Common Grammar Mistakes

I'm no English major, but according to the prevalent misuse of elementary grammar principles I might as well be. English is arguably one of the most complex and difficult languages to learn in the world. However, for all of us Americans, it has been drilled into our minds over the entire course of our scholastic careers. Many problems I see daily aren't with syntax; however, there are numerous problems with common spellings and simple contractions. I'm not trying to preach anyone on their intelligence or knowledge of the English language (or lack thereof, I suppose), but rather I'm trying to understand how these mistakes are so common if they've been learned over and over again.

 Now spelling is only relevant in writing or reading. When you're speaking, the word comes out correctly (at least some of the time). Therefore, it doesn't matter if you know how to spell it or not. In the professional workplace and institutions of higher learning, however, it is imperative that you spell correctly otherwise you could lose credibility. There are a few words in particular that I see spelled wrong over and over again. This list includes, but is not limited to, definitely, sophomore, government, and receive (for those of you interested, this is a pretty accurate compilation of 100 commonly misspelled words: http://www.yourdictionary.com/library/misspelled.html). I know everyone has read an e-mail, advertisement, or something else of that nature and seen a misspelled word. I know for me, this misspelled word is a very sore point in a piece of writing and it can draw your attention away from the point trying to be made. For most people it's not really a big deal, but misspelling words in a formal document can make you look uneducated and force people to question your intellectual capabilities as well as intelligence. All I'm saying is that we all need to be more conscious when it comes to spelling, and realize that sometimes spelling can make a big difference in the effectiveness of an argument or any other type of contention. If you can spell definitely correctly, (not definantly, definatly, definitly, deffinately, etc.) you are already on the right track.

Now it's time to talk about the most common errors in simple grammar that are enough to drive someone up the wall. The most common, and most annoying, error is the misuse of your and you're. Everyone has learned about contractions several times in their life. No one has a problem using don't which is the equivalent of do not, or we've which is the same as we have. Some people tend to forget that you're is actually the same exact thing as you are. Some people see the apostrophe and use that to symbolize ownership of something. For example, some people will actually say "that is you're dog" because they think that this sentence means the dog belongs to you. On the contrary, the sentence should actually read "that is your dog" because ownership is denoted by your. This is a very, very, very, VERY common occurrence and it makes you look stupid sometimes. If you misuse this simple contraction, the sentence of "that is you're dog" becomes "that is you are dog." Think about this if you are ever writing something formal to a potential or current employer.

Another huge mistake is the misuse of to, too, and two. I know it sometimes gets confusing when there are several spellings of the same word, all with different meanings. This is another one of those cases where using one incorrectly can make you look like an idiot. For example. "I'm going too the park." How many of you would read this sentence and laugh? I mean, in all seriousness, this is second and third grade material. The sentence should obviously read, "I'm going to the park." Some people tend to forget that "too" is actually the equivalent of "also," but it can mean "excessive" too, such as in "that is too cold."

A third mistake is when people misuse their, there, and they're. Once again with the contractions. "They're" actually breaks down into "they are," so it would be used like "they're going to the park," not "there (or their) going to the park." It seems that little words like this should become pretty automatic after writing and using them for so long. It is kind of funny to see extremely intelligent professors using these types of words incorrectly. So, in review, "there" is referring to location or position, "their" is referring to group ownership of something, and "they're" is just a contraction for "they are."

A final common mistake is the misuse of then and than. It can sometimes be easy to confuse these two because they can sound similar when speaking, but they are two entirely different meanings. When comparing something, it looks stupid when you write something like "two is greater then one." I'm pretty sure everyone knows what "then" means, but keep in mind that the word "than" is used when comparing things.

Hopefully I'm not the only one who is bothered by all of these things. That being said, I hope this was a nice little crash course in simple english for those of you who may have forgotten.