Commonly made grammatical/spelling mistakes

[lexitu]

I don't want to place a massive emphasis on the minor details of grammar but I thought it would be a good idea to create awareness of a few little things to look out for. Just remember though, this is me being finicky, making these mistakes is insignificant in the scheme of things and you do not simply "lose marks" for making minor mistakes here and there.

Please help to build on this list as I've compiled it quickly and there's more to be added.

What to look out for:

- Do not place apostrophes to denote plurality e.g. SACs not SAC's.

- Careful when removing contractions e.g. it is "should have" not "should of".

- In most cases, formal writing should not include contractions such as 'can't' unless it is showing speech or is used for a specific purpose or writing medium. Use full words such as cannot, do not, and so on.

- 'There' refers to a place or position, 'their' denotes belonging - "their English teacher", 'they're' = they are.

- 'You' can denote both plurality and singularity.

- There's should only be used for singular. This is so commonly misused it's not funny. My English teacher misused it and she was grammatically and linguistically outstanding. For example, instead of "there's so many words" say "there are so many words".

- Similarly, 'was' is not for plurals. "There were many nachos" is correct.

- I'll keep adding to this list if I think of anything else.

[fuzzylogic]

Your and You're... 

[Aden]

My English teacher always told me to stop using 'split infinitives' such as 'to clearly understand' in my essays. Although I know that there is a bit of a divide as to whether or not split infinitives are 'grammatically correct', I think it is still best to avoid using them in your essays.

[Zien]

It's and Its.

[Greatness]

People tend to misuse: 'to, two and too' a lot....

[Russ]

My English teacher always told me to stop using 'split infinitives' such as 'to clearly understand' in my essays. Although I know that there is a bit of a divide as to whether or not split infinitives are 'grammatically correct', I think it is still best to avoid using them in your essays.

They're 100% incorrect but because people use them so often they've become accepted. Dangling/misplaced modifiers are worse but thankfully less common.

[Zafaraaaa]

were and we're
their, there and they're

government NOT goverment
disappointment NOT dissappointment
vacuum NOT vaccum

and sometimes it's easy to get confused when microsoft word (that's set on english (u.s.) for me :S) tries to correct "colour" with "color".. IGNORE AMERICAN SPELLINGS of words;
Favourite- not favorite
Colour- not color

[iNerd]

What about affect and effect?

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/effective-vs-affective.html

[fuzzylogic]

were and we're
their, there and they're

government NOT goverment
disappointment NOT dissappointment
vacuum NOT vaccum

and sometimes it's easy to get confused when microsoft word (that's set on english (u.s.) for me :S) tries to correct "colour" with "color".. IGNORE AMERICAN SPELLINGS of words;
Favourite- not favorite
Colour- not color

Although it wouldn't come up too often in an English essay: MUM not mom!!!!

[herzy]

This thread is making me twitch - it's like an amalgamation of my pet hates. My one is slightly less relevant, but whenever you use 'if' as an hyperthetical, use 'were' or 'had' not 'was'.

If I were to go to the shops?

Would you still go out with me if I were married?

[herzy]

What about affect and effect?

Absolutely, one of the worst.

[Zien]

On that topic, would it be noted for the worse if we use Americanised word?

[Greatness]

Yeah many students get confused with the use of affect and effect. I find that saying the sentence out loud or just rereading helps identify whether or not it is correct.

[werdna]

My English teacher always told me to stop using 'split infinitives' such as 'to clearly understand' in my essays. Although I know that there is a bit of a divide as to whether or not split infinitives are 'grammatically correct', I think it is still best to avoid using them in your essays.

This one's interesting.. can you explain this further Aden?

[Ghost!]

Great thread.

It drives me crazy when people don't use the word you're. You are - You're, I don't understand why so many people struggle with it ><