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Even after years of education, there are some things that some people still mess up. For me,
it's algebra. For others, it's the laws of physics. And for many, it's grammar.
It's not easy. Words and phrases that sound fine in your head can look like gibberish when
written down -- that is, if you even realize you made a mistake in the first place. It's easy for
little grammar mistakes to slip by, especially when you're self-editing.
But how do you prevent grammatical errors if you're not even aware you're making them?
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Well, you can start by reading through this post to see which common grammar mistakes
resonate with you the most. (It's okay -- we're all guilty of at least one.) Make a mental note to
avoid that mistake in the future, or heck, just bookmark this page to remind yourself of them
over and over (and over) again.
FREE RESOURCE
First Name
John
Last Name
Smith
4. Incomplete Comparisons
5. Passive Voice
6. Dangling Modifiers
8. Possessive Nouns
10. Me vs. I
25. Semicolons
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26. Compliment vs. Complement
I find it's helpful to search through my posts (try control + F on PC or command + F on Mac)
for those words and check that they're being used in the right context. Here's the correct
usage of "they're," "there," and "their":
They're going to love going there -- I heard their food is the best!
See the difference? "Your" is possessive and "you're" is a contraction of "you are."
Again, if you're having trouble keeping them straight, try doing another grammar check
before you hit publish.
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Do a control + F to find this mistake in your writing. It's really hard to catch on your own, but
it's a mistake everyone can make.
4. Incomplete Comparisons
This one drives me up a wall when I see it in the wild. Can you see what's wrong with this
sentence?
Faster, better, stronger ... than what? What are you comparing your car to? A horse? A
competitor's car? An older model?
When you're asserting that something should be compared to something else, make sure you
always clarify what that something else is. Otherwise, it's impossible for your readers to
discern what the comparison actually means.
5. Passive Voice
If you have a sentence with an object in it -- basically a noun that receives the action -- passive
voice can happen to you. Passive happens when the object of a sentence is put at the
beginning of a sentence instead of at the end. With passive voice, your writing comes across
as sounding weak and unclear.
"... Passive happens when the object of a sentence is put at the beginning of a sentence
instead of at the end ..."
There's way too much passive voice. See how the sentence doesn't have a subject that's
acting upon the object? The object is mysteriously being "put at the beginning," making the
sentence sound vague and clunky.
Passive voice happens when you have an object (a noun that receives the action) as the
subject of a sentence. Normally, the object of the sentence appears at the end, following a
verb. Passive writing isn't as clear as active writing -- your readers will thank you for your
attention to detail later.
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Passive happens when the writer puts the object of a sentence at the beginning, instead of
at the end.
In this example, the sentence correctly uses a subject, "the writer," to actively describe the
object.
Make sense? It's kind of a complicated thing to describe, but active voice makes your writing
seem more alive and clear. Want to get into the nitty-gritty of avoiding passive voice? Check
out this tip from Grammar Girl.
6. Dangling Modifiers
I love the name of this mistake -- it makes me think of a dramatic, life-or-death situation such as
hanging precariously off a cliff. (Of course grammar mistakes are never that drastic, but it
helps me remember to keep them out of my writing.)
This mistake happens when a descriptive phrase doesn't apply to the noun that immediately
follows it. It's easier to see in an example taken from my colleague over on the HubSpot Sales
Blog:
After declining for months, Jean tried a new tactic to increase ROI.
What exactly is declining for months? Jean? In reality, the sentence was trying to say that the
ROI was declining -- not Jean. To fix this problem, try flipping around the sentence structure
(though beware of passive voice):
Jean tried a new tactic to increase ROI after it had been declining for months.
Better, right?
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It might seem a little strange at first, but once you start correctly referring to a brand or entity
as "it," the phrasing will sound much more natural than "they."
8. Possessive Nouns
Most possessive nouns will have an apostrophe -- but where you put that apostrophe can be
confusing. Here's an example of possessive nouns used incorrectly:
In this sentence, "all" implies there's more than one lizard, but the location of the apostrophe
suggests there really is just one.
If the noun is plural, add the apostrophe after the s. For example: the dogs' bones.
If the noun is singular and ends in s, you should also put the apostrophe after the s. For
example: the dress' blue color.
On the other hand, if the noun is singular and doesn't end in an s, you'll add the apostrophe
before the s. For example: the lizard's tail.
Simple, right? If you want a deeper dive into the rules of possessive nouns, check out this
website.
