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 arent making them.
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 youre is correct. If you are talking about something that belongs to you, such as your car then you use your.
Many people confuse these and dont even realize they are doing it. Its 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.
What should have been squared away in third grade continues to haunt grammar police on a daily basis. The there/their/theyre mistake is common -- but its really simple to avoid.
Use theyre 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!"
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 its 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.
When you are talking about time you use then and when you are making a comparison you use than. It really shouldnt 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.
This one confuses a lot of people, mainly due to the apostrophe, which typically symbolizes possession. Use its 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.
Its a beautiful day outside.
What are some other grammar mishaps that drive you nuts? Share them in the comments section below.
Yep! And whaddabout bullet for cartridge?
“go ahead and...” drives me crazy.
...then blood did...what?
The writer forgot who/whom and should have/should of. And that’s not even counting the nigh universal PC use of the plurals “they” and “their” for the singular “everyone” or “everybody.”
>> if you can clearly understand what was written...it served its function <<
Seems like a corollary to perhaps the greatest lesson I’ve ever learned about writing. The advice came from the late James J. Kirkpatrick, who said something to the effect that if the reader needs to pause and figure out what you mean by some particular phrase, you’ve failed in your job as a writer.
I will slide a little on grammar but I am strict on spelling. I tend to judge someones intelligence on how well they can spell. Make too many errors and I will stop reading. I don’t give fools much of my time.
Come at me with Ebonics and I leave the area. I refuse to tolerate that nonsense.
“See my tag line lol!”
Years ago, pre-Chernobyl, I saw a guy in LAX wearing a sandwich board that said, ‘More people have died in Ted Kennedy’s car than in nuclear power station accidents.’
Googling “younz”.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Younz
This has it right as my friends who used this are from that area.
Loose/lose.
#296 All this could be solved by a Edith button at forums... : )
No, no, no...there is nothing ‘un’ about you... ;)
People are hanged.
That is funny
But it isn’t grammatical
My Webster's does not indicate any alternative to pronouncing the "h" in "historical" (where the "h" is in an unstressed syllable), but for the word "vehicle" it allows both pronunciations (in fact putting the alternative where the "h" is silent first)...likewise for "vehemence" (where the "h" is in an unstressed syllable).
Spelling is not an indicator of intelligence. It is an indicator of specialized memory. Intelligence is indicated by problem solving ability in a void of previous knowledge of the problem.
where you be at? ebonics made easy
This is probably the most common mistake I see on social media, in text messages and in emails.
I think yer wrong about that.
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