a cup of the exquisite new brew. After a long, tiring day, I was ready for my afternoon coffee fix. The only thing standing between me and that delight was the unknown location of my coffee grinder. I didn’t leave a drawer unopened or a cabinet unrifled through. It was nowhere to be found.
Later that night, we popped into Target to get a pound of coffee just in case my grinder still proved to be eluding me. I grabbed a pound (or I should say 12 ounces, since a pound package seems to be obsolete) and we headed home.
My sweet husband was putting the coffee away for me and suddenly stopped, held up the package and asked me, “What’s this?”
Even in my tired, coffee deprived state, I knew the answer – coffee. But he kept asking so I read the label, “Dunkin Donuts Original Blend WHOLE BEAN Coffee! Nooooooo!!!”
But it was true. I bought a bunch of beans. I considered throwing them out the window to see if they would turn into a coffee beanstalk over night. Then I could send Bob up the stalk to fetch me some coffee, but I would still have to grind it, so that wouldn’t work. Instead I frantically called my neighbor. Melodye understands the importance of coffee and even had an extra grinder.
So now you know how I outsmarted my coffee grinder and am now drinking a delicious cup or organic, shade-grown, Costa Rican coffee. Thank you Cindi and Melodye.
Life on the Lighter Side 
swanstuff
/ March 4, 2013Well, I personally think you can end a sentence or two in a preposition and start a sentence with “But.” “Or” should be “of” and I’m not sure if you spelled the names right or wrong… “Three-pound” not “three pound;” several comma faults. “That” for “which.” And the idea that coffee can be good. But that’s just me and what I speak of.
Bonnie Anderson
/ March 5, 2013This is a great reply, Rob. It pained me to put those prepositions at the end of two sentences. Those and the missing comma after the “thank you” at the end were, in my opinion, the worst offenders. I also believe it is proper to start a sentence with “but” these days. Good eye with the hyphen; and you are correct, there were several comma faults. My error count was seven, but I forgot to change it in my post. I missed the that/which mistake. It is one I often overlook when I write. I use the word “that” way too much. Coffee can be good since good is an adjective. I suppose that means it can be bad as well. Very funny! Thanks for the comment.
Jesse
/ March 6, 2013I agree that the hanging prepositions were a problem, but, to me, the worst offense was the use of the word “anal.”
No mom should use that word, ever, if she wants her son to read her posts.
Does punctuation count as a grammatical error?
Bonnie Anderson
/ March 6, 2013You are right, I should have chosen a better word. I even thought twice about it. My head is now hanging in disgrace, much like the two misplaced prepositions that I used in this post. This offense will not happen again. Yes, punctuation does count as a grammatical error. Thanks for keeping me in check.