Effect, with an "e," isn't used as a verb the way "affect" is, so the sentence above is incorrect.
When you're talking about the change itself -- the noun -- you'll use "effect."
When you're talking about the act of changing -- the verb -- you'll use "affect."
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10. Me vs. I
Most people understand the difference between the two of these, until it comes time for them
to use one in a sentence.
When you get done with that lab report, can you send it to Bill and I?
Try taking Bill out of that sentence -- it sounds weird, right? You would never ask someone to
send something to "I" when he or she is done. The reason it sounds weird is because "I" is the
object of that sentence -- and "I" should not be used in objects. In that situation, you'd use
"me."
When you get done with that lab report, can you send it to Bill and me?
Much better.
"To" is typically used before a noun or verb, and describes a destination, recipient, or action.
Take these examples:
"Too," on the other hand, is a word that's used as an alternative to "also" or "as well." It's also
used to describe an adjective in extremes. Have a look:
My colleague, Sophia Bernazzani, writes for the HubSpot marketing blog, too.
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You might have noticed that there's some interesting comma usage where the word "too" is
involved. We'll cover commas a bit more later, but when you're using the word "too" to
replace "also" or "as well," the general rule is to use a comma both before and after. The only
exception occurs when "too" is the last word in the sentence -- then, follow it with a period.
1. There's an apostrophe in one to make it plural ... which typically isn't done, and
Unfortunately, it's AP Style, so we just have to live with it. It's a hot angle for content formats,
so I wouldn't shy away from using it. But when you're checking your writing for grammatical
errors, just remember that the apostrophes should be in different places.
Note: There are different schools of thought about how to punctuate this one depending on
what style guide/usage book you're using. The Chicago Manual of Style, for instance,
recommends "dos" and "don'ts." The important thing is to be consistent and stick to one style
guide, whether it's AP Style, Chicago, or your own house style guide.
Many people use the terms interchangeably when trying to elaborate on a point, but each one
means something different: "i.e." roughly means "that is" or "in other words," while "e.g."
means "example given" or "for example." The former is used to clarify something you've said,
while the latter adds color to a story through an example.
Peek is taking a quick look at something -- like a sneak peek of a new film.
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And pique means to provoke or instigate -- you know, like your interest.
If you're going to use one in your writing, stop and think for a second -- is that the right "peek"
you should be using?
When you're describing an object, use "that." For example, you should say, "Her computer is
the one that overheats all the time." It's pretty simple, but definitely something that gets
overlooked frequently.
"Who" is used to identify a living pronoun. If you asked, "Who ate all of the cookies?" the
answer could be a person, like myself ("I did"), or another living being ("the dog did").
"Whom" is a little trickier. It's usually used to describe someone who's receiving something,
like a letter -- "To whom will it be addressed?" But it can also be used to describe someone on
the receiving end of an action, like in this sentence:
"Whose" is used to assign ownership to someone. See if you can spot the error in this
question:
Because the sweater belongs to someone, it should actually be written this way:
"Who's," on the other hand, is used to identify a living being. It's a contraction for "who is" --
here's an example of how we might use it in a sentence here in Boston:
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Who's pitching for the Red Sox tonight?
See the difference? "Whose" is used to figure out who something belongs to, whereas "who's"
is used to identify someone who's doing something.
If you're trying to remember to stay away from "alot," check out this awesome cartoon by
Hyperbole and a Half featuring the alot. That face will haunt you for the rest of your content
marketing days.
They're often confused, but "into" indicates movement (Lindsay walked into the office) while
"in to" is used in lots of situations because the individual words "to" and "in" are frequently
used in other parts of a sentence. For example, "to" is often used with infinitive verbs (e.g. "to
drive"). Or "in" can be used as part of a verb (e.g. "call in to a meeting").
So if you're trying to decide which to use, first figure out if the words "in" or "to" actually
modify other words in the sentence. If they don't, ask yourself if it's indicating some sort of
movement -- if it does, you're good to use "into."
According to Merriam-Webster, "lose" is a verb that means "to be unable to find (something
or someone), to fail to win (a game, contest, etc.), or to fail to keep or hold (something wanted
or valued)." It's like losing your keys or losing a football match.
"Loose" is an adjective that means "not tightly fastened, attached, or held," like loose clothing
or a loose tooth.
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A trick for remembering the difference is to think of the term "loosey-goosey" -- both of those
words are spelled with two o's.
*Shudder.* In the sentence above, "then" should be "than." Why? Because "than" is a
conjunction used mainly to make comparisons -- like saying one thing was better "than"
another. "Then" is mainly an adverb used to situate actions in time:
But "shoulda," "coulda," and "woulda" are all short for something else. What's wrong with this
statement?
Since it's so common for us to throw around fake worlds like "shoulda," the above mistake is
an easy one to make -- "shoulda" sounds like a shortened version of "should of." But really,
"shoulda" is short for "should have." See how it works in these sentences:
So next time, instead of saying, "shoulda, woulda, coulda," I should probably say, "should've,
would've, could've."
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There are entire courses on correct comma usage, but let's go over some of the most common
comma use cases here.
Each element in a series should be separated by a comma. For example: "I brought a jacket, a
blanket, and an umbrella to the park." That last comma is optional. It's called an "Oxford
comma," and whether you use it depends on your company's internal style guide.
You can use commas to separate independent clauses that are joined by "and," "but," "for,"
"or," "nor," "so," or "yet." For example, this sentence is correctly written: "My brother is very
smart, and I've learned a lot from him."
An independent clause is a sentence that can stand on its own. Here's how to test it: Would
the second part of the sentence (following one of those coordinating conjunctions) make a full
sentence on its own? If so, add a comma. If it doesn't, leave it out.
At the beginning of a sentence, we often add an introductory word or phrase that requires a
subsequent comma. For example:
Or:
Other common introductory words and phrases include "after," "although," "when," and
"while."
To learn about more use cases for the comma, check out this blog post from Daily Writing
Tips.
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"To assure" means to promise or say with confidence. For example, "I assure you that he's
good at his job."
"To ensure" means to make certain. For example, "Ensure you're free when I visit next
weekend."
Finally, "to insure" means to protect against risk by regularly paying an insurance company.
For example, "I insure my car because the law requires it."
Why? Because "items" are quantifiable -- you can count out 10 items. Use "fewer" for things
that are quantifiable, like "fewer M&Ms" or "fewer road trips." Use "less" for things that aren't
quantifiable, like "less candy" and "less traveling."
25. Semicolons
Semicolons are used to connect two independent clauses that, though they could stand on
their own, are closely related. For example, you could use a semicolon in the sentence: "Call
me tomorrow; I'll have an answer for you by then."
Notice that each clause could be its own sentence -- but stylistically, it makes more sense for
them to be joined. (If there's a coordinating conjunction between the two clauses -- like "and,"
"but", or "or" -- use a comma instead.)
You can also use semicolons to separate items in a list when those items contain commas
themselves:
There are two options for breakfast: eggs and bacon, which is high in protein and low in
carbs; or oatmeal and fruit, which is high in carbs but has more fiber.
If something "complements" something else, that means it completes it, enhances it, or makes
it perfect. For example, a wine selection can complement a meal, and two colors can
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The word "compliment" though, refers to an expression of praise (as a noun), or to praise or
express admiration for someone (as a verb). You can compliment your friend's new haircut, or
pay someone a compliment on his or her haircut.
However, in most countries, there are actually subtle differences in meaning between the two.
"Farther" is used more to refer to physical distances, while "further" is used more to refer to
figurative and nonphysical distances. So while Paris is "farther" away than Madrid, a marketing
team falls "further" away from its leads goal. (Note: The word "further" is preferred for all
senses of the word in the U.K., Australia, Canada, and elsewhere in the Commonwealth of
Nations.)
The word "further" can also be used as an adjective or as an adverb to mean "additionally."
For example, "I have no further questions."
The en dash can also be used to represent time spans or differentiation, such as, "That will
take 5–10 minutes."
The em dash, on the other hand, can be used to set off quotation sources, such as, "'To be, or
not to be, that is the question.' —Shakespeare."
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2. Capitalize nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, and subordinate conjunctions.
Let's use the title of this post as an example: "Grammar Police: 30 of the Most Common
Grammatical Errors We All Need to Stop Making." If left to my own devices -- and remember, I
write for a living -- I would have left "We" lowercase. I always have to double-check, which is
why guides like this one are so valuable.
So you choose between a red shirt and a black shirt, but you choose among all your shirts. You
walk between Centre Street and Broad Street, but you walk among your friends.
English, like many other languages, has its own set of tricky rules and intricacies. But with a
little bit of practice and help from guides like this one, you can become a grammar master.
Want to learn more about grammar? Check out the 23 Witty Grammar Jokes & Puns to Satisfy
Your Inner Grammar Nerd.
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