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15 Grammar Goofs That Make You Look Silly

15 Grammar Goofs That Make You Look Silly



Engaging online wrting is informal, conversational, and fun, but certain goofy mistakes just make you look silly... and not in a good way.





1. Your / You're



Your

"Your is a possessive pronoun, as in "your car' or "your blog."



You're

"You're" is a contraction of "you are," as in: "You're screwing up your writing by using 'you're' when you mean 'you are.'"





2. It's / its



It's

"It's" is a contraction of "it is" or "it has."

It's an apple!



Its

"Its" is a possessive pronoun, as in: "This infographic has got its groove on." Say your sentence out loud using "it is" instead. If that sounds goofy, "its" is likely correct.

Grammar Goofs





3. There/ Their / They're



There/Thier

Always do the "That's ours!" test: Are you talking about more than one person and somthing they possess? If so, "thier" will get you there.

That's ours!



They're

"They're" is a contraction of "they are," so talk it out to be sure.





4. Affect / Effect



Affect

"Affect" is a verb, as in: "Your ability to communicate clearly will affect your income."



Effect

"Effect" is most often a noun, as in: "The effect of poor grammar on a person's income is well documented."





5. Then / Than



Then

The word "then" can have a variey of meaning, including "at a point in time" or "in addition to." As a rule, use the word "than" when comparing and "then" in all other instances.



Than

The word "than" is used to compare two different things: "This is bigger than that."





6. Loose / Lose



Please don't mess this up. If your pants are too loose, you might lose your pants.

Be careful!



7. Me, Myself, and I



Me/I

I love you!

Choose between "me" and "I" by removing the other person from the sentence and using what doesn't sound silly.



Myself

"Myself" is only proper two ways, both used here:

"Many despise asparagus, but I myself tolerate it, I thought to myself, 'Why?'"





8. Improper use of the apostrophe



You need an apostrophe in two cases:

For contractions ("don't" for "do not" forget the apostrophe") and to show possession ("Frank's apostrophe means the apostrophe belongs to Frank.").





9. Could of, would of, should of



"Could've," "would've," and "should've" are legitimate verb contractions, but when spoken, they sound like they end in "of" (wrong) instead of "have" (correct). "Could of," "would of," and "should of" all make you look silly.





10. Complement / Compliment



Complement

"Complement" is something that adds to of supplements something else, or the act of doing so.



Compliment

"Compliment" is something nice someone says about you.





11. Fewer / Less



Fewer

If you can count it, use "fewer."

>"Robert has written fewer poems since he got a real job."



Less

If you can't, use "less."

>"Sonia has less incentive to do what I say."





12. Historic / Historical



Historic

Silly alert!

"Historic" means an important event.



Historical

"Historiccal" means something that happened in the past.





13. Principal / Principle



Principal

As a noun, "principal" means the highest in rank or the main participant, as an adjective, it means the most important of a set.



Principle

"Principle" is a noun meaning a fundamental truth, law, or standard.





14. Literally



"I'm literally dying of shame." Bet not. "Literally" means that exactly what you say is true - no metaphors or analogies. Everything else is figurative.





15. The dangling participle



A dangling participle occurs when you order a sentence in a confusing way.



For example:

"After rotting in the cellar for a few weeks, my brother brough up some oranges."



This means your brother is a zombie who delivers fruit.



Try instead:

"My brother brought up some oranges that had been rotting in the cellar for weeks."





The English language can be tricky with dangling participles and the misuse of "literally." Pay attention to grammar and avoid the 15 common mistakes that may leave you, literally, jobless. 15 Grammar Goofs THAT MAKE YOU LOOK SILLY Engaging online writing is informal, conversational, and fun, but certain goofy mistakes just make you look silly . and not in a good way. 1. YOUR / YOU'RE Your You're "Your" is a possessive pronoun, as in "your car" or "your blog." "You're" is a contraction of "you are," as in: "You're screwing up your writing by using 'your' when you mean 'you are." 2. IT'S / ITS It's Its "It's" is a contraction of "it is" or "it has." "Its" is a possessive pronoun, as in: "This infographic has got its groove on." Say your sentence out loud using "it is" instead. If that Te's an apple! sounds goofy, "its" is Grаттаr likely correct. nfo05 3. THERE / THEIR / THEY'RE There / Their They're Always do the "That's ours!" test: Are you talking about more than one person and something they possess? If so, "their" will get you "They're" is a contraction of "they are," so talk it out to be sure. Thoy re there. ... Thats oura! 4. AFFECT / EFFECT Affect Effect "Affect" is a verb, as in: "Your "Effect" is most often a noun, ability to communicate clearly will affect your as in: "The effect of poor grammar on a person's income is well income, " documented." 5. THEN / THAN Then Than The word "then" can have a The word "than" is used to variety of meanings, including "at a point in time" or "in additiom to." As a rule, compare two different things: "This is bigger than that." use the word "than" when comparing and "then" in all other instances. 6. LOOSE / LOSE Please don't mess this up. If your pants are too loose, you might lose your pants. Be careful! 7. ME, MYSELF, AND I Me/I Myself "Myself" is only proper two ways, both used here: Choose between "me" and "I" by Iloue you! removing the other person from the sentence and using what doesn't sound "Many despise asparagus, but I myself tolerate it. I thought to myself, 'Why?" silly. 8. IMPROPER USE OF THE APOSTROPHE possession ("Frank's apostrophe means You need an apostrophe in two cases: For contractions ("don't" for "do not forget the apostrophe") and to show the apostrophe belongs to Frank"). 9. COULD OF, WOULD OF, SHOULD OF "Could've," "would've," and "should've" are legitimate verb contractions, but when spoken, they sound like they end in "of" (wrong) instead Could of... of "have" (correct). "Could of," "would of," and "should of" all make you look silly. Urong! Fool! 10. COMPLEMENT / COMPLIMENT Complement Compliment "Complement" is something that adds to or supplements something else, or the act of doing so. "Compliment" is something nice someone says about you. LE Thanks! You're pretty. 11. FEWER / LESS Fewer Less If you can count it, use "fewer." If you can't, use "less." > "Robert has written > "Sonia has less fewer poems since he incentive to do got a real job." what I say." 12. HISTORIC/ HISTORICAL Historic Historical Silly alert! "Historic" means an "Historical" means something that happened in the past. important event. 13. PRINCIPAL / PRINCIPLE Principal Principle As a noun, "principal" means the highest in "Principle" is a noun meaning a rank or the main fundamental participant; as an adjective, it means the most important truth, law, or standard. of a set. "I'm literally dying of shame." Bet not. "Literally" means that exactly what you say is true – no metaphors or analogies. Everything else is figurative. 14. LITERALLY OR! THE DANGLING A dangling participle occurs 15. PARTICIPLE when you order a sentence in a confusing way. For example: Try instead: "After rotting in the cellar for weeks, my brother brought up some oranges." "My brother brought up some oranges that had been rotting in the cellar for weeks." This means your brother is a zombie who delivers fruit. The English language can be tricky with dangling participles and the misuse of "literally." Pay attention to grammar and avoid the 15 common mistakes that may leave you, literally, jobless. Written by: copyblogger Infographic design by: BlueGlass .....

15 Grammar Goofs That Make You Look Silly

shared by Rsammy on Mar 06
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It’s perfectly fine to fracture the occasional stuffy grammatical rule (and many times it’s preferable). On the other hand, making some grammatical errors just makes you look bad, and hurts you...

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