BBC随身英语:Love and grammar 爱情和语法

If not, you'd better think again. The research arm of dating site OKCupid has suggested that bad grammar can ruin your love life. It looked at 500,000 first contacts on the site and concluded that "netspeak, bad grammar and bad spelling are huge turn-offs".

On the other hand, the correct use of apostrophes seems to be quite an aphrodisiac. Using "don't" and "won't" caused better than average response rates, says the research.

American writer Twist Phelan, who went on 100 online dates in 100 days and later married someone she met online, believes that grammar is an important "filter system" for prospective partners. She says: "If you're trying to date a woman, I don't expect flowery Jane Austen prose. But aren't you trying to put your best foot forward?"

Perhaps you think you are ready to start looking for an English-speaking girlfriend or boyfriend. Am I right? You go online; look at the picture and start calling him or her "beautiful", "gorgeous" and "sexy" before you meet. Will it work? The research says it won't! The wrong adjective can put a full stop on a potential relationship. People enjoy receiving compliments but not when they sound like a pick-up line.

General compliments such as "cool", "it's nice that…" and "awesome" got good responses from the dating site users.

So now you are ready. Keep your wits about you because many things online are not what they seem; and watch your vocabulary and punctuation.

Some say that a comma might even save lives - as in the example: "Let's eat, my darling!" as opposed to "Let's eat my darling!"

Can you see which one would grant you a meal with your date and which one would land you in jail?

Quiz 测验 1. How did the researchers get their information?

They looked at 500,000 first contacts on the OKCupid online dating website.

2. According to the research, what do people respond well to?

Use of apostrophes and general compliments.

3. Is the following statement true or false? People don't respond well to being called "gorgeous" by someone they haven't met because they're shy.

False. It's because it might sound like a pick-up line.

4. Which expression means 'be careful'?

Keep your wits about you.

5. Which punctuation marks are mentioned in the article?

Commas, apostrophes and full stops.

Glossary 词汇表 to be on your best behaviour拿出你的最佳表现 a verb动词 a comma (,)逗号 netspeak网络语言 spelling拼写 a turn-off令人扫兴的事物，让人丧失性欲的事物 an apostrophe (')撇号，省略号 an aphrodisiac激发性欲的东西 online date网约 filter过滤 prospective可能成为的，有希望的 flowery绚丽的 prose散文 to put your best foot forward展现你最好的一面 an adjective形容词 a full stop (.)句号 a compliment称赞 a pick-up line搭讪语 to keep your wits about you保持你的警觉 punctuation标点符号