Grammar Girl 2

I’m a grammar girl. I blame this on two things, the first of which is that I had a hundred times more books than friends when I was younger. The second is that throughout high school and college, I took extensive French courses—some of them in France and completely in French—in which I had to know the parts of speech and the proper ways to use them or I’d get bad grades or humiliating French stares.

Because I’m (pretty much) obsessed with grammar, I have grammar pet peeves. Last time, I wrote about the misuse of I and me here. This time, I want to talk about the phrase Where are you at? because, let’s be honest, so many people say it and it’s just SO WRONG.

For all I know, Where are you at? is a regional thing. If you’re reading this post and not from the Midwest like me, you’ll have to let me know if you say this or know people who do. I know people on TV say it, along with my friends, family, coworkers, and random people I pass at the bookstore (among other places). And yes, I’ve caught myself saying it more than once because it’s so common and where’re you at? just flows so nicely.

But it’s still wrong. It’s redundant.

By asking where, there’s no need for that at because you’re just repeating yourself. Both words are asking for a location, so you only need one. Of course, Are you at? isn’t really a sentence, so you’d have to stick with Where are you? and hope that Where are you at? isn’t so ingrained in people’s vocabulary that they still understand you.

So, try it out. Say Where are you? Repeat it three times (or more). If you catch yourself saying the redundant version (like I sometimes do), you can correct yourself (like I do). Not that I expect everyone to be obsessed with grammar like I am. Some people might not care that they’re wasting that extra syllable in redundancy. If that’s you, no worries. Just know that I might cringe when I hear you say it.

But if you’re thinking that I might be crazy, that there’s really nothing wrong with Where are you at?, try other variations of it. Say, Where am I at? Does that feel and sound wrong? It should, because no one says this, or at least I don’t think I’ve heard it before, and it’s just as redundant.

When I’m writing, I’m very careful to use this right…and not just because I don’t like the incorrect version. Yes, many people use it wrong, but I don’t think that makes it okay. My hope is that if I use it correctly, people who read what I’ve written will also use it correctly. Even if I get one person to stop saying Where are you at?, that’d be worth it. Of course, for that to happen, I’ll have to get my stuff out there where more than just my critique partners can read it. I’m working on that.

In the meantime, if you’re wondering where I am, check here:

Okay, maybe I’m not exactly there—downtown Cincinnati at sunset—but I love the picture and wanted an excuse to share it. Thanks for letting me (: