{"id":1026,"date":"2009-02-20T00:08:03","date_gmt":"2009-02-20T05:08:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alsplace.aldenbaker.com\/alsplace\/internet\/1026\/10-flagrant-grammar-mistakes-that-make-you-look-stupid\/"},"modified":"2009-02-20T00:08:03","modified_gmt":"2009-02-20T05:08:03","slug":"10-flagrant-grammar-mistakes-that-make-you-look-stupid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/alsplace.info\/?p=1026","title":{"rendered":"10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<!-- ALL ADSENSE ADS DISABLED -->\n<div align=\"justify\">\n<ul class=\"postData\">\n<li><strong>Date<\/strong>: March 6th, 2008<\/li>\n<li><strong>Author<\/strong>: Jody Gilbert<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p> <!-- \/contentData --> <\/p>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\">These days, we tend to communicate via the keyboard as much as we do verbally. Often, we&rsquo;re in a hurry, quickly dashing off e-mails with typos, grammatical shortcuts (I&rsquo;m being kind here), and that breezy, e.e. cummings, no-caps look. It&rsquo;s expected. It&rsquo;s no big deal. But other times, we try to invest a little care, avoiding mistakes so that there&rsquo;s no confusion about what we&rsquo;re saying and so that we look professional and reasonably bright.In general, we can slip up in a verbal conversation and get away with it. A colleague may be thinking, <em>Did she just say &ldquo;irregardless&rdquo;?<\/em>, but the words flow on, and our worst transgressions are carried away and with luck, forgotten.<\/p>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\">That&rsquo;s not the case with written communications. When we commit a grammatical crime in e-mails, discussion posts, reports, memos, and other professional documents, there&rsquo;s no going back. We&rsquo;ve just officially gone on record as being careless or clueless. And here&rsquo;s the worst thing. It&rsquo;s not necessary to be an editor or a language whiz or a spelling bee triathlete to spot such mistakes. They have a way of doing a little wiggle dance on the screen and then reaching out to grab the reader by the throat.<\/p>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\">So here we are in the era of Word&rsquo;s red-underline &ldquo;wrong spelling, dumb ass&rdquo; feature and Outlook&rsquo;s Always Check Spelling Before Sending option, and still the mistakes proliferate. Catching typos is easy (although not everyone does it). It&rsquo;s the other stuff &mdash; correctly spelled but incorrectly wielded &mdash; that sneaks through and makes us look stupid. Here&rsquo;s a quick review of some of the big ones.<\/p>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\"><em>Note: This information is also available as a <a href=\"http:\/\/articles.techrepublic.com.com\/5100-10881-6075621.html\" target=\"_blank\"><font color=\"#003399\">TechRepublic article<\/font><\/a> and as a <a href=\"http:\/\/techrepublic.com.com\/5138-10881-6075682.html\" target=\"_blank\"><font color=\"#003399\">PDF download<\/font><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\">#1: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.coastalrock.com\/\">low dose cialis cost<\/a>  <em>Loose<\/em> for <em>lose<\/em><\/h2>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\"><strong>No:<\/strong> I always <strong>loose<\/strong> the product key.<\/p>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\"><strong>Yes:<\/strong> I always <strong>lose<\/strong> the product key.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\">#2: <em>It&rsquo;s<\/em> for <em>its<\/em> (or God forbid, <em>its&rsquo;<\/em>)<\/h2>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\"><strong>No:<\/strong> Download the HTA, along with <strong>it&rsquo;s <\/strong>readme file.<\/p>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\"><strong>Yes:<\/strong> Download the HTA, along with <strong>its <\/strong>readme file.<\/p>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\"><strong>No:<\/strong> The laptop is overheating and <strong>its<\/strong> making that funny noise again.<\/p>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\"><strong>Yes:<\/strong> The laptop is overheating and <strong>it&rsquo;s<\/strong> making that funny noise again.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\">#3: <em>They&rsquo;re<\/em> for <em>their <\/em>for <em>there<\/em><\/h2>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\"><strong>No:<\/strong> The managers are in <strong>they&rsquo;re<\/strong> weekly planning meeting.<\/p>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\"><strong>Yes:<\/strong> The managers are in <strong>their<\/strong> weekly planning meeting.