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6 Grammatical Errors That Need to Stop Now
July 09, 2015 | Jonathan Long

Posted on 08/30/2015 10:38:18 AM PDT by B4Ranch

Proper grammar seems to be a thing of the past -- why stress about tiny technicalities, right? Wrong.

You should be a grammar stickler for many reasons. Do you want to risk turning off potential clients, employers and connections because of grammatical mistakes?

Many people are so concerned with what they are saying in an email or text message that they completely forget to pay attention to how they are saying it. If you chose to turn grammar mode off when you are communicating with friends, that is one thing, but there is absolutely no reason to send a professional communication that contains errors.

Here are six grammatical errors that are so simple, yet such common offenders. Make sure you aren’t making them.

1. Your/You’re

This is probably the most common mistake I see on social media, in text messages and in emails. This one is real simple -- if you are trying to say “you are” then “you’re” is correct. If you are talking about something that belongs to you, such as “your car” then you use “your.”

2. Too/To/Two

Many people confuse these and don’t even realize they are doing it. It’s real easy -- “two” is a number, “too” is an adverb that means “also,” and “to” is a preposition used to express motion, direction, limit of movement, contact, a point of limit in time, purpose, intention and destination -- to name a few.

For example:

“I would like to become an entrepreneur.”

“I too would like to become an entrepreneur.”

3.  There/Their/They’re

What should have been squared away in third grade continues to haunt grammar police on a daily basis. The there/their/they’re mistake is common -- but it’s really simple to avoid.

Use “they’re” when you are trying to say “they are.”

“Their” should be used when you are indicating possession.

Finally, “there” needs to be used when referring to a location.

Example: "They're going to love working there. Their company culture is amazing!"

4. You/U

This one is really just pure laziness rather than a grammatical mistake. Texting has completely ruined grammar and you/u is a perfect example. I understand that “u” is perfectly acceptable if you are texting a friend and are in a rush -- but it’s not acceptable in a professional email.

Here is an excerpt of an email I received last week from a C-level executive who is in charge of a company that does business worth several hundreds of millions of dollars every year:

… that would be gr8! Talk to u soon!

He managed to nail two text slangs back to back like a champ. Again, if it was a text message, fine -- but a professional email is no place for this. This email is actually what sparked me to write this article, so thank you grammatically challenged C-level executive.

5. Then/Than

When you are talking about time you use “then” and when you are making a comparison you use “than.” It really shouldn’t be that difficult to distinguish what one to use:

“We are going to grab a quick bite to eat and then head back to the office.”

“This new software update is much better than the previous version.”

6. It’s/Its

This one confuses a lot of people, mainly due to the apostrophe, which typically symbolizes possession. Use “it’s” when you are trying to say “it is” and use “its” when you are looking for the possessive form of “it.”

“I looked at its owners manual to get the correct settings.”

“It’s a beautiful day outside.”

What are some other grammar mishaps that drive you nuts? Share them in the comments section below.


TOPICS: Society
KEYWORDS: grammar; spelling
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To: B4Ranch
I'm all for correct grammar, and try to practice it, but FIRST we have to deal with "Press one for English"!

Why the hell do I have to press "one" to get the language of MY Country?

221 posted on 08/30/2015 12:51:24 PM PDT by The Sons of Liberty (America for Americans - what's wrong with that?)
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On the top of the hour Blaze Radio News on XM, one gal reads every story in a weird present-past tense. Really takes me off the story.

“Bob Slinck dies Tuesday. He is born in Ohio in 1925 and marries after WW2. He develops the golden can opener in 1963 and survives assassination attempts in 1972 and 1998. His three children die in childbirth. “


222 posted on 08/30/2015 12:52:51 PM PDT by eartrumpet
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To: B4Ranch

223 posted on 08/30/2015 12:53:33 PM PDT by Fiji Hill
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To: B4Ranch
6 Grammatical Errors That Need to Stop Now

If the spell checker accepts it, who am I to argue...............

224 posted on 08/30/2015 12:54:07 PM PDT by varon (Don't point that finger at me unless you're prepared to have it broken off!)
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To: B4Ranch

Me and her went....


225 posted on 08/30/2015 12:54:26 PM PDT by Vermont Lt
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To: HandyDandy

I think we are going to have a gibberish class until we decide that when laws can no longer be explained in layman’s terms, then the layman can no longer be expected to follow them.


226 posted on 08/30/2015 12:55:27 PM PDT by Smokin' Joe (How often God must weep at humans' folly. Stand fast. God knows what He is doing.)
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To: Joe 6-pack
I think there are two things in play with such ambiguity: laziness and self-centeredness. Being precise takes a little more effort. People may think they are streamlining things on their end and making a process more efficient, when in fact, they're muddying the waters and jamming up the works on the other end. I have multiple clients, some of whom will use the same acronym or abbreviation as others, with entirely different meanings. Fortunately, I'm pretty good at reading them in context.

I can think of other things as well, at least in some cases: here I'm thinking of baby forums that extensively use their own semi-secret acronyms and other coy phrases.

I haven't frequented those forums at all, but I've read about other things, such as odd choices for baby names, and sometimes the discussion drifts into talking about the language on baby forums. A search easily yields multiple complaints online that this style of writing makes understanding posts harder for beginners and other outsiders. I've speculated, and others have posted in discussions, that maybe part of using some secret language is precisely to create a sort of in-group. I sympathize a lot more, though, with the uninitiated parents who simply want to discuss a matter without having to learn a sort of second language, especially because it's simply unnecessary for plain discussion.

