Its National Grammar Day! And yeah, that first word’s a joke

Happy National Grammar Day. As “Grammar Girl” Mignon Fogarty puts it:

Language is something to celebrate, and March 4 is the perfect day to do it. It’s not only a date, it’s an imperative: March forth on March 4 to speak well, write well, and help others do the same!

National Grammar Day was founded in 2008, the Chicago Tribune’s Heidi Stevens wrote last year, by writer Martha Brockenbrough, who also founded the Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar. Which looks like it’s more of a blog than a society, but hey, why quibble over a word?

Because it’s National Grammar Day! As Fogarty details, there are contests, free teaching materials, a theme song, T-shirts, all sorts of things. And should I use “details” as a verb like that? Or start a sentence with a conjunction?

Yes.

He wrote in a one-word paragraph.

The nice thing about the National Grammar Day folks is that they don’t seem to be grammar scolds. The world doesn’t need one more frustrated—or actual—English teacher warning everyone not to split infinitives, end sentences with prepositions or say “hopefully” when they mean “I hope.”

“It should be a light-hearted day of exploring and learning,” Fogarty told the Tribune last year.

Make it so. Enter a contest. Bake a comma-shaped cake. Follow the #GrammarDay hashtag. Go crazy. And while you’re at it, remember what the whole thing’s trying to remind you: Grammar is important. It’s one of the basic tools for a writer. Be mindful of it. Get better at it. If you were a carpenter* you’d want the best hammer, the finest saw. As a writer, you can make your own tools better.

* And I were a lady?

There are a lot of free resources online to help you with your grasp of English grammar. Here’s a good place to start.

March forth!