10 Flagrant Grammar Mistakes That Make You Look Stupid
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10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid
By Jody Gilbert
March 6, 2008, 6:11 AM PST
Takeaway: Sending a less-than-perfect e-mail to a friend is one thing; mistakes arent really a problem. But if you want to craft an error-free message that reflects your professionalism, be on the lookout for these common grammatical slip-ups.
These days, we tend to communicate via the keyboard as much as we do verbally. Often, were in a hurry, quickly dashing off e-mails with typos, grammatical shortcuts (Im being kind here), and that breezy, e.e. cummings, no-caps look. Its expected. Its no big deal. But other times, we try to invest a little care, avoiding mistakes so that theres no confusion about what were saying and so that we look professional and reasonably bright.In general, we can slip up in a verbal conversation and get away with it. A colleague may be thinking, Did she just say “irregardless”?, but the words flow on, and our worst transgressions are carried away and with luck, forgotten.
Thats not the case with written communications. When we commit a grammatical crime in e-mails, discussion posts, reports, memos, and other professional documents, theres no going back. Weve just officially gone on record as being careless or clueless. And heres the worst thing. Its not necessary to be an editor or a language whiz or a spelling bee triathlete to spot such mistakes. They have a way of doing a little wiggle dance on the screen and then reaching out to grab the reader by the throat.
So here we are in the era of Words red-underline “wrong spelling, dumb ass” feature and Outlooks Always Check Spelling Before Sending option, and still the mistakes proliferate. Catching typos is easy (although not everyone does it). Its the other stuff — correctly spelled but incorrectly wielded — that sneaks through and makes us look stupid. Heres a quick review of some of the big ones.
#1: Loose for lose
No: I always loose the product key.
Yes: I always lose the product key.
#2: Its for its (or God forbid, its)
No: Download the HTA, along with its readme file.
Yes: Download the HTA, along with its readme file.
No: The laptop is overheating and its making that funny noise again.
Yes: The laptop is overheating and its making that funny noise again.
#3: Theyre for their for there
No: The managers are in theyre weekly planning meeting.
Yes: The managers are in their weekly planning meeting.
No: The techs have to check there cell phones at the door, and their not happy about it.
Yes: The techs have to check their cell phones at the door, and theyre not happy about it.
#4: i.e. for e.g.
No: Use an anti-spyware program (i.e., Ad-Aware).
Yes: Use an anti-spyware program (e.g., Ad-Aware).
Note: The term i.e. means “that is”; e.g. means “for example.” And a comma follows both of them.
#5: Effect for affect
No: The outage shouldnt effect any users during work hours.
Yes: The outage shouldnt affect any users during work hours.
Yes: The outage shouldnt have any effect on users.
Yes: We will effect several changes during the downtime.
Note: Impact is not a verb. Purists, at least, beg you to use affect instead:
No: The outage shouldnt impact any users during work hours.
Yes: The outage shouldnt affect any users during work hours.
Yes: The outage should have no impact on users during work hours.
#6: Youre for your
No: Remember to defrag youre machine on a regular basis.
Yes: Remember to defrag your machine on a regular basis.
No: Your right about the changes.
Yes: Youre right about the changes.
#7: Different than for different from
No: This setup is different than the one at the main office.
Yes: This setup is different from the one at the main office.
Yes: This setup is better than the one at the main office.
#8 Lay for lie
No: I got dizzy and had to lay down.
Yes: I got dizzy and had to lie down.
Yes: Just lay those books over there.
#9: Then for than
No: The accounting department had more problems then we did.
Yes: The accounting department had more problems than we did.
Note: Heres a sub-peeve. When a sentence construction begins with If, you dont need a then. Then is implicit, so its superfluous and wordy:
No: If you cant get Windows to boot, then youll need to call Ted.
Yes: If you cant get Windows to boot, youll need to call Ted.
#10: Could of, would of for could have, would have
No: I could of installed that app by mistake.
Yes: I could have installed that app by mistake.
No: I would of sent you a meeting notice, but you were out of town.
Yes: I would have sent you a meeting notice, but you were out of town.
Bonus peeve
Ill just throw one more thing out here: My current burning pet peeve. At some point, who knows when, it became common practice