 |
 |
Jeepers, this chap appears to have
confused the
possessive adjective your with the
contraction
you're. |
 |
If you confuse your and
you're in an official document, your readers will think
you're a bit dim. |
 |
If you don't understand the
difference between your and you're, then
simply never write you're. In its place write
you are. If what you've written doesn't make sense, then
you wanted your.
Or, learn about
your and you're. |
|
 |
|
It's a very funny sign, but I'm
afraid the designer has let himself down by confusing the
possessive
adjective your with the
contraction
you're. |
|
If you're trying to be clever,
don't make basic grammar errors. You'll look a bit
foolish. |
|
Learn about
your and you're. |
|
 |
|
AD stands for Anno Domini.
It denotes the era after Christ's birth. |
|
It's not a serious error, but AD
is usually written before the year. |
|
For religious diversity, you can
use BCE (for BC) and CE (for AD).
Read more about
AD, BC, BCE
and CE. |
|
 |
|
"Two hits to who?" I feel slightly
faint. This should be "Two hits to
whom?"
You see, who can't be the
object of a
preposition. |
|
Whom sounds a bit more
sophisticated
than who, but that's not
what determines which one to use. If you use whom
incorrectly, your readers will think you're trying to be smart
(and failing). |
|
Substitute whom with him
or them. If that part of your sentence still works,
whom is almost certainly correct. (It's no coincidence that
whom, him
and them all end in m. They're all
pronouns in the
objective case.)
More on who and whom. |
|
 |
|
Well, if you're going to show you
don't know that whom follows a
preposition, why not
put it on a sign half the size of a house? |
|
Putting who when you mean
whom (as in this example) is not as serious as putting
whom when you mean who. (See below.) |
|
If you don't know the difference
between who and whom, never use whom.
This isn't great advice, but it's fairly good damage limitation.
Alternatively, learn the difference:
who and whom. |
|
 |
|
In the last sentence, it should be
who not whom. Crikey, this is a tricky one.
I can see why they got it wrong. "Whom" is not the
direct object of the
verb "existed," it's the
subject. |
|
Get someone to proofread your
work. I suspect the author of this snippet knows the
difference between who and whom, and clearly
gave it some thought. He/she should have discussed it with mates. |
|
Learn the difference:
who and whom. |
|
 |
|
A
declarative
sentence starting with which? Really, you shouldn't
start a sentence with a
relative pronoun. |
|
I don't think this is a hideous
error, but don't start a sentence with who or which
unless it's a question. |
|
Want to know when to put a comma
before which? It's a nasty subject, I'm afraid.
See:
which, who and that and commas. |
|
 |
|
Oh, that comma could be
interpreted as placing "Cows" in the
vocative case. |
|
Beware of ambiguity when using
commas. |
|
The
vocative case
doesn't lend itself to formal documents. Don't use it when
you're writing official correspondence. |
|
 |
|
Oooh, a
dangling modifier. |
|
The modifier (often
the bit to the left
of the comma) must relate to whatever it's describing (often the
bit on the right of the
comma). If it doesn't, it's a dangling modifier, which is a
grammar error. Here's another incorrect example:
Vicious
smelly creatures with huge tusks, the ship's crew were reluctant
to drive the male walruses from the beach. |
|
When proofreading your work,
assume your modifier is dangling until you're sure it isn't.
For example:
Having followed a strict high-protein
diet, her weight dropped off rapidly.
ALERT ALERT ALERT (her weight didn't follow the
diet)
Having followed a strict high-protein diet, she
rapidly lost weight.
 |
|
 |
|
What? Oh, you mean too.
|
|
Getting too and to
mixed up will deliver a kidney punch right in your credibility. |
|
Don't rely on instinct to get this
right. You must know how to use
too and to.