In fact, here's one example of using the same acronym in different ways. On those baby forums, "BM" can mean "breast milk." As you readers probably already know, "BM" is more often used for something rather different. If you're anything like me, you'll have great difficulty reading certain baby posts without bursting into laughter--and great difficulty understanding how anyone who knows the more common meaning of "BM" can use it to mean "breast milk" as well.

227 posted on 08/30/2015 12:56:37 PM PDT by Lonely Bull ("When he is being rude or mean it drives people _away_ from his confession and _towards_ yours.")
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To: LydiaLong

“An easy way to remember it is to think of an apostrophe as a missing letter.”

Unless it’s a possessive.

English is an exceptional language - there are more exceptions to most of its rules than followers of the rules.


228 posted on 08/30/2015 12:58:11 PM PDT by aquila48
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To: B4Ranch

By then, I’d had just about enough. And I thought that that’d be the end of it.


229 posted on 08/30/2015 12:58:50 PM PDT by HandyDandy (Don't make-up stuff. It just wastes everybody's time.)
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To: B4Ranch
... ; -- "word" 'word' Questions I have much.

Yoda Cat

230 posted on 08/30/2015 12:59:23 PM PDT by right way right (May we remain sober over mere men, for God really is our one and only true hope.)
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To: B4Ranch

There be alot of them.


231 posted on 08/30/2015 12:59:30 PM PDT by OKSooner (Chamberlain at least loved his country, please don't insult his memory by comparing him to 0.)
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To: Smokin' Joe

Einstein said, “If you can’t explain it in laymans terms, then you don’t understand it”.


232 posted on 08/30/2015 1:02:37 PM PDT by HandyDandy (Don't make-up stuff. It just wastes everybody's time.)
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To: B4Ranch

I always take information with a grain of salt when I see simple grammar errors such as these.


233 posted on 08/30/2015 1:03:03 PM PDT by Shamrock-DW
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To: arthurus

Just pointing out the exception to the rule of plurals. LOL

And what about the word they’re. I see a plural and an apostrophe (choose one: there, they’re, their) ;-)

Sometimes rules are helpful and sometime rules confuse.

I’m thinking of people who don’t understand decimals who tell me the rules of decimals all work backwards to the right of the decimal. The worst rule ever.


234 posted on 08/30/2015 1:05:39 PM PDT by ladyjane
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To: ladyjane

It is a contraction, the other apostrophe use. “they are” is contracted to “they’re” with the letter “a” missing. I don’t use that one.


235 posted on 08/30/2015 1:08:04 PM PDT by arthurus (It's true.)
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To: B4Ranch
More:

"Less than 10 items." No, "FEWER" than for numbers, less than for quantities.

"Gift for free." Wow. A double whammy. A gift is free. You get something "for nothing" OR "free," but not "for free."

236 posted on 08/30/2015 1:09:08 PM PDT by LS ("Castles Made of Sand, Fall in the Sea . . . Eventually" (Hendrix))
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To: CodeToad

Whoa!

I resemble that statement. ..


237 posted on 08/30/2015 1:09:57 PM PDT by Vendome (Don't take life so seriously-you won't live through it anyway-Enjoy Yourself ala Louis Prima)
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To: the OlLine Rebel

“There is no such thing as “concerning” in that context; it should be “of concern”. Fox people are using this more and more, and radio. I hate it.”

Agreed. What bothers me most is hearing it from the supposed “best and brightest”.


238 posted on 08/30/2015 1:13:39 PM PDT by llmc1
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To: HandyDandy
When I was teaching science labs as an undergrad lab assistant in college, that became readily apparent.

It is simply amazing the sort of questions a 101 student will ask, which forced us to learn more in order to be able to answer them.

It was also great training for explaining concepts in ordinary terms to people who were not in the sciences and had no intention of going there.

239 posted on 08/30/2015 1:13:51 PM PDT by Smokin' Joe (How often God must weep at humans' folly. Stand fast. God knows what He is doing.)
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To: This_far

Welcome.

I will summarize:

If you are choosing between “who” and “whom,” do the following:

(1) Replace the word with “he” or “she.” If the sentence makes sense, use “who.”

(2) Replace the word with “him” or “her.” If the sentence makes sense, use “whom.”

(3) If neither makes sense, which often happens in the context of a question, write a sentence that answers the question and then do (1) and (2).

Example of (3):

Who/Whom should I vote for?

Try (1): He should I vote for? Sounds awful, so do not use “who” per step (1).

Try (2): Him should I vote for? Sounds awful again, so do not use “whom” per step (2).

OK, let’s try step (3):

Answer the question: I should vote for who/whom.

(1) I should vote for he. Again, awful.

(2) I should vote for him. WE HAVE A WINNER! Use “whom.”

Make sense?

Why did I bother with this exercise? Two reasons. First, I think this might be useful for you and others to improve your writing skills. Second, this addresses the point you raised about what Kerry said, namely the following:

“At its worst, the use of whom becomes a form of one-upmanship some employ to appear sophisticated.”

Well, as you can see from my explanation, choosing whether to use “who” or “whom” requires a certain discipline in thinking and use of logic. Those are the LAST things the leftscum want the population to have!


240 posted on 08/30/2015 1:15:59 PM PDT by piytar (Good will be called evil and Evil will be called good.)
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