Common Misused & Misspelled Words and Phrases

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Frequently Misspelled or Misused Words & Phases and Other Grammatical Errors

When you or your business is sending party invitations, announcements and holiday cards there are no shortage of grammatical hurdles that you need to engage to ensure a quality product the recipient will enjoy. While etiquette rules are relatively consistent, there are geographical variations as well as discrepancies based on common usage.

This is a work in progress but following are a few guidelines you can follow to ensure safe passage between the various rules. We'll try to keep the language simple and easy to understand. Stick with us and you'll not only avoid the most common pitfalls, but even your most etiquette sensitive friends will be envious of your invitation dexterity.

Repeating some rules like the usage of to, too & two and there, their & they're may seem like beating a dead horse. However, they are misused so frequently that obviously the message isn't getting across.

We want to keep this interactive, we'll share errors we frequently run into and want to hear yours as well...including any you might see in this page:)

This page is brought to you by your wedding invitation and personal stationery experts, Wedding Paper Divas & Tiny Prints. Now while we're at it, Tiny Prints is very excited to announce our new 2008 holiday card designs and a brand new site redesign. Let us know what you think.

Helpful Grammar Blog 

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Blog Posts From Google About Spelling & Grammar 

grammar rules » UGLY CLOTHES by » Blog Archive by lowering » The ...
Errors in spelling and grammar are easier to speckle on the printed age. Most do not contain the fix, and uncountable drive unmistakeably discard your manuscript in favor of a insult with fewer errors. Above all, don't vaticinate ...
Do we need a Spelling Czar? - The Angry White Guy
I'll be the first to admit I have typos and additionally I have grammar/spelling errors on occasion, but I'm not the President of the United States? yet. It would seem the White House has been releasing press statement plagued with ...
This HR Guy Is Over Your Spelling Mistakes | YourHRGuy.com
Sorry, I can't agree with this and I certainly wouldn't advise anyone to allow even one grammar or spelling error on a resume. Employers will not take an applicant very seriously if they recieve a resume with errors on it. ...
More Spelling Errors For The Obama Administration
Not that I'm anyone with a lot of room to comment on spelling and grammar errors, but then I write posts on the internet without the benefit of an editor. You'd think someone in the White House would be proofreading these things before ...
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Spotlighting Our Most Frequestly Seen Spelling and Grammar Errors 

Below you will find the most common errors we encounter

Using apostrophe in plural family name 

Oh so common, oh so wrong!

I'll admit that I'm sure I made this mistake in the past, especially since my last name looks silly in plural form but a rule is a rule and especially for stationery that will get sent to many people who know proper grammar, why embarrass yourself.

Remember, an apostrophe shows possession and used when two words are combined such as it's (it is), you're (you are) etc. When referencing your family in a plural sense, you do not add an apostrophe.

Incorrect: The Smith's
Correct: The Smith or The Smith Residence/Home/Family

Incorrect: The Williams's
Correct The Williamses
Same rule applies the Jones (yeah, I know it looks funny, so I recommend using "The Williams Family" or similar to avoid using the plural.

If you have a last name that ends in z,x or ch, it may look odd but with few exceptions, you will need to add "es" to your last name to make it plural. Think of the word sandwich or box. If you need to show plural possession add the apostrophe at the end as in sandwiches'.

To, Too & Two 

Few will misuse "too" so I'll concentrate on the latter two. Get the pun? Too usually means excessively, also, besides or very. It may also be used in place of "so" as in "you did too." A frequent example of a mistake would be to replace "too" with "to" as in, I ate to much or I want to go to. Seems like a rather mundane mistake but it really jumps off the page for the reader as an error.

There, Their & They're 

So common of a mistake yet so easy to avoid, another major mistake that will send readers running from your page.

In this case "there" is used frequently in place of "their" or "they're." Remember that "their" shows possession as in, we're riding in their car and "they're" is simple they joining of "they" and "are" as is, they're going home. See funny YouTube video below.


