Posted on 09/28/2011 1:00:49 PM PDT by iowamark
Many brilliant people have some communication weak spots. Unfortunately, the reality is that written communication is a big part of business, and how you write reflects on you. Poor spelling and grammar can destroy a professional image in an instant.
Even if your job doesn't require much business writing, you'll still have emails to send and notes to write. And if you're looking for a job, your cover letters and resumes will likely mean the difference between getting the interview or not.
Bad grammar and spelling make a bad impression. Don't let yourself lose an opportunity over a simple spelling or grammar mistake.
Here are seven simple grammatical errors that I see consistently in emails, cover letters and resumes.
Tip: Make yourself a little card cheat sheet and keep it in your wallet for easy reference.
You're / Your
The apostrophe means it's a contraction of two words; "you're" is the short version of "you are" (the "a" is dropped), so if your sentence makes sense if you say "you are," then you're good to use you're. "Your" means it belongs to you, it's yours.
You're going to love your new job!
It's / Its
This one is confusing, because generally, in addition to being used in contractions, an apostrophe indicates ownership, as in "Dad's new car." But, "it's" is actually the short version of "it is" or "it has." "Its" with no apostrophe means belonging to it.
It's important to remember to bring your telephone and its extra battery.
They're / Their / There
"They're" is a contraction of "they are." "Their" means belonging to them. "There" refers to a place (notice that the word "here" is part of it, which is also a place – so if it says here and there, it's a place). There = a place
They're going to miss their teachers when they leave there.
Loose / Lose
These spellings really don't make much sense, so you just have to remember them. "Loose" is the opposite of tight, and rhymes with goose. "Lose" is the opposite of win, and rhymes with booze. (To show how unpredictable English is, compare another pair of words, "choose" and "chose," which are spelled the same except the initial sound, but pronounced differently. No wonder so many people get it wrong!)
I never thought I could lose so much weight; now my pants are all loose!
Lead / Led
Another common but glaring error. "Lead" means you're doing it in the present, and rhymes with deed. "Led" is the past tense of lead, and rhymes with sled. So you can "lead" your current organization, but you "led" the people in your previous job.
My goal is to lead this team to success, just as I led my past teams into winning award after award.
A lot / Alot / Allot
First the bad news: there is no such word as "alot." "A lot" refers to quantity, and "allot" means to distribute or parcel out.
There is a lot of confusion about this one, so I'm going to allot ten minutes to review these rules of grammar.
Between you and I
This one is widely misused, even by TV news anchors who should know better.
In English, we use a different pronoun depending on whether it's the subject or the object of the sentence: I/me, she/her, he/him, they/them. This becomes second nature for us and we rarely make mistakes with the glaring exception of when we have to choose between "you and I" or "you and me."
Grammar Girl does a far better job of explaining this than I, but suffice to say that "between you and I" is never correct, and although it is becoming more common, it's kind of like saying "him did a great job." It is glaringly incorrect.
The easy rule of thumb is to replace the "you and I" or "you and me" with either "we" or "us" and you'll quickly see which form is right. If "us" works, then use "you and me" and if "we" works, then use "you and I."
Between you and me (us), here are the secrets to how you and I (we) can learn to write better.
Master these common errors and you'll remove some of the mistakes and red flags that make you look like you have no idea how to speak.
somebody isn’t minding his p’s and q’s
here are some more:
hanged / hung
A picture is hung. A Democrat is hanged.
Flammable / inflammable
It’s the same thing.
Pitted / Unpitted
As best as I can figure, a prune that never had a pit is pitted, and a
prune that once had a pit that got taken out is unpitted.
Or, maybe its the same thing.
Sanction / Sanction
One is the opposite of the other. As in, “I don’t sanction the use of
sanctions.”
he / it
Depending on the context, he refers to a male person or to a person
who is either male or female. It refers to a person of unknown sex.
We also park on driveways and drive on parkways.
I agree. In regard to errors, it is that which bothers me most.
Most TV news readers do not know the difference between an adjective and an adverb. When asked how they are they say “I am good” when they should say “I am well.” I guess they don’t teach kids how to diagram sentences.
Also, big name news readers mispronounce words. I hate it when Britt Hume says “On Tuesdee the candidit said he would make an announcement on Thursdee.”
Then there’s INsure and ENsure.
I saw in a business letter a couple days ago something along the line of “.... long term care insurance would be a compliment to your existing employee benefits....”.
I think they should have used complement. ??
potato
“... That’s where I am at”
One that drives me beyond nutty is “Where you at?” It is like fingers nails on a chalkboard!
In today’s world, this is all mute and irrevalunt!
How about;
“Are you referring to two tutus too?”
Another pair that people confuse: “infer” and “imply”. Even Ronald Reagan used to get this wrong.
I’ve never seen “praps” (and I hope I never do), but “prolly” is one of the most annoying non-words I can think of.
Had adear cuban doctor friend who pluralized plural words. Would crack me up. I’d hear him tell patients...
“Ok, take all your closes (clothes) and shoeses (shoes) off and put both feets on the table.”
We had a pastor who, in his sermons, used as the plural possessive, “You and I’s”: “You and I’s lives”, “You and I’s families”. White guy. Drove me NUTS.
There are always refers to many.
"a lot" is one. One lot, git it?. Even if it is a lot filled with many objects. It is still a single thing. Therefore, There is a lot, not There are a lot.
(I know that there is many here (kidding) who'll disagree, citing examples from pieces by supposedly highly educated and literate people.)
One that always bugs me is when people write or say “try AND” do something. It should be “try TO” do something. I even see this in newspaper articles.
My per peeve is when a patient tells me he/she is “nauseous”. I usually tell them (with a really big smile) that , yeah , their face is making me want to vomit.
This pair got a lot of mention in the other article's comments section. If you're confused on this one, "then" refers to the passing of time, and "than" indicates a comparison. First you need to be better than she is, and then you can win.
If that's true, then isn't this sentence is incorrect?
Isn't "if, then" a comparison?
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