34 Grammatical Mistakes
Hey everyone! I thought it would be a good idea to share a ton of grammatical mistakes I frequently made in my studies and miscellaneous writing. (Keep an eye out for any of these grammatical errors in my own blog pieces!) Just a quick disclaimer, I do not own any of the examples that I give for each of the grammar points. These examples are sourced from Fogarty’s two grammar guides (referenced at the bottom of this blog).
1. Shined or shone: Although I rarely use either of these two words, I thought it would be useful to include them here. Fogarty recommends that we use 'shined' with objects and shone in cases where there is no object (unless you have a good reason to deviate).
2. Plethora and ‘a myriad of’: Put simply, plethora should only be used in a negative light. Your cup should only runneth over with 'something unpleasant.' I made this mistake A LOT in my academic studies. I just thought it sounded good so I used it and I used it often.
In regards to the word ‘myriad,’ some have advised against its use. However, as Fogarty suggests, you can use this phrase. The only thing really stopping you from using this phrase is the AP referencing style. So unless you are following the AP style, you are free to use ‘a myriad of’ in your writing.
3. Plural and singular sentence structures (otherwise known as Subject-verb agreement): I still struggle with this one. Here are several rules related to plurality and singularity:
a. When exactly do you use 'is' or 'are' with plural or singular words? Here is the rule, according to Fogarty:
- singular word + plural word = plural verb (Neither milk nor cookies are on the menu.)
- plural word + singular word = singular verb (Neither cookies nor milk is on the menu.)
- plural word + plural word = plural verb (Neither brownies nor cookies are on the menu.)
- singular word + singular word = singular verb (Neither milk nor orange juice is on the menu.)
b. They: Its simple. Make sure to use they in plural not singular. For example, (and I fall into this trap A LOT), don't use they to refer to a single person. You must use they when referring to more than one person.
c. Media: In English, media (as with other collective nouns) is plural. In America collective nouns are usually treated as singular nouns: The band is here, the team is excited, and the media is on the story.
Hopefully that makes sense!
4. Elder and older: Put simply, older and oldest should only be used with things.
5. Utilise: Like plethora and myriad, I used the word ‘utilise’ A LOT in my academic studies (perhaps even more than I should have or needed to). There were many cases, whereby I could have (or should have) simply used the word 'use' instead of utilise. Also, remember that while utilize is the American spelling, utilise is the British spelling of the word.
6. Farther/Further: Farther refers to physical distance; further relates to metaphorical distance or means “moreover.” E.g. Aardvark ran farther than Squiggly. Further, they hope to run tomorrow.
7. Fewer/Less: Fewer should be used for count nouns, which are essentially nouns that refer to things or persons - singular or plural (e.g. There were fewer fish, or we had fewer baskets). Less should be used for mass nouns which, unlike count nouns, cannot be counted (e.g. There was less water, or this bottle contains less perfume).
8. Its/It’s & your/you're: In my academic studies, I was always taught to refrain for using contractions in formal writing. 'Its' is the possessive form of it; ‘it’s’ is the contractive form of it is or it has. For example, it’s a shame the tree lost its leaves. Your is the possessive form of you; you’re means “you are.”
9. In To/Into: This can be another tricky grammatical point. I know I found this distinction difficult at first. Into is a preposition that specifies a direction. By contrast, sometimes ‘in’ and ‘to’ just end up next to each other. An example of into would be 'move into the foyer. An example of in to would be 'he broke in to the dining room.' 16: into or in to: When you’re not sure whether to use into or in to, ask yourself whether there is motion (if so, you usually want into), or whether your verb would have a different meaning if you deleted the word in (if so, you usually want in to).
10. May/Might: I would use may (instead of might) in cases where the possibility of something happening is more likely.
11. Misplaced modifiers: This is a key grammatical point. You must ensure that the modifiers you use apply to the right words. For example, look at the following sentence: I only eat chocolate. In this sentence, I am basically saying that the only thing I eat is chocolate. I don't do anything else with it. However, if I were to say 'I eat only chocolate,' I would be saying that the only thing I eat is chocolate. It's a slight difference but it's there. Misplaced modifiers: E.g. misplaced adjectives, adverbs, phrases, clauses, dangling modifiers.
12. Nauseated/Nauseous: Nauseated means you feel queasy; nauseous describes something that makes you queasy. Put another way, nauseated is the sensation; but nauseous is what makes you feel that sensation.
13. Possession (Compound): This is a grammar point that I never really thought to check. When two people share something, they share an apostrophe. When two people have separate things, they each need their own apostrophe. For example, 'We’re at Squiggly and Aardvark’s house.' VERSUS 'Have you met Squiggly’s and Aardvark’s mothers?'
15. Prepositions (Ending Sentences with): It’s OK to end a sentence with a preposition, except when the preposition is dispensable. For example, Whom did you step on? This is okay. However, 'where is he at?' is wrong as you don't need to add 'at' to get your point across. 'Where is he' would convey exactly same meaning.
16. Quote/Quotation: Quote is a verb; quotation is a noun. I want to quote you. Is this the correct quotation?
17. Quotation Marks (with Other Punctuation): Commas and periods go inside of quotation marks; colons and semicolons go outside of quo- tation marks. Question marks and exclamation points can go inside or outside of quotation marks, depending on the context.
18. Was/Were: Use was to refer to the past; use were to refer to things that are wishful or not true. I was at the store. If I were rich, I would buy a yacht.
19. Who/Whom: Use who to refer to a subject; use whom to refer to an object. Who loves Squiggly? Whom do you love?
21. That/Which: Use that with restrictive clauses; use which with nonre- strictive clauses. I like gems that sparkle, including diamonds, which are ex- pensive.
22. Punctuation and brackets: Always place full stops outside closing brackets unless the entire sentence is parenthetical, in which case the full stop goes inside. Only use a comma after a closing bracket at the end of a clause. Use question marks and exclamation points inside brackets as required.
23: Capitalise:
- proper nouns, e.g. cities, countries, companies, religions, and political parties,
- words like mum and grandpa, when they are used as a form of address: e.g. Just wait until Mum sees this!
- Days, months, holidays, but not seasons,
- Most words in titles
- Nationalities and languages
- Time periods and events (sometimes); but centuries - and the numbers before them - are not capitalised.
When you’re describing a direction, south is lowercase: The map is behind a secret door on the south wall. When you’re naming a region, however, South is capitalized. Atlanta, New Orleans, and Mobile are all in the South, not the south.
22. Commas and lists: In British English, we do not normally use a comma before and at the end of a list of single words. But American English does.
23. However:
24. Toward: Use towards not toward (without the s) as the latter would be the American spelling of the word.
25. Lay or lie: I am currently covering transitive and intransitive verbs in Japanese. Lay is the transitive verb (you use it when you are laying something down) and lie is the intransitive verb (you use it when you or someone you are describing is taking the action of lying down). You lay a pen on the table, and lie down to sleep.
26: Quote/quotation: One of my supervisors in university make it clear that you only use quotation, you quote.
27: Try: Use try to instead of try and.
28: Dilemma: Unless you’re following a style guide that requires you to limit dilemma to a choice between two bad options, it’s acceptable to use dilemma to describe a difficult problem, even when alternatives aren’t involved, or to use dilemma to describe a difficult choice between pleasant options. Still, you’ll seem most clever when you use dilemma to describe a choice between two bad options. In other instances, before using dilemma, ask yourself if another word, such as problem, would work better.
29: Well & good: E.g. I am doing well - is correct instead of doing good.
30: Emigrate & Immigrate: Emigrate is to come from somewhere. Immigrate is to go to somewhere.
32: People or persons: I made the mistake of using persons quite a bit in my academic studies. It just sounded right to me. Sentences seemed to flow better with it included. However, persons is actually very archaic. Definitely use people instead of persons, unless you are speaking in a legal context.
33: Me, myself and I: Me and -- so and so - this is wrong, it would be x and I.
34: Sentence fragments: Remember a sentence needs to have a subject and a verb.
Sources:
Grammar Girl's 101 Misused Words You'll Never Confuse Again (Mignon Fogarty)
Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing (Quick & Dirty Tips) (Mignon Fogarty)
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