Word nerd. Grammar goddess. Wordsmith. Call me what you will — you can also call me Sofia T. Romero. I’m an editor and writer with more than twenty years of professional experience, which you can read all about in this interview on Copyediting.com. This is my blog for exploring issues of grammar and language.
Here’s the deal: you can try to take the red pen away from the girl, but you might end up with ink on your face.
You can also follow MRP on Twitter.
Submissions welcome. Contact me at mightyredpen AT gmail DOT com. Please include your preferred webonym and the URL of your blog if you’d like me to link to it.
Mighty Red Pen 
This is a website for an online class in English grammar. Note the misspelling of the word “enroll.”
http://www.teachertom.com/english_grammar.php
Comment by Monique — December 24, 2007 @ 7:24 pm |
So, what is the difference between a typo and a grammar goof?
Comment by Laura — January 26, 2008 @ 9:34 pm |
I think a typo is a misspelled word while incorrect word usage is a grammar goof.
(ie. “it was the efect” is an example of a typo; “it was the affect” is an example of incorrect word usage
Comment by Gina — March 17, 2008 @ 4:18 pm |
Hi, I’m doing a little story on the Kenton Sutfflebeam.
Can you tell me your name and how you heard about him?
Thanks,
Bobbe
Freelance Writer
Kalamazoo Gazette
Comment by Bobbe Taber — June 19, 2008 @ 8:56 pm |
Hi Bobbe, I learned about Kenton Stufflebeam online. — Mighty Red Pen
Comment by mighty red pen — June 20, 2008 @ 9:40 am |
I’m already over an hour late for a trip from Montana to Colorado because I found your site and couldn’t stop reading. How fun! I’ll be back often.
Mondegreen. What a treat. I’ll treasure it. In my youth I heard The Four Seasons’ “Big Girls Don’t Cry.” Franky Valli, in his falsetto voice, sings “My girl said goodbye (eye-eye). My, oh my.” I always thought he sang “My girl is six-foot ni (eye) nine.” A big girl, indeed.
I am normally obsessive about double checking my spelling, punctuation and grammar. But here I am, about to hit “submit” (to a grammarian of all people) with nary a check. But I gotta hit the road.
Thanks, Steve
Comment by Steve Warren — July 11, 2008 @ 6:52 am |
In reference to #3 – shouldn’t it be “mis-spelt”? 😉
(Of course, that may just be a UK-centric thing)
Comment by pressreleasepr — September 21, 2008 @ 3:14 pm |
Hey MRP, here’s a good one for you:
http://barbarawallraff.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/11/no_its_not_a_visitors_center.php
Best, nv
Comment by ducksanddrakes — November 29, 2008 @ 10:38 am |
You may want to check out Jose Carillo’s English Forum, which is now on its third week. Take a look at the Forum’s package of features for this its third week:
THIS WEEK IN THE FORUM (May 17-23, 2009):
•Advice and Dissent: New Grammar Book Demolishes the Many Myths and Misconceptions About English (Does this bode well or ill for English as a global language?)
•Essays by Jose Carillo: Clichés and Bad Body English (How TV is such a cruel medium for student debaters)
•Notable Works by Our Very Own: “Literature as History” by F. Sionil Jose, Philippine National Artist for Literature (The saga of coming up with Rosales, his five-novel historical saga)
•Going Deeper into English: A Thousand and One Great Poems in English (All for free with just a touch of the fingertip)
•Plugging the Gaps in Our English: Lesson # 3 – The Matter of Case in English (Just in case you’ve forgotten it now)
•News From All Over: “Noob” Might Be the One-Millionth English Word (We bet some of you don’t even know what it means)
See you today at the Forum!
With my best wishes,
Joe Carillo
Comment by Jose Carillo's English Language Forum — May 17, 2009 @ 8:20 pm |
here is a quote from facebook (someone said so there):
[Since we are on the subject, “we’ve got” (e.g. we have got) is a no-no. Proper is “we have.”]
is that right? i thought “we’ve” is as valid as “we have.”