|
|
 |
|
If you don't like my
firebomb...too bad. |
|
If you're being snotty with your
customers (not a great retail practice), don't commit a grammar
howler. You'll look really stupid. |
|
If you don't know it, learn
the difference between
too and to. It's basic stuff, which your readers will
expect you to get right. |
|
 |
|
The
plural form of
nouns ending in vowels tend
to attract
apostrophes. This is wrong. |
|
This
would be a serious error in a formal document. I must
admit to being a little more forgiving with ads and signs, and I
don't think this looks too bad. You almost expect an
apostrophe with the word "TATTOO'S", especially when it's
all upper case. But, let's be clear on this – it's
wrong. If you do this in an official letter, your readers will
think you're a bit dense. |
|
Don't use an apostrophe to show
the plural form of a noun. Apostrophes cause more errors
than any other punctuation mark. It's worth being clear on
when to
use apostrophes. |
|
 |
|
 |
|
Here we have a set
of single quotation marks and two sets of double quotation marks
at the same level. It's
normal to nest singles within doubles. |
|
I don't think is a bad mistake, but it's worth highlighting. |
|
Use doubles (") in
the first instance. If you need quotation marks within those
doubles, use singles ('). If you want, you can do it the other
way around; i.e. singles first. Whatever you choose, be
consisent.
Here are some more
examples. |
|
 |
|
Whoever
wrote this ad has been
inconsistent when forming the plurals of abbreviations.
ISAs = Instant Savings Accounts
PEPS (should be PEPs)
= Personal Equity Plans |
|
It's usually a good idea to avoid apostrophes when forming the
plurals of abbreviations, and I congratulate the writer of this
ad on that point. But, unfortunately, he's been
inconsistent with his formatting. I don't think this is a
serious error. It's just a bit untidy. |
|
Help your readers
by being consistent with formatting. |
|
 |
|
Vooops, it's
is a contraction of
it is or it has. They should have used
the
possessive adjective its. |
|
I can see the apostrophe as well, but, believe me, it's
has nothing to do with
possession. You should expect your readers to know the
difference between it's and its. Getting
this wrong is quite a serious grammar howler. |
|
This fix is a bit
draconian (but it works): Never write it's...ever.
Instead, write it is or it has. If you
can't because your sentence doesn't make sense, then use its.
Learn more about
it's and its. |
|
 |
|
The
indefinite pronoun
no one is not written with a hyphen. |
|
Some grammarians condone a hyphen in no one, claiming
it eliminates ambiguity with no one meaning
not a single. However, the times when there would be
true ambiguity a very rare. Here's one example:
No
one can will work. < This sentence works with no one
meaning no person and also not a single.
|
|
Don't put a hyphen
in no one. |
|
 |
|
Errr, the
possessive
form of kids is kids'. |
|
If you're going to talk about education, at least get the basics
right. |
|
The model is
A's B when A is singular.
It's As' B when A is plural.
It's always irrelevant whether
B is singular or plural.
Unfortunately,
there are one or two exceptions to the models above. Learn how
to use
apostrophes to show possession. |
|
 |
|
The editor of this
local Welsh newspaper seems to have missed a basic error. You
see, it's
is a contraction of
it is or it has. It is not a
possessive adjective. That's its. |
|
I know this newspaper well, and it's/its errors are
extremely rare. Even so, readers will make assumptions
about the journalist's education based on this error. |
|
You must get
someone to proofread your work. As the author, you'll have
"author blindness," which means you won't spot your own
mistakes. |
|
 |
|
This young
chap has confused the
possessive
adjective your with the
contraction
you're. |
|
If you're going to get something "clever" tattooed on your head,
try to make sure it doesn't make you look a bit daft. |
|
After you've
written your or you're, spend a second to look
at it again. Most of the your/you're errors I see are a
result of rushing.
If you don't know the difference
between you're and
your, you must learn it now. |
|
 |
|
 |
|
More confusion
over the possessive
adjective your and the
contraction
you're. |
|
Honk if my horny what?
Here's a top tip: Don't deface
your car with graffiti that makes you look a bit thick.
To the owner: This photo was taken because of your grammar
error, not because your graffiti was humorous. |
|
Learn the
difference between
you're and your. |
|
 |
|
 |
|
They resisted
putting the apostrophe in PHOBIAS, but it was obviously too much
for them to maintain that discipline for another two words. |
|
Don't use apostrophes in normal
plurals. |
|
No, really, don't. |
|
 |
|
What? |
|
If you're often tempted to shove an apostrophe before the letter
s without really knowing why, you're
probably making yourself look really dense every time you put
pen to paper (or finger to keyboard). |
|
Don't use
apostrophes in normal plurals. |
|
 |
|
Apostrophes
can replace missing letters. I'm not sure how to
describe what's going on here.
