Stop! Grammar time
Now I don’t want to preach, we’re all guilty of slipping up from time to time, but…
That’s right, no exceptions! This blog will go through the top three common grammatical mistakes that people make all the time – are you guilty?
Common mistake # 1 - Punctuation
To some people, punctuation is little more than dots and squiggles, but the correct use of punctuation can really make or break a piece of writing. The two most common punctuation mishaps occur with apostrophes and commas.
Apostrophes ( ’ )
What’s wrong here?
Sack the signwriter! Commas don’t need to be used for words that end in ‘s’. I wonder why they didn’t go for the whole shebang and say, “Cake’s for all occasion’s” – at least then it would have been consistently bad!
Paris, Paris, Paris - you’re giving us blondes a bad name. Letting someone else review your fashion designs for mistakes, now that’s hot.
I’ll tell you what’s not happening - the correct use of apostrophes!
To put it simply…
1. You don’t need an apostrophe on plural words (words ending in 's'). Apostrophes should indicate possession (e.g. the boy’s hat, mum’s cake, Briar’s blog)
2. Always put apostrophes in the place of the missing letter when contracting words (what is becomes what’s)
3. Be aware of exceptions to the rule - you don’t need apostrophes for possessive pronouns (e.g. its, his, yours, ours, theirs) or numbers (e.g. 1950s, 90s)
Commas (,)
Now, I don’t want to alarm you but it’s true, commas can save lives…
There are many rules that are bandied around for the use of commas, but in its most simple sense, a comma separates different clauses or ideas in a sentence.
If you’re using commas within a sentence to separate or highlight some of the information, you need to ensure the sentence still makes sense if you take away the commas. For example:
The business, led by its new sales manager, is achieving record sales growth.
So, if we delete the information enclosed in the commas, the sentence is still complete, as it reads:
The business is achieving record sales growth.
Common mistake # 2 - Your vs You’re
According to the facebook group below, “use a comma or full stop, and I might just understand what your saying”. Well that’s great, but everyone else would understand what “you” “are” saying if you used the right word - “you’re”.
The difference between your and you’re is that one indicates possession (your) and the other is a contraction for you are (you’re), with the apostrophe replacing the missing letter.
Here’s some examples:
“Is that your book?”
“Your theme is writing.”
“How much of your time did you spend?
“You should consider your writing more.”
“You’re silly.”
“What is it that you’re trying to say?”
“You’re right.”
“Only if you’re sure it’s the right thing to do.”
So, your use of the word ultimately depends on whether you’re able to distinguish the difference between the two uses. So if you’re sure which one you should use in your writing then you’re off to a great start.
Common mistake # 3 – They’re, their and there
Yep, you got it, three different types…
They’re is a contraction for they are and the apostrophe goes in place of the missing letter, as in: “They’re playing outside.”
Their indicates possession of something, as in: “It’s their cake.”
There refers to a place or a position, as in: “The book is over there.”
So, please consider my examples because they’re there so that when you edit other people’s work you can see their mistakes. Got it?!
Believe it or not, at communikate et al we spend a lot of time correcting these kinds of mistakes and that is our role - to get it right. Being able to communicate well is so much more than knowing the basics and that’s why it always helps to have someone else review your work for you or, better yet, hire a communications professional who is able to write for you!
Never underestimate the power of words.
- Briar Standing, Senior Consultant
The material on this web page comprises the personal views of the author and does not represent the view or opinion of communikate et al. communikate et al accepts no liability for the content of this web page.
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