Five grammar mistakes to avoid
Sometimes, picking up on bad grammar and spelling is just pedantic. At its worst, it’s about people with too much time on their hands trying to assert their superiority.
So does it matter if your use of language isn’t up to scratch?
Well, the harsh reality is that if you’re writing for business - yes, it matters.
Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash
It matters for three reasons.
Firstly, grammar can change meaning. We’ve all heard about the panda who eats, shoots and leaves (haven’t we?). Recently my daughter introduced me to another one: “Let’s eat, Grandma”. That’s a very different sentence without the comma…
Secondly, grammar can be really helpful. Writing in the active voice is much easier than writing in the passive voice. Do you find yourself trying to write something and tying yourself in knots? It’s often because you’re writing passively.
Good grammar makes your writing much easier to understand, too. It makes it ‘flow’, and much easier to read. If you want your reader to stick with you - to read to the end, to focus on the message rather than concentrating on trying to understand what you mean - then grammar is your friend.
Thirdly, some people really, really care about grammar - and there will be people in your audience who care. Whether or not you like that; whether or not it’s right or wrong is, quite frankly, not the point.
The simple fact is that if you write clearly and professionally then people will think of you as professional.
Now, I want to be absolutely clear. I am a writer. But I’m not a grammar fanatic. I enjoy playing with words - and that often means playing with the ‘rules’. But (see what I did there…) there is a balance.
So here it is: your quick reference guide to the common grammar traps that are a sure-fire way to annoy your customers.
Photo by Sid Balachandran on Unsplash
Myself, me and I
This one has only been a thing for the last ten years or so - but oh my, it’s caught on quickly!
Most of us had that aunt/ teacher/ sibling who would always step up with “It’s ‘Veronica and I’, not ‘Me and Veronica’!”
Nowadays, that’s gone a step further. ‘I’ and ‘me’ evolved into ‘myself’. It’s worth being aware that ‘you’, ‘yours’ and ‘yourself’ have suffered the same fate.
As a general rule, ‘myself’ only comes into play when you’ve already used ‘I’ in the same sentence:
“I gave myself the day off” works.
“Please contact myself with any questions” doesn’t work.
If you want to understand the ‘why’ about this one, then this is a quick and simple explanation
Your and You’re
In an age of keyboards it’s an easy one to overlook - but it’s one of the top peeves that winds people up on social media.
Even if you already know that ‘You’re’ means “You are” and “Your” is something that ‘belongs’ to you, then it’s still possible to miss it sometimes. (I’ve heard from a few people that they have had issues with autocorrect when they’ve edited and changed meaning.)
If this one worries you then it’s worth reading through anything you write before you hit send (or use the ‘find’/’search tool). Every time either version occurs, ask yourself “Does this mean “You are”?
Apostrophes in general
I’ve been doing communications training for years and the apostrophe issue comes up time and again as something that people just can’t get their heads around - even when they think they know.
Even my four degree-educated, university-professor husband gets it wrong more often than he (or I) would care to admit.
Having said that, it’s hardly surprising - the apostrophe serves two completely different purposes. And that’s before you add into the mix the ridiculousness of plurals which start adding, deleting or changing the letters.
I’ve seen so many people who have struggled with this for 30 or 40 years suddenly have their lightbulb moment when we work through some awkwardly hilarious real examples. With that in mind, I’ve put together some of the best on our Pinterest board. (Be warned that they are for adult eyes only.)
Shoulda, woulda, coulda
If you’re not aware of this one… I’m about to blow your mind.
There is no such thing as “Should of”. Or “Would of”. Or ‘Could of’.
I kid you not.
“I should have replied sooner” can be shortened to “I should’ve replied sooner.”
Say it out loud and it sounds like “I should of replied sooner”.
To be absolutely clear, “I should of” makes absolutely no sense. Zero.
Fewer/less
If you already know this one then the chances are that it gets your goat. I’ve no idea why this one is such a trigger; but some of the takedowns I’ve seen over this one are seriously snarky.
But I do wonder how many of those Snarky Simons have really thought through the raging irrationality of this one?
If you’re talking about a greater quantity of something, you use ‘more’.
And if you’re talking about a greater number? You use ‘more’.
If you’re talking about a smaller number? Then it’s less.
A smaller quantity, or amount? Then it’s fewer.
Go figure.
Affect/effect
I’m wondering what effect this article will have on your writing? Will it affect a change in your writing style? (See what I did there?)
If you want to get all grammar-y about it: effect is (usually) a noun; and affect is (usually) a verb. Affect means to influence - or to cause change. Effect is the result of change.
The crops were badly affected by climate change.
The effects of climate change were clear: the crops failed.
Lockdown had a significant effect on air pollution.
Levels of air pollution were affected by lockdown.
It’s easy to tie yourself in knots with this one. There is a more comprehensive guide here.
If in doubt, it’s worth running it through a spell checker or a tool like Hemingway or Grammarly.
What next?
If you’re not sure about your own grammar - or your writing in general - then don’t worry. There are lots of online tools that suggest and correct.
It’s definitely worth having a play with Hemingway and Grammarly. Both are free; although you do need to sign up for Grammarly. (These are NOT affiliate links: you can find out why EBM doesn’t use affiliate links here.)
They allow you to write with confidence - and, if you use them often enough, you’ll start to see patterns in your ‘errors’, which will mean you quickly start to write more clearly.
And just as an added bonus…
It’s not always grammar that ties us in knots. Eight easy-to-confuse spellings that prove just how bonkers the English language is:
Stationery/stationary
Dependent/dependant
Lose/loose
Advice/advise
Compliment/complement
Further/farther
Discrete/discreet
Who’s/Whose
Anyone else need a lie down?