– s.b.
Comment by some body — July 10, 2009 @ 8:15 pm |
If you’re a wordsmith, grammarian or whatever you wish to call yourself, how can you say Mighty Red Pen is a blog FOR exploring issues of grammar and language? A blog is a type of web site; web sites are ABOUT things, not FOR things.
Comment by Marcia MacLeod — September 23, 2009 @ 6:33 am |
@Marcia — Interesting idea. Can you say more about what rule you feel applies here? Although you might be right in this case, I’m not sure why a website couldn’t be FOR something.
Comment by mighty red pen — September 23, 2009 @ 8:09 am |
I just found your blog today and I love it. In fact I provided a link to MRP on my own blog, Ad Majorem. See today’s post: http://admajoremblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/basis-of-all-great-advertising.html.
I will also follow you on Twitter.
Steve Schildwachter
Comment by Steve Schildwachter — November 3, 2009 @ 11:15 am |
I see you are on Twitter, but I am not. 😦 Are you on Facebook as well? If not, I think it would be awesome for you to join. I’d follow you!
Cheers,
Amanda
Comment by Amanda Kauffeld — December 9, 2009 @ 4:37 pm |
I love your site, though I am not too sure about the appelation “grammartarian” – is it a real word, I’ve never heard of it, in 52 years of using English, though you seem to be American. Maybe “Grammarian” is better, though it may make you seem a tad agricultural. If you want a nice portmanteau word for yourself, why not “grammartinet”?
Happy new year.
Neil Barnett
Comment by Neil Barnett — January 2, 2010 @ 3:43 pm |
I have enjoyed getting acquainted with your blog. I like your approach and your insights.
I would be honored if you would drop by my blog, http://www.backwordsblog.com, and take a look around. I take a little different slant on the word definitions / origins approach. I am intrigued with the relationship words have through their Indo-European roots. A recent post on edifice / edify (www.backwordsblog.com/2010/02/matters-of-heart-and-home.html) is a great example of the nature of my blog.
If you think your readers might enjoy my work, I’d be very pleased if you would add my blog to your blog roll.
Comment by Clark Smith — February 18, 2010 @ 9:41 pm |
Your blog is great fun and informative as well. Many grammar blogs are pretty hard going, but yours invites a good long look, and a big, wide smile.
I’d like to link it to my blog and my readers. Mine provides exercises and explanations explaining how language is constructed, how meaning is made, and what the role of language is in our lives. It is mainly aimed at teachers, but 750 readers from 77 different countries have visited it since it was established the last month and I don’t believe they are all teachers. The url is http://www.linguisticsintheclassroom.com.
Would you like to share links?
Thanks.
Ann
Comment by Ann Evans — June 17, 2011 @ 2:53 pm |
Hi. I love how different your blog posts are to many that I read. For this reason, I have chosen you for the Versatile Blogger Award. I was chosen (http://techeditors.wordpress.com/2012/01/14/someones-actually-reading-my-blog/), and I have in turn chosen you as one of my most inspiring and useful blogs that I read on a regular basis. Congratulations and keep on blogging! See my post for the rules and links about this award.
Comment by Michelle Corbin (@michellecorbin) — January 14, 2012 @ 12:03 pm |
Here’s a sentence taken from a recruiter’s blog:
“Recently I discussed the riggers of weekly travel with some seasoned road warriors.”
Whew.
http://engagemehit.blogspot.com/2012/02/traveling-weekly-for-work-what-is-it.html
Comment by Diane — February 18, 2012 @ 7:07 am |
Fun place! Your theme song should be along the lines of Toby Keith’s “Red solo cup”
“Mighty Red solo pen”
Comment by Steve Johnson — November 11, 2012 @ 8:47 am |
I find your grammar blog to be so impressive! The title, Mighty Red Pen, is ingenious and attention-grabbing!
Comment by The Wordsmith — November 13, 2012 @ 1:09 pm |