10 Common Grammar Mistakes Writers Make

10 COMMON GRAMMAR MISTAKES AND HOW TO AVOID THEM Writing is common grammar mistakes that writers make and how you can avoid them. art for but also a technical skill. Here's 10 There/Their/They're Homonyms (words that sound alike) are responsible for many of the most common grammar mistakes. "There" refers to a place, "Their" is the possessive adjective, and "they're" is the contraction of "they are" Here's all of them in one sentence: "They're not happy that their drink order is still sitting on the bar over there" 2 It's Not Nice to Splice Example: A comma splice is where the writer connects two things that could be independent sentences with a comma alone. Considered the "The teacher asked a question about comma splices, the most heinous of grammatical crimes, it will drive any writer straight down the track to "Run-On Sentence City." student was befuddled." 3 It's vs. Its Let's admit, this can be confusing. "It's" with an apostrophe is only to be used as the contraction "it is," but the apostrophe screams "I'm a possessive noun!" In this case though, "Its" with no apostrophe is the possessive form. Example: "It's pretty clear that a zebra can't change its stripes." 4 The Split Infinitive Adverbs are a beautiful thing, as long as they're in the right place, and the right place is usually right after the infinitive form of the verb. Correct Incorrect Yes, there are some very famous examples of this rule being broken, most notably when Star Trek Captain Kirk stated that his crew's mission was "to boldly go where no man has "То study diligently" "То diligently study". gone before." Down here on Earth, though, it's best to keep your adverbs in place and don't break up the infinitive party. 5 Your vs. You're "Here's another example of the "sound alike follies." "Your" is the possessive adjective and "You're" is the contraction version of "You are." Don't let the apostrophe lure you into thinking it's the possessive one. 6 Passive Voice Passive voice is one of the most common grammar crimes and one of the easiest to correct. Passive voice occurs when the writer turns the object of the sentence into the subject of the sentence, and it instantlyweakens the impact of the action. Example of passive voice: "A huge bag of chips was eaten by me." Here's the sentence rewritten in an active voice: "I ate a huge bag of chips." See the difference? 7 Lose vs. Loose What a difference an "o" makes. To "lose" with one "o" means to be without something. You can "lose" your job, your wallet, your dog, or your mind. "Loose" with two "o's" refers to the opposite of "tight"-or it may refer to something that isn't bound together. 8 Literally "When I saw Janet Jackson in person I literally died." Somehow, over the past decade, "literally" has become one of the most frequently misused words in the If the speaker had literally English language. "Literally" means "actually, without exaggeration," but the word is now often used in situations where the writer or speaker is completely died, she wouldn't be speaking in the first place. She would be dead. exaggerating. 9. Affect vs. Effect Yep, a tough one to get right. "Affect" is the verb meaning "to change or influence" while "effect" is the noun indicating that a change has occurred. The part that confuses most writers Check out the difference: is the fact that the past participle of "effect" is also a verb, meaning to "produce or bring about." "The board of directors was so profoundly affected by the advocate's speech that they effected changes to the laws immediately." The winner of the blurriest line in the world of grammar goes to 10 Who vs. That For the most part, writers should use "who" to refer to human beings and "that" to refer to inanimate objects. However, using "that" in reference to people is not technically wrong. That's right. We're rounding out the list with something that you're really not doing wrong at all. It's always nice to end on a positive note. TH E E-X.P.E·R·T www.experteditor.com.au by EDITOR