FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCE AND HUMANITIES

BACHELOR OF ARTS (HONOURS) ENGLISH WITH EDUCATION

ACADEMIC YEAR 2020/2021

BJES1033
STRUCTURE AND GRAMMAR OF ENGLISH I

ASSIGNMENT 2

WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT

Name: Satvin Raj A/L Sumendran

Registration Number: 20WJR00853

Prepared for: Miss Radziah binti Nasir

Date of Submission: 9/09/2020

I confirm that this assignment is my own work, is not copied from any other
person's work (published or unpublished), and has not previously
submitted for assessment either at Tunku Abdul Rahman University
College or elsewhere. I confirm that I have read and understood the TAR
UC Student Code of Conduct Handbook.
TITLE: INCORRECT USES OF ENGLISH GRAMMAR IN COMMERCIAL RETAIL
ADVERTISEMENTS

INTRODUCTION:

The English language enjoys a rich history in terms of rapid expansions of grammar
and vocabulary. Global pollination of cultures has promoted English as a standard medium of
formal communication in almost all sectors of education, economy, politics, entertainment, and
even advertisements as well. However, it cannot be denied that the English language is no
exception from poor use of grammar and sentence structure, particularly in commercial retail
advertisements worldwide. According to Oxford’s Dictionary of English (2018), grammar is
defined as, a fixed uniform system of word syntax and morphology for both countable and
uncountable nouns. This research aims to unfold the grammar errors found in retail
advertisements, to rectify those errors and why do company directors intentionally use such
poor grammar in commercial advertising.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:

The observation was the chief method when it comes to dissecting the output of this
study. This study witnesses extraction from respectable data sources such as 1 slogan from
Dunkin Doughnuts, 1 slogan from Pepsi, 1 slogan from McDonald’s, 1 promotion poster from
Carpet One floor and home furniture house, and 1 poster from Snickers. These advertisement
slogans and posters were extracted from the respectable posters that those companies have
produced. A total number of 5 grammar errors were detected in those 5 posters, thus it was
seen fit by the researcher to dissect and rectify those errors. From a deeper perspective,
Observation was the best method to produce the output of this study as it gives the researcher
an insight into the advertisement’s symbol, image, and the true motive behind the poor use of
grammar by advertising directors in both fields of advertising and linguistics. Apart from that,
referencing to Oxford’s Dictionary of English (2018) was done to further clarify and rectify
both word definition and use.

STUDY RESULTS:

The research methodologies have successfully generated both maximum clarification and
grammar rectification.
 Data finding 1

The first image depicts the advertising

campaign of Apple brand products.
According to Johnson (2020), Apple
incorporated is a software developed
by Steve Wozniak Jobs on 2008 which
provides information at immense
speeds for its users, thus bringing a
new revolution to the realm of technology as we know it. However this world renowned brand
is also no exception from poor grammar use. The error here lies in “Think different”. According
to Oxford’s Dictionary of English (2018) different is an adjective defining the characteristics
of something. It is essential that this adjective practices appropriate adverb suffixes in order to
rectify the grammar error, hence the correction should be “Think differently” as thinking is an
abstract action and any action requires an adverb to exemplify the words and sentences in it.

Data finding 2

The second poster illustrates, the

billboard poster of Dunkin Doughnuts.
According to Bhasin (2020), Dunkin
Doughnuts is a food chain which
produces a vast variety of baked pastries
such as doughnuts, muffins, munchkins,
bagels, cookies, hot coffee, and so forth.
The errors of this advertisement are found from the title itself “Dunkin Donuts” and the phrase,
“Before coffee, your brain doesn’t well so work”. Furthermore, it unnecessarily capitalizes
every word in the sentence. According to Oxford’s Dictionary of English (2018), the correct
use of words is, “Dunkin Doughnuts”, and the use of the proper phrase, “Before coffee, your
brain doesn’t work so well”. The true motive behind this intentional grammar error is, to further
enunciate the significance of doughnuts and coffee or breakfast in normal terms before one
starts of his day. In this way, consumers would be bound to gorge themselves into purchasing
these kinds of tasty pastries offered by Dunkin Doughnuts.
 Data finding 3

The third promotional poster illustrates, an advertisement

of the new model of Honda Civic, “Civic Coupe”. Honda
Motors and Company is a vehicle manufacturing business
industry whose headquarters is located at Minato Tokyo,
Japan. It cannot be denied that, this world renowned
vehicle industry showcases grammar malpractices .The
fault in here lies in “To each their own”. According to
Oxford’s Dictionary of English (2018), “each” is singular
“their” is plural. The correct use of grammar in this
scenario would be, “To each his own” as “his” indicates
personal possessiveness. Beyond that it essential to
understand that 80% advertisement directors are guilty of bad grammars due to the practice of
creative ideas in the arts of media. This is intentionally done as to gain a maximum amount of
public attention and reception reviews. Besides that, majority of the general public disregard
proper use of English in their busy-commercial lives due to prior needs of commercial
amnesties and satisfaction fulfilment which comes first before the needs of grammar accuracy.

