On a college campus, it can be difficult to distinguish the English majors from the Psychology majors, the Math majors from the Science majors, and the Art majors from the Music majors. Here are some ways to spot an English major or to know that you are not alone in acting like one!

1. You rarely complained about reading assignments in high school.

When your high school English teachers assigned an entire book in one night, you thought to yourself, “No problem!” You love reading, and you don’t mind if there isn’t a lot of time to read the assignment. You are likely a fast reader and wouldn’t need longer than a few days to read a 500-page book. You were probably going to read the whole book in one night anyway.

2. You own at least one red pen.

You only use this red pen for “special” circumstances. You know that red pens are not for taking notes, signing your name, or filling out forms. Red pens are for editing and making comments on other people’s work. That’s it.

3. You carry more than one pen (red or not) everywhere you go.

You never know when you will need to write something. It could be signing up for an event or group, organizing your to-do list or writing down a friend’s email because you forgot your phone in your room. Whatever the case, you’re prepared with your pen whenever and wherever you might be.

4. You can spot a grammatical error in a heartbeat.

Reading other people’s work can be torture, especially if they have poor grammar. Overusing commas, incorrect punctuation, awkward sentence structure, dangling participles and misplaced prepositions—you name it, you can spot it. There’s nothing that you can spot more easily than a misplaced comma. It just isn’t right.

5. You cringe when people mix up "your" and "you're."

Wanting to correct people when they use the wrong one is a normal part of your life. It seems like very few people can get it right. And you loved when Ross pointed out the flaws in Rachel’s letter by saying, “Y-o-u apostrophe r-e means you are. Y-o-u-r means your.” Thank you, Ross!

6. And the same for "there," "their" and "they're."

This is another mistake that bothers you to no end. People use all three of these incorrectly, but you know that if they would just stop and take the time to think about which one to use, they would get it right. Then you wouldn’t have to try to hold back your frustrations. Don’t worry, I’ve been there.

7. And I won't even get you started on "too," "to" and "two."

This one you don’t understand. The difference seems simple enough. Yet when the people in your life misuse one of these, you simply grin and nod because you’ve decided it’s not worth destroying the relationship. You’ll scream into your pillow about it later.

8. When a professor in a non-English class asks you to write a paper, you thank your lucky stars.

You have to write a paper for your Science class? Awesome! At least you know there’s one part of that class that won’t make you cry. You know that you can boost your grade, and likely your morale, with this paper, and you’ll probably have some fun while writing it.

9. You have an immediate response to the question “What’s your favorite book?”

"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee. I read it for the first time for my ninth grade English class, and I’ve read it twice more since then. I love it, I own it and I highly recommend it. If you’re an English major, I’m sure you have a very similar response for your favorite book, and if you’re like me, you enjoyed the book much more than the movie.

10. You read or write for fun.

Whether it’s reading in your spare time, keeping a journal or just putting your thoughts on paper, you do it for fun. No one has assigned you a book or a paper; you just do it because you like it. And you’ve probably been criticized quite a few times for your love of reading and writing. But don’t worry—they’re just jealous.

11. You know exactly when to use a comma.

Comma placement is a way of life. You know exactly where they go and where they don’t. You probably find yourself adding commas into others’ works or removing them if necessary. When someone asks if there should be a comma, you’re the first to respond without a second thought because you know you’re right. You’re probably also an advocate of the Oxford comma.

12. You personally own a dictionary. Or maybe two.

You either have a dictionary on hand in your room or you have Merriam-Webster bookmarked on your computer. You love learning new words and breaking down the definitions of words you already know. You also love adding new words to your vocabulary, and you probably have a word-of-the-day app on your phone.

13. You took at least one English elective in high school.

While all of your friends were off taking sculpture and stagecraft classes, you were taking creative writing, journalism or linguistics. You probably met all of your requirements early so you could spend your last couple years of high school taking English electives instead of meeting business or science requirements. That English elective was probably one of your favorite classes, and you definitely remember when you took it and who your teacher was.

14. Your friends turn to you to edit and critique their papers before they hand them in.

“Emilie, can you look this over for me before I submit it?” is something I’ve heard at least a thousand times in my life. In high school, I was pretty much the go-to editor of my friends’ papers. Your friends know that you’ll point out all of their punctuation, grammar and organization mistakes because you want to help them, and you’re happy to help because you enjoy it. You also know that they’ll return the favor by helping you with your math homework later.

15. Part of you loves Shakespeare, even if it's a very small part.

Admit it: you love Shakespeare. How could you not? He is one of the most influential figures of the English language. You enjoy reading his plays and poems, even if it’s just to find the most beautiful line or to count out the iambic pentameter, and you’ve probably seen at least one of his plays on stage. You know how to compare someone to a summer’s day, and you have probably pondered whether “to be or not to be” at some point in your life.

Being an English major is fun, and you get to read, write and learn about things you love!