Why are people so sensitive about having their grammar corrected?

Many people are sensitive about having their grammar corrected because it makes them feel extremely stupid. To sum it up, people get embarrassed.

For others, it is a pride issue. Getting their grammar corrected is a huge bash to their pride.

I'm sometimes a professional copy-editor, and as you might imagine, I run into this a lot. I think it's partly because grammar (in English, at least) is sometimes so subjective, and sometimes so stylistic... and people tend to confuse the two.

When someone puts their words on paper, they're expressing their thoughts and their ideas in their own way, and sometimes that's pretty personal -- even when it's work-related. And usually, the ideas are the main point. The grammar feels trivial by comparison. Telling them that they put a comma in the wrong place is like telling them that you weren't so captivated with their ideas that you could ignore their trivial mistake...

On top of that, English grammar is so subjective that people tend to forget that there really are rules they're supposed to follow. They think that by choosing a different word, they're being "creative"... even though the rest of us are just confused by their awkward word choices. Or they just don't see why it matters whether they use "that" or "which" in that sentence, and whether they put their commas in the right place...

Add in to that the growing world of "informal" writing -- personal emails, text messages, IMs, and forums like these -- where grammar and punctuation really aren't as important as getting the point across efficiently. That's not an area where I feel like grammar is worth correcting. Just say it as best you can, and that's good enough! But professional writing is different. Before you know it, some people don't see a difference between an email that you'd fire off to your buddy or your boss, and an official communication to a client that just happens to be delivered via email...

I learned long ago to either ignore their "choices" or pass my critiques off as "Just a suggestion". Unless, of course, it's my job to make it better, in which case I just re-write it.

If you corrected me when I was talking I'd be a little offended cause it's like why would you do that? I mean it seems real pointless. I may have spinach in my teeth but noone else saw it until you said it was there to everyone.... thanks. But if it was in my writing I wouldn't really care since people make mistakes all the time when they write and it's really common but theres no periods you can see when you talk so it's a little harder. Again, noone but you noticed I made a mistake in speaking until you pointed it out for the world. Also is you interrupt to tell them their mistake thats rude. Let them finish their sentence.... I wonder how well my grammer is in this answer... hmm.

I suppose it all depends on the time and place you decide to correct a person(s) grammar. For instance: if someone just wrote an essay and wanted you to proof read it. Then by all means you have every right to correct their spelling/grammar.

On the other hand, if you correct someone’s spelling/grammar in a chartroom/forum, then yeah, that can be taken as a low blow insult to someone’s intelligence.

oh, btw. I hate pompous people who feel like they need to correct this world of bad grammar, get off it. seriously.

Why? because it is generally perceived as an insult to the person's intelligence. Who are you to say that the traditional way of speaking the language is better? If people start changing spellings around that is how new languages form. A lot of "proper" English is stupid anyways, I mean colonel is pronounced kernal? Whats the logic behind that? In my opinion I think proper English is stupid because it is an extremely weak way of saying things. How many poems break the rules of grammar? All of them. A lot of great speeches break grammar rules. Standard English says to speak in the passive voice. Why must we be passive?

Actually, my English teacher always wants me to write in active voice. So I purposefully write in passive. It's interesting when used for effect.

I am constantly correcting spelling and grammar mistakes that others make.

I definitely agree with everyone else's thoughts on this one.

Y R U such a dick? Grammer b hard, sew b kool, bro.

^That's why.^ People don't know how to talk or write anymore, what with the proliferation of text messaging & all. Timber is correct, however; one rarely should start a sentence with but.

if you correct while speaking with them face to face, it is a bit rude. it pretty much says that you weren't really paying attention to what they were saying, just the technicalities of it. it's pointless to correct someone over the internet. but i do agree that it is important to speak/write correctly (when the situation calls for it.)

it gets your ideas across clearly.

In your question, there should be a comma instead of a period after the word teeth, and the b in but should be lower case. Now, wasn't that fun?

some think that its rude, but i think its a pride issue