They're off their game … unless maybe they've already thrown in the towel — because sometimes it feels like nobody's out there doing the dirty work, pulling in the perps. I'm talking about the Grammar Police.
Celebrities, politicians, pundits, authors, even the vaulted New York Times — all of them — are getting away with grammatical homicide.
This one came in today. It's subtle all right, but indicative of a downward slide into lawlessness. I count 2 "lock-em-ups" right off the bat. So let's read it and unpack it.
There's people that have been trying to line up for the opportunity.
1. THERE'S people
Oops: "people" is plural, so we say, "There are people" or "There're people." We don't say, "There is people" or "There's people."
- There're books in the library. — There's a book on the table.
- There're mice in the field. — There's a mouse in the house.
- There're lots of people. — There's a lot of people.
2. There's people THAT
Oops again: "people" are, well … people, and we use who when referring to homo sapiens. "That" or "which" refers to things.
- The person who gave me the book is my aunt.
- The aunt who gave me the book is my favorite.
- The people who read the book loved it.
- The ones who loved the book are my friends.
Both of these are common crimes. Pay attention and you'll start noticing how often you hear "there's" instead of "there're" … and "that" instead of "who."
Okay, then. Let's have another go at the sentence:
There're people who have been trying to line up for the opportunity.
Even better is this (try to avoid starting a sentence with "there"):
People have been trying to line up for the opportunity.
Let's face it, though: does any of it really matter? For me, it's like fingernails on a chalkboard, but in the larger scope of things … I'm not sure it does matter.
*Oops! Here's another one just in: "There’s help-wanted ads everywhere." —1/11/2018