Grammar Mistakes To Avoid At All Times
Writing, as you know it, is a craft. People make a living off it. It’s a skill that requires round-the-clock polishing—the more you write, the better you get. And this ‘polishing’ includes dodging common mistakes in English grammar. Grammatical errors in writing are a huge let-down for readers.
Think about it for a while. As a writer, you might have a ton of ideas brewing in your mind, which make for great topics to write about. Your tone and voice might be spot-on. But if your write-up is riddled with grammar mistakes, the chance of losing your prized credibility as a fantastic wordsmith is tarnished.
That’s not all. Novice grammar mistakes will most-definitely put-off your followers. This means losing out on potential readers, and getting snubbed by those who were loyal fans of your work, once upon a time.
The risks of committing common grammar mistakes can also affect your livelihood. You can be branded as a terrible writer who didn’t take grammar lessons seriously.
Now that’s one description that can garner hate and negative reviews. This basically means that you’ll be overlooked by clients, and the chances of your article being shared drastically reduce.
It’s simple to understand—you’re out of business.
Scary as that may sound, there’s always room for improvement. Business might suffer, but with enough practice in identifying common grammar mistakes in English, you’ll bounce back in no time.
Here’s What You Will Learn about Identifying and Avoiding Common Grammar Mistakes In Writing
- Common errors in English grammar and their grammatically correct versions
- Spelling and grammar check with online grammar check tools
The Magnificent Three: Me, Myself, and I
This is a classic amongst grammar mistakes, and one that most writers get wrong time and again. When you’re writing, it’s quite natural to refer to yourself as “I”. But then the question arises—when does “myself” and “I” come into play?
First of all, you should draw a line between “me” and “I”. For instance, take a look at the following sentence:
I went to the parlour. Jenkins gave me a hard look.
It’s quite straightforward when sentences involve a single person. However, problems crop up when more than one person is mentioned. You’ll understand the correct grammar usage with the following distinction(s):
Correct: Spidey and I are good friends.
Incorrect: Spidey and me are good friends.
Correct: The journalist screamed at Spidey and me.
Incorrect: The journalist screamed at Spidey and I.
Grammar correction in this regard is easy to make if you visualise the sentence by removing the other person besides you. Simply put, remove Spidey and choose between the correct pronoun— “me” and “I”.
“Myself” should only be used to go back and mention the subject in the sentence. Under no circumstance should you ever use “myself” for “I” or “me”.
Correct: I gave myself a huge helping at the dinner table.
Incorrect: Forward the email to myself.
The Face-off: Common Errors in English Usage
Grammar mistakes under this subheading are repeated by writers all over the world. It’s not like they’re difficult to spot or understand; it’s just lazy proofreading or in-explicit writing. Here are the grammar mistakes that breed incorrect grammar sentences:
- Effect or Affect?
The confusion between affect and effect is one of the most common grammar mistakes to avoid. You see, the word “affect” is a verb, and “effect” is a noun. Here are a few examples that’ll clear the air surrounding them.
Don’t throw the trash out in the open. It’ll affect the environment.
The effect of choosing plastic over biodegradable material is hazardous to our environment’s health.
Can you spot the difference? Grammar mistakes such as this can be rectified if you focus on the placement of “the” before both “affect” and “effect”. Since “affect” is a verb you can’t put a “the” before it.
- It’s and Its
Here’s another contributor to grammar mistakes that confuses readers, and changes the meaning of the entire sentence.
As a rule, remember that “its” is a possessive pronoun, whereas “it’s” is a condensed form of “it is” or “it has”.
For example, the sentence: “It’s a wonderful day” can be read as “It is a wonderful day”. If you write “It’s been a wonderful day”, it means “It has been a wonderful day.”
On the other hand, “its” has an effect that can be understood from the following sentence(s):
“The art of exercising and its benefits.”
If you’re still confused, try reading your sentences by replacing “its” and “it’s” with “it is”. If it doesn’t sound right, go with “its”.
- Your/You’re Grammar Mistakes Are Noteworthy
Just like the case above, the confusion between “you’re” and “your” irks readers.
The apostrophe between “you” and “re” in “You’re” is included to condense “you are”. The word “Your” is a possessive pronoun. The examples given below will highlight the difference between the two.
“You’re in a lot of trouble.” The significance of “You’re” in this sentence is to say “You are.”
“Your dog is not friendly at all.” Here, “Your” acts as a possessive pronoun.
- Check Grammar For Misuse Of Their, They’re, and There
While performing a grammar check, sentences must be thoroughly investigated for erroneous usage of “Their”, “They’re”, and “There”.
All of them sound the same. But their meanings are totally different.
“Their” is a plural possessive pronoun, as in “Their valuables were robbed by the dacoits.”
“They’re” is a contraction for “They are”. For example, “They’re going to the lake for a swim.”
Finally, “There” can be interpreted in two ways: as a destined location, or as a pronoun. For instance, “The boys are on their way there” signifies that the boys are heading towards a predetermined location. On the other hand, the “There” in “There was something odd about the cave” is a pronoun.
Is there any more confusion? Good, let’s move on.
English Grammar Checking With Grammar Mistakes Checker
Grammar mistakes can only be rectified when you know what you’re trying to say. Having said that, you’ll have to proofread precariously in order to seek them out or avoid them in the first place.
Now that you have gone through some grammar mistakes given above, there are plenty of resources online that focus on grammar mistakes examples. Of course, reading through all of them might be arduous and time-consuming. But in the long run, you’ll be the one benefiting.
You might also be wondering, “Is there a quicker way to correct my grammar”? Well, there is. There are plenty of online tools nowadays that check for grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors.
The good news is that they work perfectly and point out any errors in your write-ups. As a writer though, you must take it upon yourself to find and fix the errors manually. You can employ the tools to ensure error-free content once you’re done scanning manually.
Content is king. You must already know that by now. So find, fix, and avoid errors at all costs.