<\/p>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\"><strong>No:<\/strong> The techs have to check <strong>there<\/strong> cell phones at the door, and <strong>their<\/strong> not happy about it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\"><strong>Yes:<\/strong> The techs have to check <strong>their<\/strong> cell phones at the door, and <strong>they&rsquo;re<\/strong> not happy about it.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\">#4: <em>i.e.<\/em> for <em>e.g.<\/em><\/h2>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\"><strong>No:<\/strong> Use an anti-spyware program (<strong>i.e., <\/strong>Ad-Aware).<\/p>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\"><strong>Yes:<\/strong> Use an anti-spyware program (<strong>e.g., <\/strong>Ad-Aware).<\/p>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\"><strong>Note:<\/strong> The term <em>i.e.<\/em> means &ldquo;that is&rdquo;; <em>e.g.<\/em> means &ldquo;for example.&rdquo; And a comma follows both of them.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\">#5: <em>Effect <\/em>for <em>affect<\/em><\/h2>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\"><strong>No:<\/strong> The outage shouldn&rsquo;t <strong>effect<\/strong> any users during work hours.<\/p>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\"><strong>Yes:<\/strong> The outage shouldn&rsquo;t <strong>affect<\/strong> any users during work hours.<\/p>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\"><strong>Yes:<\/strong> The outage shouldn&rsquo;t have any <strong>effect<\/strong> on users.<\/p>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\"><strong>Yes:<\/strong> We will <strong>effect<\/strong> several changes during the downtime.<\/p>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\"><strong>Note:<\/strong> <em>Impact<\/em> is not a verb. Purists, at least, beg you to use <em>affect<\/em> instead:<\/p>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\"><strong>No:<\/strong> The outage shouldn&rsquo;t <strong>impact<\/strong> any users during work hours.<\/p>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\"><strong>Yes:<\/strong> The outage shouldn&rsquo;t <strong>affect<\/strong> any users during work hours.<\/p>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\"><strong>Yes:<\/strong> The outage should have no <strong>impact<\/strong> on users during work hours.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\">#6: <em>You&rsquo;re<\/em> for <em>your<\/em><\/h2>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\"><strong>No:<\/strong> Remember to defrag <strong>you&rsquo;re<\/strong> machine on a regular basis.<\/p>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\"><strong>Yes:<\/strong> Remember to defrag <strong>your<\/strong> machine on a regular basis.<\/p>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\"><strong>No:<\/strong> <strong>Your<\/strong> right about the changes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\"><strong>Yes:<\/strong> <strong>You&rsquo;re<\/strong> right about the changes.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\">#7: <em>Different than<\/em> for <em>different from<\/em><\/h2>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\"><strong>No:<\/strong> This setup is <strong>different<\/strong> <strong>than<\/strong> the one at the main office.<\/p>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\"><strong>Yes:<\/strong> This setup is <strong>different<\/strong> <strong>from<\/strong> the one at the main office.<\/p>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\"><strong>Yes:<\/strong> This setup is <strong>better<\/strong> <strong>than<\/strong> the one at the main office.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\">#8 <em>Lay<\/em> for <em>lie<\/em><\/h2>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\"><strong>No:<\/strong> I got dizzy and had to <strong>lay<\/strong> down.<\/p>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\"><strong>Yes:<\/strong> I got dizzy and had to <strong>lie<\/strong> down.<\/p>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\"><strong>Yes:<\/strong> Just <strong>lay<\/strong> those books over there.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\">#9: <em>Then<\/em> for <em>than<\/em><\/h2>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\"><strong>No:<\/strong> The accounting department had more problems <strong>then<\/strong> we did.<\/p>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\"><strong>Yes:<\/strong> The accounting department had more problems <strong>than<\/strong> we did.<\/p>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\"><strong>Note:<\/strong> Here&rsquo;s a sub-peeve. When a sentence construction begins with <em>If<\/em>, you don&rsquo;t need a <em>then<\/em>. <em>Then<\/em> is implicit, so it&rsquo;s superfluous and wordy:<\/p>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\"><strong>No:<\/strong> If you can&rsquo;t get Windows to boot, <strong>then<\/strong> <strong>you&rsquo;ll<\/strong> need to call Ted.