Just the Basics, Please and Thank You!

I do not claim to be a grammarian. I frequently refer to Grammar Girl, The Bedford Handbook, The Little Brown Handbook, and any other grammar guide in order to make sure I get it right. But what I can’t stand are “professional” people (or anyone for that matter) that don’t know the basic rules of usage.

1.  Believe it or not there is a difference between you’re and your.

• You’re is a contraction of You Are
• Your is the possessive form of You.

2.  Their, They’re, and There. So, what’s the difference other than spelling? A lot.

• They’re is a contraction of They Are
• Their is used to show possession.
• There represents a place. Kind of like the word here. There is used to represent a specified place or maybe even an unspecified place
  • They’re at their house, which is over there. (Sorry I couldn’t resist)

America the Beautiful Can and Should be Sung in Multiple Languages

One of the reasons why I watch the Super Bowl is for the commercials and there were a couple of stand outs for me, but the one that stood out the most is also the one that’s the most controversial. It’s the Coca-Cola “It’s Beautiful” commercial. If you’re not familiar with it take a moment to watch it before reading on.

You obviously noticed that America the Beautiful is sung in multiple languages. I’m not quite sure why this commercial is so controversial and I’ve read tweets and a bunch of other comments and I still haven’t figured it out.

Here are just a couple: