5 Grammar Mistakes You Can’t Afford to Make

Even if you’re not a professional writer, just about every business professional does some level of writing. While Twitter, Facebook and AIM have redefined the way we communicate, the fact that it’s so easy to Retweet, forward or reply all means it’s more important than ever to keep your correspondence grammatically correct.

Here are some common grammar hang-ups that plague most people. Use it as a cheat sheet for your next correspondence.

Its or It’s

This has got to be one of the most common grammar mistakes and it’s actually pretty simple. Its is the possessive of “it” and It’s is a contraction of “it is.” Essentially when you can replace the word with “it is” or “it has” then you should use It’s. In every other case, use Its. Here’s an example: “It’s been a long time since I took the dog for its walk.”

Affect vs. Effect

This is one that confuses even some of the best writers. Most of the time, Affect is a verb that means “to influence” and Effect is a noun that means “the result.” So when used in a sentence Affect would be the thing that happened and Effect would be the result. For example: “The storm affected the satellite dish reception and the effect was that the show didn’t record.”

Toward vs. Towards

This is one grammatical inconsistency that you see everywhere – and it may be the easiest one to clear up. Toward is commonly used in American English and Towards is British English. So, while there’s really no right or wrong answer, stick with Toward if you’re in the States.

Than vs. Then

This is one mistake that I see pretty much everywhere. Here’s the deal: Than is simply a conjunction used when you’re comparing two things. For example, Jenna is taller than Laura. Then has many different meanings but primarily means “at that time” or “immediately or soon afterward.” Bottom line, if you’re not comparing something, use Then.

Who vs. Whom

This is one that most everyone gets confused by. Who is an interrogative pronoun and is used in place of the subject of a question. Whom is also an interrogative pronoun but is used in the place of the object of a question. Here’s the quick trick: if you can answer the question with “him” or “them” then use Whom if you can answer the question with he, then use Who.

Did you find this blog post helpful? Then stay tuned for my next post when I dig deeper into common grammar mysteries like i.e. vs. e.g. and fewer vs. less.

Until then!

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Posted by Tracy Carr Copywriter
Friday, June 25, 2010 AT 9:30 am

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