I hope you’re doing good.
That was the first line of a marketing email I received the other day. I never read past the first line of a marketing email anyway, but either the writer was a marketing genius and knew the grammar-sensitive would notice it, or the writer believed it was a proper sentence. My guess is the second option.
People have told me that noticing these errors makes me a snob. I see their point. Meaning is the most important element of communication. When I read, “I hope you’re doing good,” I understand that the writer is expressing a desire that I am well and continue to be well. The difference between adjectives and adverbs is no longer important to the majority of English speakers.
Twenty years ago, I lost another grammar battle: Where are you at? Proponents of the improper phrase told me the language had changed to allow for this new, incorrect phrase and that the meaning was slightly different.
Where are you? This is a general question. You could answer with something like “Earth.”
Where are you at? This is a specific question. You could answer with “Fifth precinct interrogation room.”
I don’t buy it even now. The unlawful and unnecessary preposition is now acceptable, for whatever reason, but the difference in meaning is negligible.
I feel like English has lost something with the surrender of grammar to common speech and writing. The rules were in place to ensure the greatest precision possible in language. Perhaps this lapse of correct usage is a symptom of a larger problem–understanding our fellow humans is no longer necessary beyond the superficial. How many generations before we return to pointing and grunting?
I admit I’m a hypocrite when it comes to certain aspects of correct English. While I understand the difference between who and whom in theory, I need to pause to consider which one to use. Even grammarians have given up on whom. Several websites that explain the puzzling words end with the sad fact that whom is rarely used anymore. It is becoming as useless as thou, or the subjunctive.
Choosing fewer battles seems wise. Within a generation, well and good will be interchangeable, with good being the preferred word. I’ll be the old woman at the nursing home rolling my eyes and muttering something about good being an adjective.
For now, I’m going to lie down and forget about it. Not lay down. Lie down.
