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10 Writing Mistakes to Help Everyone (Not Just Book Lovers)

May 17, 2018 by Barbara McNichol Leave a Comment

10 Writing Mistakes Even Book Lovers Make (Infographic)
Source: www.grammarcheck.net

Filed Under: Grammar Tips Tagged With: grammar glitches, less vs. fewer, lie vs. lay, nonfiction book editor, professional book editing, that vs. which, Word Trippers

Fun Grammar Post from Huff Post

June 19, 2014 by Barbara McNichol 1 Comment

quotation markby Barbara McNichol

Take a fun grammar quiz. Only 18 questions!

You get instant feedback on your score and the right answers.

It challenged me in places and clarified a few things, too. Mostly, it’s just fun to do!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/17/grammar-quiz_n_5438647.html

Go ahead. Tell me if you found it helpful, too! What surprised you? Did you disagree with any?

Leave your comments here.

Filed Under: Grammar Tips Tagged With: grammar glitches, Huffington Post quiz, nonfiction book editing, test your grammar, word use

In-Your-Face Grammar Glitches You Can’t Ignore

January 9, 2011 by Barbara McNichol 3 Comments

By Barbara McNichol

My attention was recently drawn to an article in Ragan Report (great resource for communicators) that puts the “Top 25 Grammar and Language Mistakes” in your face. Some, in fact, are Word Trippers that I include in my ebook.

This handful of grammar glitches stood out for me. I’m eager to point them out because they’re extremely important to good writing. I encourage you to take them to heart.

  • Using “could of,” “would of,” “should of.” These are all 100 percent wrong, born of our sloppy speaking styles—could’ve, would’ve, should’ve. What you want to write is could have, would have, should have. We all coulda, woulda, shoulda become better at grammar.
  • Using “me and somebody.” I tell my children that it’s common courtesy to put the other person first. Thus you should always say, “Fred and I went to the gym together,” or “Suzie and I saw that movie.”
  • Using “that” instead of “who” (and vice versa). If you’re writing about people, always use who. If a company president says, “employees that are affected by layoffs will be greatly missed,” no one is likely to believe him because he’s treating them as objects by using the word that.
  • Using “they” when referring to a business. “Starbucks said they would give everyone a free latte today.” Although this might sound right, the correct sentence is: “Starbucks said it would give everyone a free latte today.” And if that grates on your ears, then rewrite the sentence to avoid the problem: “Starbucks is offering everyone a free latte today.”

Want to peruse the whole article so you can learn from all 25 mistakes? Here’s the link.

Please share other grammar glitches that might trip you in the comments section below.

Filed Under: Grammar Tips Tagged With: Barbara McNichol, book editing services, grammar and language mistakes, grammar glitches, Ragan Report

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