Grammar can be tricky, and even experienced writers can slip up now and then. There are many common errors that can make your writing seem unprofessional, and to help you improve, here are some of them to watch out for.
Using “Then” Instead of “Than”
To show grammatical correctness, always remember that “Then” refers to time, such as “first, we went to the store, then we went home.” In contrast, “Than” is used for comparisons, like “she is taller than her brother.” Mixing these up can lead to misunderstandings, so try to avoid it.
Misusing “Effect” and “Affect”
Many people fail to understand the difference between “Effect” and “Affect,” even into adulthood. To explain, “Effect” is a noun meaning a result, while “affect” is a verb meaning to influence. To illustrate, “The new law had a significant effect” and “The weather affects my mood” are two excellent examples.
Confusing “Fewer” and “Less”
When you’re talking about quantities, always remember that “Fewer” is used for countable items, as in “fewer apples,” whereas “Less” is used for uncountable quantities, such as “less water.” This can be an abstract concept to understand, but once you get it, it’ll be easy to avoid this mistake.
Mixing Up “Your” and “You’re”
As SIUK explains, confusing “your” and “you’re” is one of the most common grammatical errors, but try not to do it, as it’s confusing for anyone reading your work. “Your” is a possessive adjective, indicating ownership, such as “your car.” Meanwhile, “You’re” is a contraction of “you are,” such as “you’re going to the store.” Remembering the difference can greatly improve the clarity of your writing.
Incorrect Use of “Their,” “There,” and “They’re”
Even more confusing than “Your” and “You’re,” the three similar words of “Their,” “There,” and “They’re” often trip people up. “Their” indicates possession, as in “their house,” whereas “There” refers to a place, like “over there.” Finally, “They’re” is a contraction of “they are.” Once you remember these, it’ll become second nature.
Misplacing Apostrophes
Another highly common, albeit embarrassing, grammatical error is the misuse of apostrophes. These punctuation marks indicate possession or create contractions, but that’s not always simple. For example, “It’s” means “it is,” whereas even if you’re using “it’s” to show possession, such as in “the dog wagged it’s tail”, this is false. Meanwhile, writing “The dog’s tail was wagging” would be grammatically correct, which is confusing.
Dangling Modifiers
While it has a rather amusing name, it’s important to remember what a dangling modifier is. These occur when a descriptive word or phrase is not clearly attached to the word it modifies. For example, “Running to the bus, the bag fell off.” This dangling modification can confuse readers, because the bag isn’t running, and the sentence needs to be restructured for clarity.
Overusing Passive Voice
It’s good practice to avoid overusing passive voice when writing, which can make sentences unclear or overly complex. It’s difficult to master, but remember the following examples for help: “The cake was eaten by the dog” is passive, whereas the active voice equivalent would be, “The dog ate the cake.”
Inconsistent Tenses
Grammatical standards state that you should never switch tenses within a sentence or paragraph, which can confuse readers. Consistency in tense maintains the flow and clarity of your writing. For instance, if you start in the past tense, stay in the past tense unless there’s a specific, usually creative, reason to change.
Improper Use of “Me” and “I”
There’s no denying that understanding the difference between using “me” and “I” is confusing, but try your best to master it. “I” is the subject of a sentence, while “me” is the object. For example, “John and I went to the store” and “The gift was for John and me” are both grammatically correct due to the introduction of the gift, which was the subject of the latter sentence.
Splitting Infinitives
While it sounds complicated, splitting infinitives is pretty simple once you understand it. It involves placing an adverb between “to” and the verb, as in “to quickly run.” While splitting infinitives in this way isn’t always incorrect, it can sound awkward, so it’s generally better to keep the infinitives together, as in “to run quickly.”
Misplaced Commas
Many writers struggle with their comma placement, which can dramatically change the meaning of a sentence. To illustrate, “Let’s eat, Grandma” is an incredibly different sentence from “Let’s eat Grandma.” Proper comma placement ensures your meaning is clear and avoids unintentional humor, such as in this amusing example.
Subject-Verb Agreement Errors
When you are writing, subjects and verbs must always agree in number. To explain, singular subjects need to be paired with singular verbs, and plural subjects need plural verbs. If you’re struggling to understand this, it’s a smart idea to speak to an expert in the English language, as they’ll happily clear it up to get your grammar on track.
Incorrect Use of “Which” and “That”
Another classic grammatical error that many people make is mixing up “Which” and “That.” “Which” introduces non-restrictive clauses, adding non-essential information, while “that” introduces restrictive clauses that are essential to the meaning. For example, “The car that is red is mine” concerns an essential addition to the sentence, whereas “The car, which is red, is mine” suggests the car’s color is not essential to know.
Redundant Phrases
People commonly use phrases such as “close proximity” or “absolutely essential” in their writing, both of which are examples of redundant phrases. “Proximity” already means closeness, and “essential” means absolutely necessary, so adding additional synonyms before these words just isn’t necessary.
Confusing “Lay” and “Lie”
It’s a common mistake to mix up the words “Lay” and “Lie,” but you should try your best to stop making this mistake. To “Lay” upon something requires a direct object, while “to lie” does not. To illustrate, you should say, “Lay the book on the table,” and “I lie down to rest,” which is also fine.
Using “Who” and “Whom” Incorrectly
Even though “Whom” is a rather old-fashioned word, people still commonly confuse it with the more common “Who.” “Who” is used as a subject, while “whom” is used as an object. So, saying “Who called you?” works fine, as does “Whom did you call?” However, it must be said that these days, most people won’t notice this mistake.
Improper Parallel Structure
Perhaps the most confusing grammatical error on this list is that of the improper parallel structure. It’s not as confusing as it sounds, though; parallel structure means using the same pattern of words to show equal importance. For example, “She likes hiking, swimming, and biking” is grammatically correct, whereas “She likes hiking, to swim, and biking” just sounds off.