10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid

[Kat Kanning]

10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid
Jody Gilbert
TechRepublic
June 06, 2006, 16:00 BST
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If you want to craft an error-free message that reflects your professionalism, be on the lookout for these common grammatical slip-ups

These days, we tend to communicate via the keyboard as much as we do verbally. Often, we're in a hurry, quickly dashing off emails with typos, grammatical shortcuts (I'm being kind here), and that breezy, e.e. cummings, no-caps look. It's expected. It's no big deal. But other times, we try to invest a little care, avoiding mistakes so that there's no confusion about what we're saying and so that we look professional and reasonably bright.

In general, we can slip up in a verbal conversation and get away with it. A colleague may be thinking, "Did she just say 'irregardless'?", but the words flow on, and our worst transgressions are carried away and with luck, forgotten.

That's not the case with written communications. When we commit a grammatical crime in emails, discussion posts, reports, memos, and other professional documents, there's no going back. We've just officially gone on record as being careless or clueless. And here's the worst thing. It's not necessary to be an editor or a language whiz or a spelling bee triathlete to spot such mistakes. They have a way of doing a little wiggle dance on the screen and then reaching out to grab the reader by the throat.

So here we are in the era of Word's red-underline "wrong spelling, dumb ass" feature and Outlook's Always Check Spelling Before Sending option, and still the mistakes proliferate. Catching typos is easy (although not everyone does it). It's the other stuff ? correctly spelled but incorrectly wielded ? that sneaks through and makes us look stupid. Here's a quick review of some of the big ones.

#1: Loose for lose
No: I always loose the product key.

Yes: I always lose the product key.

#2: It's for its (or god forbid, its')
No: Download the HTA, along with it's readme file.

Yes: Download the HTA, along with its readme file.

No: The laptop is overheating and its making that funny noise again.

Yes: The laptop is overheating and it's making that funny noise again.

#3: They're for their for there
No: The managers are in they're weekly planning meeting.

Yes: The managers are in their weekly planning meeting.

No: The techs have to check there cell phones at the door, and their not happy about it.

Yes: The techs have to check their cell phones at the door, and they're not happy about it.

#4: i.e. for e.g.
No: Use an anti-spyware program (i.e., Ad-Aware).

Yes: Use an anti-spyware program (e.g., Ad-Aware).

Note: The term i.e. means "that is"; e.g. means "for example". And a comma follows both of them.

#5: Effect for affect
No: The outage shouldn't effect any users during work hours.

Yes: The outage shouldn't affect any users during work hours.

Yes: The outage shouldn't have any effect on users.

Yes: We will effect several changes during the downtime.

Note: Impact is not a verb. Purists, at least, beg you to use affect instead:

No: The outage shouldn't impact any users during work hours.

Yes: The outage shouldn't affect any users during work hours.

Yes: The outage should have no impact on users during work hours.

#6: You're for your
No: Remember to defrag you're machine on a regular basis.

Yes: Remember to defrag your machine on a regular basis.

No: Your right about the changes.

Yes: You're right about the changes.

#7: Different than for different from
No: This setup is different than the one at the main office.

Yes: This setup is different from the one at the main office.

Yes: This setup is better than the one at the main office.

#8 Lay for lie
No: I got dizzy and had to lay down.

Yes: I got dizzy and had to lie down.

Yes: Just lay those books over there.

#9: Then for than
No: The accounting department had more problems then we did.

Yes: The accounting department had more problems than we did.

Note: Here's a sub-peeve. When a sentence construction begins with If, you don't need a then. Then is implicit, so it's superfluous and wordy:

No: If you can't get Windows to boot, then you'll need to call Ted.

Yes: If you can't get Windows to boot, you'll need to call Ted.

#10: Could of, would of for could have, would have
No: I could of installed that app by mistake.

Yes: I could have installed that app by mistake.

No: I would of sent you a meeting notice, but you were out of town.

Yes: I would have sent you a meeting notice, but you were out of town.

[Kat Kanning]

Here's one I haven't figured out.  Toward or towards...when do you use one or the other, or does it matter?

[Lloyd Danforth]

#2 is wrong.  The readme file belongs to the HTA, so, it is posessive and needs an apostophe.

[Kat Kanning]

#11.  Saying 'use to' rather than 'used to'.

[Pat K]

Then I guess usta is out.


I usta coulda dun it.

[KBCraig]

#2 is wrong.  The readme file belongs to the HTA, so, it is posessive and needs an apostophe.

No, #2 is correct. "Its" is possessive. "It's" is a contraction.

[Lex]

its - belonging, posession

The little ducky follows its mother. (mother belongs to the ducky)

it's - contraction of it is

It's cold outside. == It is cold outside.

[Kat Kanning]

"usta" is legally allowed only within the boundaries on New York.

[Lloyd Danforth]

Lex's Lexus
Kenin's Castle
HTS's Readme File

[Lex]

Lex's Lexus
Kenin's Castle
HTS's Readme File

You simplified the rules too much :-) It's and Lex's is different grammar:

The Possessive Apostrophy

It's means it is.
Its means of it.
Dog's means of (the) dog.
Dogs' means of the dogs
except in the case of proper nouns ending in s, as in Lois' things, which means the things of Lois.

http://www.cs.mu.oz.au/~rafe/grammar.html

[TackleTheWorld]

How about farther and further?

[Pat McCotter]

I always thought apostrophes were commas that had been promoted.

[Kat Kanning]

How about farther and further?

Scary...I was about to ask that one.  I looked it up and they seem to mean the same thing.

[NC2NH]

#2: It's for its (or god forbid, its')

I've seen this used incorrectly on two different billboard ads in the past year. Neither was in New Hampshire.

[Lex]

When to Use ?Farther? Versus ?Further?
by David Felts

The ability to use farther and further correctly helps make your writing clear and intended meaning more apparent. Many people use these two words interchangeably, thinking there is no difference between them. There definitely is a difference. By understanding this difference, you can improve your writing skills.

What is the Difference?
Farther applies to actual, physical distance. On the other hand, further applies to metaphorical distance.

Ex: I travel farther, and I study a subject further.

?Farther?
Farther refers to physical or geographical distance. Here are some examples of proper use of this word.

Ex: We are farther from El Paso than I thought.
Ex: She went farther away from her family than she had gone before.
Ex: My new apartment is farther from my office than my old apartment.

Memory Cue
Use farther if you can substitute the word with more miles.

?Further"
Further refers to time, quantity, or degree. In other words, further indicates a continuation or extension of anything else other than distance; the word relates to more abstract references. Further is another way of saying ?additional.? Here are some examples of correct use of further.

Ex: Prices will likely drop further next year.
Ex: I don?t want to discuss this topic further.
Ex: I have to look further into the matter later.
Ex: The subject calls for further study.