[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Sign-in] [Mail] [Setup] [Help]
Status: Not Logged In; Sign In
|
Miscellaneous See other Miscellaneous Articles Title: 11 grammatical mistakes that instantly reveal people's ignorance 11 grammatical mistakes that instantly reveal people's ignorance Tech Insider Abby Jackson 3/18/2017 All it takes is a single tweet or text for some people to reveal their poor grasp of the English language. Homophones — words that sound alike but are spelled differently — can be particularly pesky. Regardless, you should never choose incorrectly in these nine situations: 1. 'Your' vs. 'You're' "Your" is a possessive pronoun, while "you're" is a contraction of "you are." Example 1: You're pretty. Example 2: Give me some of your whiskey. 2. 'It's' vs. 'Its' Normally, an apostrophe symbolizes possession, as in, "I took the dog's bone." But because apostrophes also replace omitted letters — as in "don't" — the "it's" vs. "its" decision gets complicated. Use "its" as the possessive pronoun and "it's" for the shortened version of "it is." Example 1: The dog chewed on its bone. Example 2: It's raining. 3. 'Then' vs. 'Than' "Then" conveys time, while "than" is used for comparison. Example 1: We left the party and then went home. Example 2: We would rather go home than stay at the party. 20 Clever Jokes Only Grammar Nerds Will Appreciate 4. 'There' vs. 'They're' vs. 'Their' "There" is a location. "Their" is a possessive pronoun. And "they're" is a contraction of "they are." Use them wisely. 5. 'We're' vs. 'Were' "We're" is a contraction of "we are" and "were" is the past tense of "are." 6. 'Affect' vs. 'Effect' "Affect" is a verb and "effect" is a noun. There are, however, rare exceptions. For example, someone can "effect change" and "affect" can be a psychological symptom. Example: How did that affect you? Example: What effect did that have on you? 7. 'Two' vs. 'Too' vs. 'To' "Two" is a number. "To" is a preposition. It's used to express motion, although often not literally, toward a person, place, or thing. And "too" is a synonym for "also." 8. 'Into' vs. 'In To' "Into" is a preposition that indicates movement or transformation, while "in to," as two separate words, does not. Example: We drove the car into the lake. Example: I turned my test in to the teacher. In the latter example, if you wrote "into," you're implying you literally changed your test into your teacher. 9. 'Alot' "Alot" isn't a word. This phrase is always two separate words: a lot. 10. 'Who' vs. 'Whom' Use who to refer to the subject of a sentence and whom to refer to the object of the verb or preposition. Shortcut: Remember that who does it to whom. Example: Who ate my sandwich? Example: Whom should I ask? 11. 'Whose' vs. 'Who's' Use "whose" to assign ownership to someone and "who's" as the contraction of "who is." Example: Whose backpack is on that table? Example: Who's going to the movies tonight? Poster Comment: As Johnny Cash once said, "Practice your diction." Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 1.
#1. To: BTP Holdings (#0)
I had family person that was forever correcting others in public, with their use of the English language. She did not have a friend in this world, not one.
#2. To: Cynicom (#1)
Children should be corrected so that they won't need correction as adults. Plus, the kids should be taught properly in school in the first place.
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest |
||
|
[Home]
[Headlines]
[Latest Articles]
[Latest Comments]
[Post]
[Sign-in]
[Mail]
[Setup]
[Help]
|
||