Monday, November 16, 2009

Grammar Mistakes That Can Make You Look Very Badly! By Alissa A.

Grammar Mistakes That Can
Make You Look Very Badly!
By Alissa A.

So, what’s wrong with this title? If you know that “badly” should be bad, your doing better then alot of people out there....did you notice any other mistakes in that sentence?!?

This sentence has four more spelling mistake in it that could really leave a bad taste in your employer’s or client’s mouth.

Let’s start with the Title:
Grammar Mistakes That Can Make You Look Badly
Badly is an adverb, meaning it modifies a verb. In this case, badly is modifying look, but look is not being used as a verb in this example. If it was, it would suggest that it is affecting your vision. Another example is when someone says, “I am feeling really badly.” This would imply that their sense of feeling is not working, and that they are literally not feeling.

The other mistakes in the first paragraph are:
your should be you’re
then should be than
alot should be a lot

Here are several more mistakes and some ways to remember how to use them correctly:

LOOSE vs. LOSE
Loose is the opposite of tight. That is a loose knot and it will not hold well.
Lose is the opposite of win. I hope our team doesn’t lose the game tonight.

I remember the difference here by thinking that lose lost an “o”.

ITS vs. IT’S
Its is the possessive form of it. Can you put the book back in its place?
It’s is short for it is. It’s not that difficult!

YOUR vs. YOU’RE
Your is the possessive form of you. This is your book.
You’re is short for you are. You’re beautiful!

THEIR vs. THEY’RE vs. THERE
Their is the possessive form of they. Their house is decorated nicely.
They’re is the shortened version of they are. They’re going to the store.
There is an unspecified location or place. You will find it over there.

Remember whenever using a contraction, always use the long version in your mind before using the shortened version on paper to be sure it makes sense.

LAY vs. LIE

Lay is an action verb. This means that something has to be laid when you use lay. The chickens lay eggs. Eggs are the key word there. 
If the chickens wanted to rest, however, they may lie down. Do you see the difference?
In order to use lay, some object has to follow it.
I will lay my head on the pillow when I lie in my bed.

COULD, WOULD, SHOULD OF vs. HAVE
Could of, would of, and should of are NEVER correct!!! The contractions could’ve, would’ve, and should’ve sound like “of” is at the end, but the second word is always have. It is a past tense phrase.
I would love to go with you to the mall. (present tense)
I would’ve loved to have gone with you to the mall. (past tense)
I could stop watching TV, but I don’t want to! (present)
I could’ve stopped watching TV, but I didn’t want to. (past)

GOOD vs. WELL
Good is an adjective. This is a good paper. The paper is good. The paper is being modified. The paper is a noun.
Well is an adverb. I did well on the paper. I did well. The word “did” is being modified. Did is a verb.

I vs. ME
Josh and I are getting married! (Not “Josh and me are getting married.”)
Please come talk to my mom and me when you have a moment. (Not “Please come talk to my mom and I when you have a moment.”)
What you need to remember here is to take away the other person in the situation, and see what is left. If I were to take away Josh in the first sentence, the correct usage would be “I am getting married." (Not "Me is getting married.” ) And if we took away my mom, the correct usage would be “Please come talk to me when you have a moment.” (Not, “Please come talk to I.”)

Click on the links below for many more examples of grammar and spelling mistakes!

www.yourdictionary.com/library/misspelled.html
www.classweb.gmu.edu/WAC/EnglishGuide/Critical/Grammar.html
www.englishchick.com/grammar/grcomm.htm
www.englishplus.com/grammar/mistcont.htm
www.businesswriting.com/tests/commonmisspelled.html

7 comments:

  1. I have overseen some of these errors. It is a good thing to have your grammar examined.

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  2. This is very important, especially when writing is a part of your job. I like how you categorized the common mistakes that people make in their writing. great job with your blog for this week!

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  3. I loved your title! It was very creative and eye catching. I also loved how you explained the common spelling errors used in writing today. Some of the examples could have been simplified more, but other than that, I think you did a great job!

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  4. WOW! This was amazing! lol I'm going to print this out! =]

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  5. Lots of good examples in this piece. You did an excellent job relating the subject to concrete language and examples. Also, Professor Simpson has been asking for my a stylistic voice, and I think this blog captures your unique voice well.

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  6. I love this! In my opinion it was the best blog for this week.
    I'm looking forward to your Voki on week 4.
    Thank you

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  7. Wow thanks guys! I was a little worried it was too wordy, but I am so happy to hear you all got something from it. And as I said before, I'm a nut for all this stuff...please, anytime you want me to proofread something for you, just ask. :)

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