Imagine finishing the
sign, looking at it and thinking, "Yeah, that'll be okay."
(No, I can't. I'm not that imaginative.) |
|
Don't drink and make signs. |
|
It's okay to start
again after you've pressed "print." |
|
 |
|
There are
specific
rules about when to use apostrophes.
a. To replace
missing letters (e.g. aren't).
b. To show possession
(e.g. Sarah's jumper).
c. In expressions such as
3 months' wages.
d. In the plurals of abbreviations,
letters and numbers (e.g. 6's and 7's) if it
aids your reader. |
|
The alphabet does not look like this:
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQR'STUVWXYZ
It looks like this:
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ |
|
Apostrophes will
hang you if you don't know how to use them. Learn
about
using apostrophes. |
|
 |
|
The comma after
"Gorgeous" suggests there are two adjectives modifying "Skin".
"Gorgeous Looking" is a
compound adjective.
I could live with:
Gorgeous Looking Skin
but best
(grammatically) would be:
Gorgeous-Looking Skin or
Gorgeous-looking Skin |
|
It is possible to use a comma when you have more than one
adjective. For example:
A cold, windy day.
But, don't use a comma in the middle of a compound
adjective.
Free, range eggs.
|
|
Learn about
hyphens
in compound adjectives and the
various alternatives to hyphens. |
|
 |
|
The apostrophe
suggests the break room is for one worker. Clearly, it's
for more than one. Should be:
FESTIVAL WORKERS'
BREAK ROOM |
|
Don't rely on instinct to get apostrophes right. |
|
The model is
A's B when A is singular.
It's As' B when A is plural.
It's always irrelevant whether
B is singular or plural.
Unfortunately,
there are one or two exceptions to the models above. Learn how
to use
apostrophes to show possession. |
|
 |
|
 |
|
This mouthwash
helps fight...freshen breath. What's all that about? |
|
Make sure all
your bullet points align with introduction. |
|
It's good practice
to make all your bullet points the same format; e.g. make them
all start with nouns or make them all start with verbs. This is
called a parallel list, and it'll help your readers. It
also shows you're a clear thinker.
See Section 11 of our
paperback. |
|
 |
|
What? Oh, BUMP. |
|
Writers can get too close to their work to proofread it. |
|
Get your mate to
proofread your work.
Oh, don't worry, you'll see all
your errors as soon as you press 'send' or 'print'. But,
it's often too late at that point. |
|
 |
|
Who found this
picture? Anyway, that aside, the writer has confused the
possessive adjective your with the
contraction
you're. |
|
I think the lady is supposed to be a school teacher. Well,
if so, she's a dim one.
Confusing your and
you're is unforgivable.
|
|
Learn the
difference between
your and you're. |
|
 |
|
 |
|
Oh dear, the
contraction
should've is short for should have not should
of. |
|
You might get away with saying should of, but if you
write it, you're toast. |
|
Don't write
should of, could of, would of, will of, might of, or
may of.
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
Ah, close.
The
apostrophe in this temporal expression should be after the
s. |
|
Apostrophes will trip you up if you're not confident in how to
use them. Your readers will know. You can't rely on
instinct to get them right. |
|
Learn
apostrophes in temporal expressions.
The model is
A's B when A is singular.
It's As' B when A is plural.
It's always irrelevant whether
B is singular or plural.
|
|
 |
|
Should be it's
not its. Its is the
possessive
adjective. It's is a
contraction of it
is or it has. It's more common to see this
error the other way around; i.e. writers using it's
when they mean its. |
|
Don't get its and it's wrong. It's a
pretty serious goof. |
|
Make sure you're
clear about when to use
its and it's. |
|
 |
|
See also:
Do you disagree with something on this site?
Please tell us
You can ask us
Delicious
Digg
Facebook
reddit
Stumble