Ten Grammar Mistakes Editors See Outside of Work

The life of an editor doesn’t stop when we leave the office. We leave work only to find our job follows us everywhere. From missing punctuation on a street sign to a “then” that should be a “than” in a friend’s Facebook post, the words and phrases we see in everyday life constantly remind us that nothing is ever perfect (and editors are not used as often as they should be).

Here are some common mistakes we catch out in the wild on a daily basis.

1. Plural vs. possessive

I often see this mistake on social media posts, handwritten cards, and even printed signs at restaurants or stores. Most recently, I saw this grammatical blunder on homemade T-shirts worn by a family of eight at Walt Disney World. Their T-shirts said: “Family Vacation”; then there was a picture of Cinderella’s castle, followed by their last name—we’ll call them the Smiths. Except the shirts said, “The Smith’s.” Adding that apostrophe between the “h” and the “s” made their name possessive, not plural, which is most likely what was intended. So… the Smith’s what? The Smith’s castle? They wish. If the Smiths (plural) wanted the Smith’s (possessive) shirts to be correct, they should have either dropped the apostrophe or changed the arrangement of the words to: “The Smith’s Family Vacation.”

2. Your vs. you’re

This is probably my biggest pet peeve of grammar mistakes. It completely changes the meaning of the sentence when these words get mixed up. “Your” is possessive (even though it doesn’t have an apostrophe) while “you’re” is a contraction of “you are.” I see people writing, “your the best friend I could ever have,” or “you’re hard work is really appreciated.” No! I won’t have it. Pay attention to what you’re writing and your audience will thank you.

3. There, their, they’re; were, we’re; then, than; and other mixed-up words

This type of mistake plagues social media the most, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t pop up in more important areas as well. Look closely at your writing for the “then” and “than” mix up, especially. These words sound the same, but they are, in fact, not. If you regularly have trouble with any of these homophones, you can find a variety of printable practice pages or helpful charts online.  While you may be called out for your word choice mistakes by friends and co-workers, take a look at these tweets from celebrities being corrected by Brazilian students who were learning English:

https://www.lostateminor.com/2013/07/31/kids-correct-celebrities-grammar-on-twitter/

4. Capitalization

You’d think the rules of capitalization would be easy to remember. Basically, you capitalize the first word of a sentence and proper nouns. However, I know some people who feel the need to capitalize Every Single Word They Type.

This astounds me because it’s not a typo or a mistake—it takes at least a semi-conscious effort to Capitalize Each Word In A Sentence. I’m not writing angry. I just want to know why. And don’t even get me started on the capitalization choices and mistakes people make when it comes to article and book titles. It Makes Me Crazy!

5. Run-on, punctuation-less sentences

As an English major, I took a lot of workshop classes. This meant bucket loads of peer-reviewing. I read some amazing work as well as some… well, let’s just say… more interesting writing. The latter featured numerous sentences that started with one thought and ended maybe a total of seven or more thoughts later in a completely different setting while trying to convey the writer’s stream of consciousness and making the attempt at meaning even more confusing than it really needs to be all the while moving further and further down the page with no punctuation in sight much like this sentence that I’ve forced myself to write well against my better judgment. Whew. Now you can breathe.

Sometimes, commas can save lives.

6. The Oxford comma

Speaking of commas, I know the Oxford comma isn’t necessarily a set rule, but it does help with readability and understanding. To me, the quality and clarity of a piece is reduced if the Oxford comma is not used. My friends and I noticed the Oxford comma left off of a card in a complicated board game we were learning, and the majority of us were disappointed.

The Oxford comma should be used in sentences like, “I’m inspired by my grandparents, Julie Andrews and Chris Pratt.” Are my grandparents Julie Andrews and Chris Pratt? No. Would you be asking that question if I had used the Oxford comma? Also no.

7. Less vs. fewer

Every time I walk into the grocery store, I cringe. That “10 Items or Less” sign just haunts me day after day. Most people aren’t clear on the difference between using “less than” or “fewer than,” but it’s fairly clear cut. Either the noun you are referring to is countable (fewer) or uncountable (less). For example, in the grocery store line, you can count to see whether you have 10 items or fewer in your cart. However, if someone offers you some water while you wait, you can ask for more or less water (as the water is uncountable).

Of course, as with many grammar and other rules, there are some exceptions (e.g., with time and money; they typically use “less”). A simpler rule to follow is to use “less” if your noun is singular and “fewer” if your noun is plural. For example, if you were comparing Great White sharks to bull sharks, you might say: “There are fewer Great White sharks than bull sharks in the Atlantic Ocean.” (A quick nod to Shark Week!) But if any of those sharks were less than 20 feet away, you probably wouldn’t really care what kind of sharks they were.

8. Verb-tense agreement

This is an especially egregious error when made with the verb “to be.” It’s easy to lose track of the subject of a sentence and the singularity or plurality of the subject when the sentences are long and complex. Comma usage just makes this even more difficult (especially when commas are misplaced, but that’s another matter entirely). Regardless, it’s essential to use the correct verb tense, whether “is” or “are,” or any other tense of any other verb.

This gets particularly tricky when dealing with plural possessives and words that double as both singular and plural forms. The easiest way to avoid this is to count backwards. Literally, go back in your sentence and identify the subject—remind yourself—and see if it’s singular or plural. Then, figure out which verb tense is appropriate and use it.

9. Don’t use that semicolon; it doesn’t belong there (or does it)

It’s tempting to use that little period-comma combination just to show you went to college and aren’t afraid of it. Except, you should be. Semicolons should be used quite sparingly, and there are only a few rules for when they’re even appropriate at all. Here they are.

Use a semicolon to separate items in a complex list. For example: “On my trip, I went to London, England; Paris, France; and Dusseldorf, Germany.” Using commas where those semicolons are would be extra confusing, because it would seem like Paris was a different place from France, which is a different place than Dusseldorf, which is a different place than Germany. The semicolons make it apparent that those cities and countries are grouped together. (See also # 3 above.)

The other rule: Use a semicolon to connect two phrases ONLY when they are directly related to each other. If the sentences aren’t directly related, don’t even think about it. Here’s an example: J.K. Rowling created the character of Harry Potter; she also created Hermione Granger. The second sentence is directly related to the first one since it refers to the same subject and expands on the subject matter.

10. Exclamation points galore!

There’s an old saying: “When everything is important, nothing is important.” That’s the way we should all feel about using exclamation points in our writing. When I was in college, I was told by a writing professor that I only got five exclamation points to use in my professional writing career, and to use them wisely.

Exclamation points are like the Boy Who Cried Wolf. Putting an exclamation point at the end of every sentence (or, heaven forbid, multiple exclamation points) desensitizes readers to the importance of the message. When readers see so many subtle brain hints that something is important—which is exactly what exclamation points are—they won’t recognize them as such when they keep reading.

If there’s a question about whether or not you should use an exclamation point, don’t! Oops.

This isn’t, by any means, a definitive list of grammar mistakes editors often catch, even after we shut our laptops for the day. The written word is everywhere, and there is no such thing as a finished document. There will almost always be something missed in the messages we encounter, but it’s up to us to make sure every possible “t” is crossed and “i” is dotted.

Want to make our lives outside of work a little easier? Next time you post a status update, or write an email or Yelp review, read what you wrote before sending it out into the world. You might not catch everything, but you could save your editor friends from experiencing involuntary eye twitches, gasps, cringes, groans, or even a small amount of pain.

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Composure Editorial