Common Grammar Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

The grammar lady is mad. I don't know what the cause is for this - laziness, lack of education, apathy...but it is everywhere, not only in amateur arenas, either.

I was at the doctor's office some time ago and read on a bulletin:

Clinic hours on Saturday's by appointment. What?!

And: This table is for baby's.

Here is a guide for those little issues of grammar that seem to be perplexing these days.

· Your, and you're.

"Your" is to be used as a possessive. "It is your turn."

"You're" is the contractions of "you are." "You're getting on my nerves."

· Who's and Whose.

"Whose" is to be used as a possessive. Whose turn is it?

"Who's" is the contractions of "who is." "Who's getting on your nerves?"

· There, their, they're.

"There" is a place. "There he is."

"Their" is a possessive. "Their grammar is horrendous."

"They're" is the contractions of "they are." "They're getting on my nerves."

· Here, hear.

(I'm embarrassed to have to cover this one.)

"Here" is a place like there. "Here we are."

"Hear" is what you do with your ears. "Do you hear me?"

· Its and it's

"Its" is possessive. I know, this one seems to have a rule of its own.

"It's" is the contractions of "it is." "It's about time we learned the difference."

· Loose and lose

Oh dear. This one is embarrassing, isn't it? Loose is the opposite of tight. "Loose change."

"Lose" is the opposite of win, or to indicate something that is the opposite of found." "Did you lose your mind?"

· Then and than

"Then" indicates time, or chronology. "Then we walked to the store."

"Than" is a measurement of degree. "It is bigger than the other store."

· Farther and further

"Farther" is distance, "further" is degree. "It is farther than a mile." "I had to research further."

· Could of, would of, should of....(paid attention in English class)

What you mean is "could have, would have, should have," confused because "could of" sounds like the contractions of "could have," which is "could've."

· Who and Whom

"Whom" is all too often disregarded or abused, but most American speakers don't even realize it. It is the objective form of "who."

Here is an example of when you should use it:

"To whom are you referring?" "Whom did you call?"

"Who" is the subject of a sentence or clause. "The doctors who diagnosed you were wrong." "Who are you?"

Clear as mud? That one is understandably tricky.

But this one is not.

· The apostrophe, which was the opening topic (or nerve-grater) of this article.

Use an apostrophe in a situation in which you want to state a possessive. (Which means something belonging to someone/thing.)

Example:

"It is Johnny's day off."

Often I see it used to signal a plural word, as in the examples above (Saturday's, Baby's.)

The correct way to write the two above would have been:

Clinic hours on Saturdays by appointment.

And: This table for babies.

I have satisfied the grammar lady enough for one day. All hostility aside, if you want to write and to be taken seriously, these points (and many, many others) are important to heed. Though we all make mistakes (I have readers whose specific goal is to catch mine and point them out) we should want to perform at our best. For those who struggle with matters of grammar, but love to write, there are guides available for appropriate word usage and more.