Grammar Matters: 10 Common Mistakes to Avoid
Grammar mistakes are the rust bubbles on an otherwise unblemished paint job.
It’s National Grammar Day. This is a recently created “holiday,” no doubt contrived to make us grammar Nazis feel better about our existence.
Every writer or editor has a list of grammar pet peeves that put him or her over the edge when listening to people speak or critiquing someone else’s writing. Over the years, the pet peeves of my own various editors have seeped into my writing rules, too, so my list keeps growing longer and longer.
A high school English teacher helped me understand there always is a better word than “get.” One editor removed all my adjectives. Another added more. One would never tell me exactly what he changed, except all the times I used “over” instead of “more than.” And then I became an editor of other people’s writing, and my red pen really came out.
Yes, we live in an era of text messages and tweets and entire thoughts conveyed with one emoji. But grammar still matters. Grammar mistakes make us all look thoughtless. And breaking grammar rules we all learned in elementary school makes us look worse than thoughtless. It makes us lazy.
That may seem unkind from someone who has a degree in English and isn’t a member of the “It’s okay to write ‘your’ when you mean ‘you’re’ in a tweet because you are trying to save two characters” crowd. I know I break grammar rules all the time, both intentionally and unintentionally. Some of you already are critiquing the lack of commas or hyphens in my previous sentences. And I will apologize now and save you from commenting on this post with your criticism.
Some grammar “rules” absolutely are subjective. Others just aren’t. Following are my favorite (or most frustrating) 10 grammar mistakes and how to avoid them.
10. Disregarding the “but also” when there is a “not only”
Some of you already are saying, “What rule is that?” It’s a little-known but totally common-sense grammar rule. If you have a “not only” in a sentence or other construction, you also need a “but also,” and the phrases after those words need to be parallel to each other.
Incorrect: She not only wrote a novel and a memoir. She published a book of poetry.
Incorrect: She not only wrote a novel and a memoir but also a book of poetry.
Correct: She not only wrote a novel and a memoir but also published a book of poetry.
Correct: She wrote not only a novel and a memoir but also a book of poetry.
9. Misplacing “only”
People often misplace the word “only” in sentence structure, especially when speaking. “Only” should directly precede the word it is meant to modify.
Incorrect: She packed only enough clothing for one night. (This would insinuate she packed nothing but clothing.)
Correct: She packed enough clothing for only one night. (This would insinuate she could have packed more items than clothing but for just one night, not longer.)
8. Using “that” instead of “who”
Stop calling people “that.” Please, please, please. People should be referred to as “who.” Objects should be referred to as “that.”
Incorrect: The person that did this must be penalized.
Correct: The person who did this must be penalized.
7. Using “I” as the object of a sentence or prepositional phrase
This rule is brought to us by our grandmothers who taught us to say, “This is she,” when answering their phone calls. However, it is correct to end sentences with an objective case pronoun when it is indeed the object of the sentence or prepositional phrase.
Incorrect: Between you and I, I dislike prepositions.
Correct: Between you and me, I dislike prepositions.
Incorrect: That is between you and I.
Correct: That is between you and me.
Incorrect: The mayor nominated Katie and I.
Correct: The mayor nominated Katie and me.
6. Not hyphenating adjectives
When two or more words together make one adjective, especially when those two words directly precede the noun they describe, they often should be hyphenated. However, when the first of the two words is “very” or ends in “-ly,” do not hyphenate them.
Incorrect: The state of the art design impressed us.
Correct: The state-of-the-art design impressed us.
Incorrect: The highly-anticipated grand opening was a big success.
Correct: The highly anticipated grand opening was a big success.
5. Dangling modifiers
We all have broken this rule, but here’s the most important part of it to try to avoid: Dependent clauses at the beginning of a sentence should tell you more about the words that directly follow the clause. Make sure the word directly following the comma is what is being modified by the clause.
Incorrect: Ranging in elevation from 1,000 to 7,250 feet above sea level, we explored the state of South Dakota.
Correct: Ranging in elevation from 1,000 to 7,250 feet above sea level, South Dakota has a varied landscape.
Incorrect: Hiking the long trail, his water ran out. (His water was not hiking the trail.)
Correct: His water ran out as he was hiking the long trail.
4. Misusing apostrophes
This year I seriously imagined myself burning each and every holiday card that came with an apostrophe “s” on the family’s last name. “Merry Christmas from the Smith’s” not only is grammatically incorrect, but also makes me so sad. Where did this terrible lie start exactly? Here’s the quick rundown:
The two main jobs of apostrophes are to show possession or to designate that characters are missing from a contraction. Unless your last name owns something, and that something is written after your last name, please don’t put an apostrophe on your last name ever again.
Correct: Merry Christmas from the Smiths
Correct: Merry Christmas from the Smith Family
Correct: Merry Christmas from the Smith’s House (although sending holiday greetings on behalf of your house would be weird)
3. Confusing quantity and spatial words
amount = how much (a quantity that can’t be counted)
number = how many (individual items that can be counted)
Correct: A number of people complimented me on the amount of nutmeg I used in the recipe.
less = how much (a quantity that can’t be counted)
fewer = how many (individual items that can be counted)
Correct: Fewer people are drinking less wine these days.
more than = used with figures
over = preposition for spatially above something else
Correct: More than 20 dogs jumped over the fence.
less than = used with figures
under = preposition for spatially below something else
Correct: Less than 10 bunnies were living under the porch.
2. Confusing homophones and other words
Please, for the love of all that is good in the world, memorize these commonly confused words and use them correctly. Even in your texts and tweets. Please.
assure = to remove worry (People are assured.)
ensure = to make an outcome certain (Events are ensured.)
insure = as in insurance (Property and lives are insured.)
Correct: I want to assure you we will work to ensure that each item is insured correctly.
it’s = contraction for it is
its = possessive form of it
Correct: It’s about time we went to its grand opening.
then = a sense of time or what comes next
than = comparing two things
Correct: It was then I realized I would rather be a writer than a teacher.
there = a place
their = possessive form of they
they’re = contraction for they are
Correct: They’re waiting there until their car is repaired.
to = preposition
two = numeral 2
too = also, as well
Correct: Two cats ran too fast on their way to the tree.
who’s = contraction for who is
whose = possessive form of who
Correct: Who’s going to let us know whose socks these are?
your = possessive form of you
you’re = contraction for you are
Correct: You’re going to take your grammar seriously now.
1. Misspelling words
I am the first to admit that I am terrible at spelling. I specifically remember spelling tests in first grade and struggling with how words sound versus how they are spelled. Who in the world decided to spell “of” that way? It truly makes no sense. However, today we have the most amazing technology. A beautiful, squiggly, red line often appears each time you are about to spell a word incorrectly. Consider it a gift. We also have Google, which somehow always knows what I mean when I type “sworay” instead of “soiree.”
Yes, sometimes our apps for Twitter, texting, and others don’t tell us when we are about to spell a word incorrectly. It still doesn’t give us an excuse not to try. Misspelling words is the worst form of grammar laziness we have in our world today.
I am grateful for each editor I had during my writing career. He or she always was just trying to make my writing better. And it worked. Even today, their lessons have stuck with me. Maybe a bit too much in some circumstances. But the grammar rules exist so we all can understand each other, and understanding is what we all are trying to achieve when we communicate.
At H Squared Communications, we are focused on assisting your organization deliver impactful information at just the right time to achieve understanding and influence.