Take the There Their They're Test

RSVP or Invitation Response 

RSVP or also commonly R.S.V.P. translates to "répondez s'il vous plaît" or "please respond." If you receive a request to RSVP to a party, it means the sender wants you to response whether or not you can come to the event and it would be rude to ignore.

Please do not preface RSVP with "Please," it already means "please respond."

On the other hand, the term "Regrets Only" or "Regrets Only by October 10, 2009" is asking you to reply only if you can't make it. Sometimes this is easier since it is common for people forget to reply. Perhaps a few more people will show as well when they realize that it is too late to opt out.

Lastly, if you're going to use periods between the letters such as R.S.V.P., don't forget the last one!

Stationery or Stationary? 

In our line of work, the answer is obvious...we sell stationery. However, there seems to be a common misconception that the term "stationary" can be interchanged with "stationery." Just so we're clear, it cannot. "Stationary" means unchanging or immobile and the dictionary isn't ambiguous about it. However, if you look at frequent search terms in Google you'll see that a large percentage is used in conjunction with words like personal, paper, fine, custom, Christmas, holiday, letter and wedding. Since those words are clearly out of place when used with "immobile," there is an obvious misunderstanding of how to use the word. We even wrote a blog post regarding the misuse of stationary.

Because this issue is so ongoing and pervasive, we have dedicated a lens to the issue of how to use stationery and stationary in context.

Quiz Yourself 

A list of helpful and fun grammar quizes

Quiz: Test Your Writing Skills!
Take this quiz! Which of the following is the best for academic writing? "The group of three were inspired to do their grammar project together."
Quiz: Are you a Grammar King or Queen
See how well you fare with this grammar quiz. Take this quiz! What was the (affect/effect) of the victory? (Because/Since) he lied, he was expelled.
Quiz: It's Grammar, Not Grammer
do u type liek dis or are you more of the refined sort? If you're always saying, "Oh, I can use proper English, chat and 1337 are just faster," this is the...
Quiz: the its it's there their they're test
see if you know the answers Take this quiz! which one is correct? which one is correct? which one is correct?

Gimme more 

I'll be adding to this lens frequently. If you have a suggestion, let me know and I'll publish your comment and link back to your lens or site.

Thanks!

Vote for the "worst of" grammar errors 

If you care to vote but don't want to add a link

Add what peeves you, I've added a few of my own to start things off.

1

Vote Up
Vote Down

Misusing there, their & they're

1 point

2

Vote Up
Vote Down

Reversing me & I

1 point

3

Vote Up
Vote Down

Using an apostrophe in a last name to make plural

1 point

4

Vote Up
Vote Down

Misusing to, too & two

0 points

5

Vote Up
Vote Down

Using myself in place of me

0 points

A YouTube video on the misuse of Your and You're 

My favorite

Marty says: YOU'RE not using "YOUR" correctly.

Marty tries to clear up the "your vs. you're" grammar controversy. My website: http://www.andrewzilch.com

Runtime: 0:47
65511 views
10 Comments:

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A YouTube video dealing with grammar/spelling errors on video games 

Video Game Typos, Misspellings, and Bad Grammar

Runtime: 2:33
91084 views
10 Comments:

powered by YouTube

Feel free to leave your comments 

Suggestions welcome!

Lensmaster

Mortira wrote...

Awesome lens! It drives me crazy when 'your' and 'to' are misused, especially in professional situations. I once saw a landscaping truck that said "No job to big or small" on it. Yeesh.
It's also not funny when people misuse I and me, especially when they think they're doing it right. Like "It happened to my friend and I..."
Thanks for stopping by The Worst Lens Ever Made. I'll be adding this to the help plexo at the botton!

ReplyPosted November 14, 2008

Lensmaster

EditorDave wrote...

Hi Rick! Thanks for visiting my lens! You've got a great one here. Definitely 5*! I hope you don't mind, but I've linked to your lens from my lens on Grammar and Parts of Speech as a great resource! Best regards,
Dave Gardner (aka "EditorDave")

ReplyPosted October 12, 2008

Lensmaster

BeaucoupFavors wrote...

Great job outlining some common errors, and I loved the videos!

ReplyPosted September 08, 2008

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