How Good Grammar Is Good For Your Relationship
Finding the love of your life in cyberspace is hard. These 6 grammatical missteps could make it even harder. Find out how being Ms. “Write” just might help you locate Mr. Right. From Love at First Click: The Ultimate Guide to Online Dating.
• Ellipses craze. One or two ellipses are fine, but going crazy with them changes the tone of your profile. Using too many in midsentence draws your profile out, making it much longer for no reason, while ending with them sounds ominous . . .
• DIGITAL SCREAM. Writing in all caps is a major turn-off. Whether it’s to prove a point in a particular phrase or the entire style of your profile, it will appear as if you’re not technologically advanced and don’t know any eCommunication etiquette. And if you’re not privy to proper online communication, it might be challenging for a match to believe that you understand dating communication, not to mention that you can come off, well, angry.
• Running on and on and on and on. Separating your words into paragraphs isn’t just grammatically correct; it also allows users to skim your profile more easily. Most matches won’t read every word of your profile, so creating text that the eye can easily navigate will help you get the most click-throughs to your inbox.
• Exclaim-aholic. Exclamation points can help move the energy forward and inject passion, but limit your profile to one per section. Too much enthusiasm can read as disingenuous. Men should be even more sparing with their use, since this punctuation form can make you come off as too feminine and excitable.
• Perma-smile. Too many emoticons in your profile can seem juvenile and forced. Ladies, one wink or smile should be the max. Men, eliminate them completely—winky faces just aren’t masculine.
• Lower-case addiction. Typing in all lower-case is not only a grammar-police offense, but it also makes it very challenging to read through and skim your profile. Although you may be aiming for a casual tone, it will likely leave your match questioning your education level—or just exasperated.
