Avoiding Common Grammar Mistakes   by JaZilla

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Simple Grammar Errors Cost You Credibility

When you're online, your words are your first impression. If you're building a business or a reputation as an online writer, it's important to present yourself well. Even casual, conversational writing needs good basic grammar.

Professional writing demands a higher standard, and publishers tend to reject error-filled manuscripts and submissions under the very valid theory that, if you were careless with the form of your writing, you were probably just as careless with the content.

Avoiding the most common grammar mistakes are a good start to showing your best both online and off.

Pronouns: Possessives Versus Contractions 

"Its" or "It's"?

Confusing possessive words with plurals is very common, especially when dealing with pronouns.

A Simple Way To Remember Possessive Personal Pronouns 

(Sorry about the alliteration in the title.)

Possessive Personal Pronouns Do Not Have An Apostrophe
Hers, His, Its, Ours, Theirs, Yours, Whose

Just remember "His & Hers"; none of the other personal possessive pronouns have an apostrophe ('), either.
  • Hers
    "Hers" is the possessive of the pronoun "her".
    She lost hers.

    Her's is not a word.
    An easy way to remember this is to think of "his's", which is not a word, either.

  • She's
    "She's" is the contraction of "she is".
    She's looking for it now.

  • His
    "His" is the possessive of the pronouns "he" and "him".
    It belongs to him; it's his.

    "His's" is not a word because "His's" would be the contraction of "his is".

  • He's
    "He's" is the contraction of "he is".
    He's looking for it now.

  • Its
    "Its" is the possessive of the pronoun "it".
    The dog was loose because its collar had come off.

  • It's
    "It's" is the contraction of "it is".
    It's running around the neighborhood now.

  • Ours
    "Ours" is the possessive of the pronouns "us" and "we".
    Ours is still at home.

    "Us's" is not a word because "us's" would be the contraction of "us is", just as "we's" is the contraction of "we is".

  • Theirs
    "Theirs" is the possessive of the pronouns "they" and "them".
    Theirs is a different color. The red one belongs to them.

    "Their's" is not a word because "their's" would be the contraction of "they is".

  • Whose
    "Whose" is the possessive of the pronoun "who".
    I wonder whose has stripes?

  • Yours
    "Yours" is the possessive of the pronoun "you".
    This blue one is yours.

    "Your's" is not a word because "your's" would be the contraction of "your is" and that just doesn't make sense.

Anyway, Anywhere, Everywhere, Nowhere, Somewhere 

None of these adverbs end in "s".

The Elements of Style 

William Strunk and E. B. White's classic writing manual.

The Elements of Style is the definitive writing reference manual. If you're writing at any level, this should be in your shelf right next to the Harbrace Handbook.
The Elements of Style Illustrated

The Elements of Style Illustrated

by William Strunk Jr., E.B. White

Amazon Price: $16.47 (as of 08/21/2008)

When To Use "A" and When To Use "The" 

"A" implies one of two or more choices.
"The" means the only choice.

Bob is a valedictorian of his high school class.
Translantion: Bob is one valedictorian of his class the year that he graduated, but there is at least one other.

Bob is the Valedictorian of his high school class.
Translantion: Bob is the only valedictorian of his class the year that he graduated.

It's a fine difference, but be careful that the words you choose do not imply something that wasn't intended. Also notice that "valedictorian" is only capitalized when used as a title, as opposed to when it is used as a description.

Could've, Should've, Will've, Would've, But Haven't Yet 

"Could have", "should have", "will have", or "would have" are correct; "could of", "should of", "will of", or "would of" are not.
The contractions "could've", "should've", "will've", and "would've" are also correct.

I have a theory that the "could of" problem exists because, in some accents (including mine), "could've" sounds the same as "could of".

The Harbrace Handbook 

Do you really need a Harbrace Handbook?
Only if you plan on writing something that other people will be reading...
Hodges' Harbrace Handbook (with InfoTrac) (Hodges Harbrace Handbook)

Hodges' Harbrace Handbook (with InfoTrac) (Hodges Harbrace Handbook)

by Cheryl Glenn, Robert Keith Miller, Suzanne Strobeck Webb, Loretta Gray

Amazon Price: (as of 08/21/2008)

Online Grammar Resources 

Grammar Slammer: English Grammar Resource
Online demo of Grammar Slammer.
Answers for all your English Grammar questions online.
Wikipedia: Grammatical Terms
Grammar From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
English Grammar Gone Awry - grammarerrors.com
Contains explanations of common errors in English, such as lie/lay, your/you're, its/it's, height/heighth, who/whom.

Blogs Concerning Grammar 

Warning: Some of the blog writers giving advice about grammar are human and make mistakes. (I am also human and probably made many mistakes here myself.)

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Comments About This Grammar Lens 

rushang

Awesome tips! Another great resource is the book "Painless Grammar" by Rebecca Elliot.

Also, if you're not keen on learning the rules of grammar (you probably should be), you can also try out this cool service: www.gramlee.com

Posted August 27, 2007
financegirls

Great tips! im sure everyone would find this useful in writing content for their websites.

Posted April 10, 2007

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