<\/p>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\"><strong>Yes:<\/strong> If you can&rsquo;t get Windows to boot, <strong>you&rsquo;ll<\/strong> need to call Ted.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\">#10: <em>Could of<\/em>, <em>would of<\/em> for <em>could have<\/em>, <em>would have<\/em><\/h2>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\"><strong>No:<\/strong> I <strong>could of<\/strong> installed that app by mistake.<\/p>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\"><strong>Yes:<\/strong> I <strong>could have<\/strong> installed that app by mistake.<\/p>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\"><strong>No:<\/strong> I <strong>would of<\/strong> sent you a meeting notice, but you were out of town.<\/p>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\"><strong>Yes:<\/strong> I <strong>would have<\/strong> sent you a meeting notice, but you were out of town.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\">Bonus peeve<\/h3>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\">I&rsquo;ll just throw one more thing out here: My current burning pet peeve. At some point, who knows when, it became common practice to say that something is &ldquo;hit and miss.&rdquo; Nuh-UH. It can&rsquo;t be both, right? It either hits or it misses&hellip;. &ldquo;Hit OR miss.&rdquo; Granted, it&rsquo;s a small thing, a Boolean-obsessive sort of thing. But it&rsquo;s nonetheless vexing because it&rsquo;s so illogical. Okay, that&rsquo;s mine. If you&rsquo;ve got a peeve of your own, share it in the discussion (or post a comment and tell me to get over it).<\/p>\n<p class=\"entry\" align=\"justify\">You might also want to check out this <a href=\"http:\/\/techrepublic.com.com\/5208-6230-0.html?forumID=6&amp;threadID=195143\" target=\"_blank\"><font color=\"#003399\">long-running discussion<\/font><\/a> to see what grammar gaffes have driven your peers around the bend.<\/p>\n<!-- Social Bookmarks BEGIN -->\n<div class=\"social_bookmark\">\n<a title=\"Click me to see the sites.\" href=\"#\" onclick=\"$$('div.d1026').each( function(e) { e.visualEffect('slide_down',{duration:2.5}) }); return false;\"><strong><em>Bookmark to:<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\n<br \/>\n<div class=\"d1026\" style=\"overflow:hidden\">\n<br \/>\n<br \/>\n<a style=\"font-size:90%;text-align: right; \" title=\"Click me to hide the sites.\" href=\"#\" onclick=\"$$('div.d1026').each( function(e) { e.visualEffect('slide_up',{duration:0.5}) }); return false;\">Hide Sites<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- Social Bookmarks END -->\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">$$('div.d1026').each( function(e) { e.visualEffect('slide_up',{duration:0.5}) }); <\/script>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Date: March 6th, 2008 Author: Jody Gilbert These days, we tend to communicate via the keyboard as much as we do verbally. Often, we&rsquo;re in a hurry, quickly dashing off e-mails with typos, grammatical shortcuts (I&rsquo;m being kind here), and that breezy, e.e. cummings, no-caps look. It&rsquo;s expected. It&rsquo;s no big deal. But other times, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n<!-- Social Bookmarks BEGIN -->\n<div class=\"social_bookmark\">\n<a title=\"Click me to see the sites.\" href=\"#\" onclick=\"$$('div.d1026').each( function(e) { e.visualEffect('slide_down',{duration:2.5}) }); return false;\"><strong><em>Bookmark to:<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\n<br \/>\n<div class=\"d1026\" style=\"overflow:hidden\">\n<br \/>\n<br \/>\n<a style=\"font-size:90%;text-align: right; \" title=\"Click me to hide the sites.\" href=\"#\" onclick=\"$$('div.d1026').each( function(e) { e.visualEffect('slide_up',{duration:0.5}) }); return false;\">Hide Sites<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- Social Bookmarks END -->\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">$$('div.d1026').each( function(e) { e.visualEffect('slide_up',{duration:0.5}) }); <\/script>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/alsplace.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1026"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/alsplace.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/alsplace.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alsplace.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alsplace.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1026"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/alsplace.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1026\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/alsplace.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alsplace.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alsplace.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}