Is grammar important?

[MSIC]

Your poll only refers to the Brittish system. It is English in general, being an Americain is no excuse for poor grammer (or poor foreign policy but that's a different issue).

I don't really include American English in this. Or in anything really.
Too stoopid to count.

(I write this with a wry smile on my face, sarcasm in my fingertips and a large number of American friends and relatives )

[GeorgeTuk]

I don't mind the mistakes but anyone asking in 133t speak I ignore. And obvious rudeness is ignored too.

I hate:

Do u have teh up load codz?!

Dus sum1 hav teh way 2 beat boss on lvl se7en! help me plz!!! am noob

[Taz]

It is language that separates human beings from other animals on this planet. If the 'evolution' or 'development' of language is going backwards by making it incomprehensible, ambiguous and tiresome, then how is that progress?

[Bluecube]

No comma after '"Can you clarify this?"' necessary.

One problem with grammar is that it can also be subjective and is constantly changing. I was taught that a comma before etc is necessary because it is part of a list (as someone kindly pointed out earlier) but some people argue it isn't necessary.

An example of language evolving is the use of a comma before "and" when completing lists. For example - This, that, and the next thing. When I was at school this was a no no and was considered an Americanism however I've been reading the Lord of the Rings and Tolkien always adds a comma as above. Who am I to argue with a Professor of Literature?

So long as everyone does their best then I can let most things go. L33t speakers and text speakers should be annihiliated though!

[IBM]

What came first, the language or the rules of grammar? It's all relative anyway...

[JK Ferret]

if you can understand it well, (without having to try to), then thats alright. but the languages of 'txt' and 'l33t' are just, well, 'not right' (to put it nicely).

caps dont matter though, and in most cases, apostrophes dont either
( at mine...)

[mike_w]

An example of language evolving is the use of a comma before "and" when completing lists. For example - This, that, and the next thing. When I was at school this was a no no and was considered an Americanism however I've been reading the Lord of the Rings and Tolkien always adds a comma as above. Who am I to argue with a Professor of Literature?

By default, I have lists like so: cats, dogs and mice. However, I might add a comma there for clarity, for example: I own three pairs of shoes. Their names are Adam and Barney, Carol and Derek, and Ernie and Felicity.

There are plenty of other grammar points that I use that nobody else seems to. For example, writing five instead of 5 in ordinary text, or writing Mr. Bloggs instead of Mr Bloggs (it's an abbreviation!).

Still, so long as it is all easy to read, then I don't mind what other people do that much. So long as somebody's actually made the effort to make their writing grammatically correct, it'll do!

As an aside, in certain cases, it's actually legal to put five ands in a row. Here's the first one I pulled off Google (I couldn't be bothered to type it all):

The landlord of a pub called The Pig And Whistle asked a signwriter to make a new sign. When he saw it he thought that the words were too close together so he said to the signwriter, "I want more space between Pig and And, and And and Whistle".

[unreal]

I'm waiting for the few lurkers around here who notoriously make it a riddle each and every day to decode what they are actually saying...

And yes, it is important, I guess the person appears more respectable *shrugs*

[Bluecube]

There are plenty of other grammar points that I use that nobody else seems to. For example, writing five instead of 5 in ordinary text, or writing Mr. Bloggs instead of Mr Bloggs (it's an abbreviation!).

You mean people do that?!? Writing 5 instead of five is just plain wrong and I really do mean WRONG! And I totally agree with Mr. instead of Mr. (that's a full stop there folks!)

[iranu]

There is no point in writing if you cannot get your meaning across to the reader, therefore, grammar, syntax and spelling are of the utmost importance. If you can't be bothered to write clearly don't write at all.