Data Finding 4

The fourth advertisement depicts the famous Pepsi in a

subway billboard. Pepsi Incorporated. is a drink chain that
owns other famous drink companies such as, Mountain
Dew, Fanta, 7-up, and Diet Pepsi. According to, “36 best
Pepsi Advertisement Images in 2020|Pepsi, Pepsi Cola,
Pepsi ad, 2020” , the grammar error here lies in, the phrase,
“Packed with taste less sugar”. It showcases poor
punctuation and spacing as it does not end with a full stop
nor pause with a comma. Besides that, it creates an
unnecessary ambiguity which confuses the reader due to
poor spacing. In this manner, the message could be interpreted as, “Packed with tasteless
sugar”. According to Oxford’s Dictionary of English (2018), the correct use of punctuation is,
“Packed with taste, less sugar.” The motive behind this advertisement is, to introduce other
products such as sweetener pills to be used in beverages such as tea and coffee for diabetic
patients as a substitute for traditional cubes of sugar in this field of marketing and consumerism.

Data finding 5

The final advertisement depicts a poster of

the popular chain of a fast-food restaurant,
McDonald’s with its tagline, “I’m lovin’ it”,
extracted from, 85 best McDonald’s images
2020|Creative advertising, McDonald’s
print ads, 2020. Consumers are well aware of this tagline especially with its tone, “Ba-da-ba-
ba-ba” which was officially made to public use since 2003. There are grammar errors are found
in the tagline, “I’m lovin’ it”. According to Oxford’s Dictionary of English (2018), love is an
abstract noun thus it cannot be counted nor seen, it can only be felt. Besides that this tagline
practices poor punctuation when it comes to using its apostrophes after the word “lovin”. This
is a close reference to the incorrect slang word of “aint’” used by the countryfolks of North
Carolina. The correct grammar and punctuation would be, “I am loving it” or “I am in love
with it” as love itself is an abstract noun. McDonald’s uses this tagline to create a thought of
enjoyment for consumers to eat their fast-foods inadvertently causing addiction to junk foods.
CONCLUSION:

Based on this study, it can be concluded that taglines, slogans, promotional posters
made by Global brands such as McDonald’s, Apple Incorporated, Dunkin Doughnuts, Honda
Motors, and Pepsi contains a certain amount of grammar error which is intentionally made to
grab consumer’s attention so to generate a colossal amount of revenue. This present study does
not encourage intentional use of grammar errors such as spacing errors, punctuation errors, and
tense inaccuracy as it would create confusion in formal academic articles and journals.
However, artistic linguistic aspects such as portmanteau and pseudonyms writings are highly
encouraged when it comes to creative media arts. To recapitulate, this study witnesses 5
samples of grammar faults in advertisements found from 5 different types of advertisements.
REFERENCES:

Oxford University Press. (2018). The Oxford Dictionary of English (pp. 223-229).

85 Best McDonald's images in 2020 | Creative advertising, Mcdonalds, Print ads. Pinterest.
(2020). Retrieved 5 September 2020, https://www.pinterest.com/chameleon876/mcdonalds/.

Bhasin, H. (2020). Marketing Strategy of Dunkin donuts - Dunkin donuts Marketing Strategy.
Marketing91. Retrieved 5 September 2020, from https://www.marketing91.com/marketing-
strategy-of-dunkin-donuts/.

36 Best Pepsi advertisement images in 2020 | Pepsi, Pepsi cola, Pepsi ad. Pinterest. (2020).
Retrieved 5 September 2020, from https://www.pinterest.com/bonniewright2207/pepsi-
advertisement/.

Johnson, C. (2020). The Real Story Behind Apple's 'Think Different' Campaign. Forbes.
Retrieved 8 September 2020, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/onmarketing/2011/12/14/the-
real-story-behind-apples-think-different-campaign/.

Amiavelli, L. (2020). Honda Automobiles. Retrieved 8 September 2020, from

https://automobiles.honda.com/civic-coupe.