7 Common Grammar Mistakes That Make You Look Stupid
When writing, it is important to use proper grammar. Bad grammar sticks out like a sore thumb and spoils an otherwise excellent piece of writing. There are many common grammar mistakes that you can easily avoid if you know how to identify these. Here are 7 common grammar mistakes you won’t want to make.
Common Grammar Mistake # 1 — No Subject Verb Agreement
Use a singular form of the verb for a singular subject and a plural form of the verb for a plural subject.
Wrong Usage: These plans is wrong.
Correct: These plans are wrong.
Wrong Usage: One of these shirts are mine.
Correct: One of these shirts is mine.
Mistake # 2 — It’s instead of its.
Another common grammar mistake is using it’s instead of its and vice versa. It’s is a contraction of it is or it has. Its is a possessive pronoun as in “My cat has a mind of its own.” When it doubt, say your sentence out loud and substitute it is. If it sounds wrong, its is the word you’re looking for.
Wrong Usage: The cat licked it’s kittens.
Correct: The cat licked its kittens.
Common Grammar Mistake # 3 — Making mistakes using the past tense
When using the past tense, make sure that regular verbs end with an -ed (liked, asked). Irregular past tense verbs change form (teach becomes taught, say becomes said)
Wrong Usage: She smile at me.
Correct: She smiled at me.
Wrong Usage: The lake is freeze.
Correct: The lake is frozen.
Mistake # 4- You’re instead of your
This mistake is often made when you’re in a hurry and you’re not thinking about what you’re writing. Your is a possessive pronoun that denotes ownership, as in your house or your article. You’re is a contraction for you are as in You’re a good writer.
Be careful and check every time you use the word you’re or your that you haven’t gotten the two mixed up.
Wrong Usage: Don’t forget to do you’re homework.
Correct: Don’t forget to do your homework.
Mistake # 5 — Sentence Fragment
A sentence fragment lacks a subject or a verb and thus cannot stand on its own as a sentence. It doesn’t make any sense.
Sentence fragment: The apple tree in our orchard.
Correct: The apple tree in our orchard is rotten.
Common Grammar Mistake # 6 — i.e. and e.g.
Both i.e. and e.g. are often misused and interchanged. When you want to say, “for example,” you should use e.g. (exempli gratia) while i.e. (id est) should be used in place of the phrase that is. These two are derived from Latin phrases. It can be confusing if you don’t know the right way to use them. To remember them correctly, e.g. can stand for “example given” while i.e. can mean “in effect.” Also, don’t add etc at the end of a list that begins with e.g. as this would be redundant. Both i.e. and e.g. should be followed by a comma.
Wrong Usage: Check your dog’s breed (i.e., border collie)
Correct: Check your dog’s breed (e.g., border collie)
Mistake # 7 — Shifting tenses.
Keep your verbs consistent. Don’t suddenly shift from the past tense to the present tense and then back again if you don’t have a good reason for doing so.
Wrong Usage: Lily baked a pie and I eat it.
Correct: Lily baked a pie and I ate it.
With practice, good grammar will become a cinch. Whenever you write, make sure to double-check and even triple check what you’ve written. When in doubt, ask someone to read your piece. It’s better to look stupid before one person than to have the rest of the world notice that you’ve made a mistake.
