Avoid these 4 embarrassing grammar errors
October 20, 2008 by Jennifer AzaraPosted in: Communication tips, Efficiency, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest news & views, Management issues
Are you or your staffers guilty of any of these sins against good grammar?
This is Finance — you’re numbers people. Chances are few of your staffers majored in English.
Doesn’t mean you want egg on Finance’s collective face by making any of these common grammar mistakes:
Mistake #1: “Your” vs. “you’re”
This might be the most common blunder out there. “Hope your going to be able to make the meeting” — wrong. If you can say the exact same sentence with you are, use the contraction you’re. Similar errors with the same fix: It’s vs. its and whose vs. who’s.
Mistake #2: “affect” vs. “effect”
This one is simple to remember: If you need a verb, go for affect (”The policy change will only affect nonexempt employees”); if you require a noun, use effect (”The effects from the new accounting system conversion will be felt for a few weeks”).
Mistake #3: “less” vs. “fewer”
Both mean the opposite of more, but you can’t use them interchangeably. If you can count the number of items, use fewer (”Sarah has fewer collection calls to make than Jay”); If you can’t count the items individually, use less (Sarah has less work than Jay”).
Mistake #4: “ei” vs. “ie”
Spellcheck should help you with this most times. But if you’re handwriting a note, a grade school rhyme will do the job: I comes before e, unless it comes after the letter c, or when it makes the sound of a, like neighbor or weigh.
Are there any other common grammatical mistakes you see? Share them in our comments section.
October 21st, 2008 at 8:45 am
I hate to see “as per” used - Whatever happened to just using “per?”
October 27th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
Loose in place of lose. That one is so common, it’s almost become an accepted spelling of the opposite of win.
Or how about judgement instead of judgment. The first is an alternate international spelling while the second is the correct American spelling.
October 27th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
When I went to school, “irregardless” was definitely considered incorrect. OMG, if people continue to use it more and more, it may become more than a joke. If so, I will choke.
October 27th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
The most common errors I see are gauge spelled guage, the use and spelling of their - I often see thier, and finally received spelled recieved. The last one I have seen on web pages, in cover letters and I think the worst was from a human resources department is a job rejection letter.
October 27th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
There are two words that are often misused by many: It’s “regardless” not “irregardless”, i.e. “Regardless of the situation, I have found…..”
Also, “oriented” not “orientated”, i.e. “We have oriented ourselves to the high fuel prices.”
October 27th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
I see there, thier and they’re mixed up a lot- Drives me crazy!
October 27th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
I cannot stand it when people mess up common words, such as “to”, “too”, and “two”. I have seen many people use them erroneously, such as, “Jane is walking TOO the store”, instead of, “Jane is walking TO the store.” Go back to elementary school people!!!!
October 27th, 2008 at 6:13 pm
How about a ruling on when it is appropriate to use an apostrophe, rather than just adding an “s” to the end of the word? I see plurals misspelled everywhere!
October 27th, 2008 at 7:22 pm
I think the error that bothers me most is “Send your reply to Jim and I” rather than “to Jim and me.”
October 28th, 2008 at 8:26 am
While living in Montana, I noticed the frequent use of the word “boughten” and it drove me absolutely nuts! How about: “don’t” in place of “doesn’t”, and “ain’t” instead of “isn’t.”
I’m not an English major, either, but proper communication is vitally important in today’s world, and I pride myself on the use of proper grammer and punctuation. Their be lots of great gramer books out theyre. Ones youve boughten yourself one, it ain’t to hard to use it.
Irregardless of what people say, irregardless is not a word.
October 28th, 2008 at 9:30 am
How about the word “FRUSTRATED” - I’ve heard it pronounced without the first “R” as “FUSTRATED”
Bugs me, but do you correct the person? I usually don’t.
October 28th, 2008 at 10:58 am
irregardless
One entry found.
Main Entry: ir·re·gard·less
Pronunciation: \?ir-i-?gärd-l?s\
Function: adverb
Etymology: probably blend of irrespective and regardless
Date: circa 1912
nonstandard : regardless
usage Irregardless originated in dialectal American speech in the early 20th century. Its fairly widespread use in speech called it to the attention of usage commentators as early as 1927. The most frequently repeated remark about it is that “there is no such word.” There is such a word, however. It is still used primarily in speech, although it can be found from time to time in edited prose. Its reputation has not risen over the years, and it is still a long way from general acceptance. Use regardless instead.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/irregardless
You guys may not like it, but it is a dictionary word.
October 28th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
Well, color me embarrassed! I know which word to use, just not how to spell them!!! ( And yes, I did a spell check on this one!
)
October 28th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Using “a ton” to mean “many” has become common, but it drives me crazy to hear that somebody has a ton of ideas for solving a problem. Do they have one really heavy idea or several thousand lightweight ideas or some number in between?
October 30th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
How about the use of “alot” instead of a lot?
October 30th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
Youse folks have to much time on you’re hands ! Just kiddin.
November 24th, 2008 at 8:57 am
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