No this is not to pick on my clients (well maybe a little). No, really I see these mistakes everywhere. All are easy to fix, just break a moment to commit them to memory.
Here goes:
- The first most widely seen offense is related to punctuation. If you are using quotation marks please, by all means, put your punctuation inside the quotation.
- The following words are confused a LOT. First on the list, their, there and they’re. Remember, there is an adverb specifying place or location. Their is a possessive pronoun signifying something belongs to more than one person. They’re is the contraction of they are. A good rule here – ask yourself if the sentence will make sense to you when you replace they’re with they are.
- Oh, and the list could definitely not be complete without this combo: its vs. it's.Its is a possessive pronoun showing something belongs to “it.” (see also how I used the period inside the quotation). For example: The book has a colorful photo on its cover.It’s is a contraction of “it is.” For example: It’s sunny out today.
- If you are using commas, stick to these three rules. First, use a comma before a coordinating conjunction like “and,” “but,” or “or” that joins independent clauses. Second, use a comma between two or more adjectives that each modify a noun separately, called coordinate adjectives. Third, use a comma after an introductory phrase or clause. These introductory phrases often establish setting, either time or location.
- Making nouns possessive. For singular, follow this example (the cat’s collar), and for plural (the six dogs’ home).
Wowweee! Do you have all that? Since I'm running a bit long, I will stop my rants for today. Maybe I will feel compelled to pick up again later. Trust me, there are plenty more :)
