Alot

For those of you who may suffer from grammatical superiority that find yourselves cringing occasionally at Ben's emails, I offer my condolences.
I understand.


Allow me to offer a few coping mechanisms:

1. Ben is in a foreign country, where he speaks a foreign language on a daily basis. The sentence structures and vocabulary are different. It must be difficult for him to switch his method of thinking when he is so submerged in the Spanish language. So, be nice!

2. For times when #1 is insufficient to calm your troubled grammar and spelling nerves, I offer the humor of Alli of Hyperbole and a Half.

But there is one grammatical mistake that I particularly enjoy encountering. It has become almost fun for me to come across people who take the phrase "a lot" and condense it down into one word, because when someone says "alot," this is what I imagine:

The Alot is an imaginary creature that I made up to help me deal with my compulsive need to correct other people's grammar. It kind of looks like a cross between a bear, a yak and a pug, and it has provided hours of entertainment for me in a situation where I'd normally be left feeling angry and disillusioned with the world.

For example, when I read the sentence "I care about this alot," this is what I imagine:

She goes on to offer other applications for the Alot...

The Alot helps me get through Ben's emails with a smile on my face.
I hope it helps you too.


--Sarah