Fun with Grammar

There is nothing more grating to an author’s ears or eyes than hearing or seeing poor grammar. I know I’m “preaching to the choir” on this topic, and yet, I’ve seen many grammatical errors right here on Vocal. I’ve been caught a few times myself. Usually it’s just a typo, but more on that later. Some people would be well advised to get the free version of Grammarly. At least twice, I stopped reading stories because the grammar was atrocious.

I’d like to begin with one of the most irksome, rampant examples of all.

Your vs You’re

Wrong: Your going to love you’re first taste of victory.

Correct: You’re going to love your first taste of victory.

I can’t understand why people can’t get this right. Yet, all over the internet, people say things like, “Your not going to believe this.” You’re right, I don’t believe it. Your is possessive. If you can substitute “you are,” then it should be “you’re.” Get that into you’re your skulls, people!

Its vs It’s

Wrong: The cat hurt it’s paw, so its resting.

Correct: The cat hurt its paw, so it’s resting.

The tricky part about this is that the possessive form of it is its, not it’s. Only if you can break the contraction by substituting “it is” should you use “it’s.” Otherwise, it’s its. Um, it’s clear, right?

I seen

Wrong: I seen a cool show on TV.

Also wrong: I didn’t seen that show.

Correct: I saw a cool show on TV.

Also correct: She has seen the show.

Also correct: I have seen many cool shows on TV.

The word “seen” should never directly follow the word “I” – or any other non-contracted pronoun for that matter. “She seen” “We seen” “They seen” are all examples of what not to say or write. We’ve seen it many times! (See? Contracted.)

Loose vs Lose

Wrong: My dog got free from her lose collar. We didn’t want to loose her.

Correct: My dog got free from her loose collar. We didn’t want to lose her.

Lose is a verb relating to a loss. Loose is usually an adjective describing something not firmly fixed, like a tooth or an article of clothing.

Then vs Than

Wrong: When she buys a clock, than she will have more time then money.

Correct: When she buys a clock, then she will have more time than money.

Than is a conjunction used to make comparisons. Then is an adverb used to situate actions in time.

Less vs Fewer

Wrong: My yard has fewer dirt and less trees than my neighbor’s yard.

Correct: My yard has less dirt and fewer trees than my neighbor’s yard.

I read somewhere once that signs at checkout counters should say, “10 items or fewer” instead of “10 items or less.” That's going to bother you from now on, isn't it? You're welcome!

This comes down to whether the items are quantifiable or not. If you can count them, use fewer. If not, use less. I’d like to have fewer bills and less debt. Wouldn’t we all?

Farther vs Further

Wrong: Although Russia is further away from me than Death Valley, I have no farther desire to visit either place.

Correct: Although Russia is farther away from me than Death Valley, I have no further desire to visit either place.

Farther is generally used to describe distance. Further is for figurative and nonphysical descriptions. Some countries do use these words interchangeably.

Good vs. Well

Wrong: Life is well. My test went good.

Right: Life is good. My test went well.

Good is usually an adjective, describing a noun. Well is usually an adverb, describing a verb. Here’s the cagey part; you can say, “I am good,” meaning you are well-behaved, or you can say, “I am well,” meaning in good health. Hopefully, you can make both claims.

Who vs Whom

Wrong: My teacher, for who I am doing research, asked me whom was at the door.

Correct: My teacher, for whom I am doing research, asked me who was at the door.

If you can replace the word with he or she, you should use who. If you can replace the word with him or her, you should use whom. Using the example above, I could say, “I’m doing research for her” so I should use whom. I could say, “She asked me if he was at the door” so I should use who. Who knows for whom the owl whos?

Lie vs Lay

I admit this one gets me stumped. I thought my husband cleared it up for me by saying that lie is only telling an untruth. He was only partially true (gasp)! I had used the word lay in one of my Vocal pieces, and someone called me out on it. Sure enough, I looked it up and edited it.

Wrong: I was told to lay down, but first I will lie my books on the bed.

Correct: I was told to lie down, but first I will lay my books on the bed.

These two are tricky. Lie means to be in a flat position - and to tell something untrue - but I'll let that sleeping dog lie! Lay means to put something down. The distinction is that lay usually requires an object whereas lie is the person doing the action. I may still need to look these up on occasion. Will you lie there waiting for me to check the dictionary?

I saved my greatest grammatical annoyance for last, and it’s very common.

There’s vs There are

Wrong: There’s lots of animals, but there are one type of tree in the garden.

Correct: There are lots of animals, but there’s one type of tree in the garden.

This one is so easy, but so frequently misused. I’ve heard there’s used incorrectly by newscasters, fellow teachers, principals, pastors, and on TV shows.

If you can say “there is” then fine, use there’s, but if not, it should be there are. Would you say, “There is lots of animals?” I hope not! So don’t say, “There’s lots of anything!” There’s should be followed by only one object, not multiples. Listen for this one! I say listen because hopefully, if you write it incorrectly, your word processor will flag it for you. It will amaze you how prevalent this error is when you start to hear it. You may even catch yourself!

I hope you learned a thing or two from this article and got a few chuckles from my some of my silly statements.

It has been made clear that Vocal challenges aren’t writing contests, but if you write with poor grammar, it can distract from your wonderful stories and articles. Keep your writing clean and have fun!

Online Source: https://www.merriam-webster.com