Five Glaring Grammatical Errors — and How to Fix Them
Today's fast-paced world is marked by its ease of communication. Instant messaging, text messaging and e-mail are common ways to exchange information and ideas quickly.
These types of communications often let good grammar take a backseat to the desire for speed. Although shortcuts might be acceptable in an instant message, they create the wrong impression in other areas.
When you are writing an essay or a formal letter intended for a college admission officer, proper grammar is essential. Make a good impression by learning how to avoid these common errors.
| Mistake #1: Its versus It's | |
| Example | The class lost it's privileges. |
| False Assumption | If you want to show possession, you must use an apostrophe. |
| The Truth | It's always equals "it is." The possessive form of this word is always its, without an apostrophe. |
| The Correction | Ask yourself, "Do I mean it is?" If not, skip the apostrophe. Similar common errors include misusing there/their/they're and who's/whose. Be sure to use these correctly. |
| Mistake #2: Pronoun-Antecedent Disagreement | |
| Example | Every person must make their own decisions. |
| False Assumption | It's okay to use their — a plural pronoun — to refer to a singular antecedent (in this case, the antecedent is every person). |
| The Truth | When you use their in this sentence, the reader thinks that you don't know the rules of pronoun-antecedent agreement. Person is singular, so you can't use the plural pronoun their. |
| The Correction | Use his or her. The sentence above, for example, could be written like this: "Every person must make his or her own decisions." Or you can change the singular antecedent (every person) to a plural. In this case, you could write: "All people must make their own decisions." |
| Mistake #3: Lack of Parallel Structure in a Series | |
| Example | All Sophia ever wanted was to finish high school, to graduate from college and a good job. |
| False Assumption | The elements of a series — that is, a list of things in a sentence — don't have to be the same part of speech, as long as they each complete the thought correctly. |
| The Truth | Using parallel structure makes your sentence much clearer. It also keeps the reader's focus on the main idea. |
| The Correction | Make sure that terms in a series are the same part of speech. If you end one verb with -ing, end them all with -ing. If you begin your list with a noun, stick to nouns throughout. Here's a better version of the sentence above: "All Sophia ever wanted was to finish high school, to graduate from college and to find a good job." |
| Mistake #4: Run-on Sentences | |
| Example | John left before Sue could make her point, so she was angry, she chose to stay silent, however, rather than express her true feelings and risk hurting his. |
| False Assumption | When you're writing, keep going until you complete your entire thought. |
| The Truth | Independent clauses that contain a subject and a verb can be joined with certain conjunctions such as and, but and so — but not with a comma, like the one after the word angry in the sentence above. Also, when you connect too many clauses in one sentence, you increase the chance of losing your focus and confusing your reader. |
| The Correction | Break down run-on sentences with periods or semicolons. This allows you to keep the point of a sentence clear and to better control the pace of your text. The example above should be made into two sentences: "John left before Sue could make her point, so she was angry. She chose to stay silent, however, rather than express her true feelings and risk hurting his." |
| Mistake #5: Spelling Errors | |
| Example | Examples of common spelling errors are too numerous to list. |
| False Assumption | Spelling doesn't count. |
| The Truth | Errors in spelling are perceived as laziness or carelessness on the part of the writer. |
| The Correction | Use a spell-checker, proofread your text and then have someone else proofread it. Spell-checkers won't catch certain spelling and grammatical errors, so it's important to proofread as well. |
Using proper grammar in formal text earns you the respect of the reader. It makes your writing clearer, and also makes you stand out as proficient and intelligent.
