Barbara McNichol Editorial Services

Add power and persuasion to your books, articles, and one-sheets

  • Home
  • Editing
  • WordShops™
  • Word Trippers
  • Products
  • Praise
  • Portfolio
  • Blog
  • About

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

January 9, 2011 by Barbara McNichol Leave a Comment

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

Contact an Editing Pro

Add Power to Your Pen and Authorship to Your Name

Email Barbara »

Call 520-615-7910

Book editing info »

Word Trippers Tips

American English language resource

Find the perfect word every time—a new Word Tripper every week!

Get Word Trippers Tips »

Blog Categories

  • Article Writing
  • BME in the News
  • Book Reading
  • Book Writing
  • Business Writing
  • Compelling Special
  • Editors and Authors
  • Grammar Tips
  • Speed Reading
  • Uncategorized
  • Word Tripper
  • Writing Tips
  • Writing Workshops

From Our Blog

No More Boring Expressions!

Source: www.grammarcheck.net … Read more »

View all blog posts »

Quick Links

  • Editing Services
  • WordShops™
  • Testimonials
  • Portfolio
  • About
  • Word Trippers

Barbara McNichol Editorial
5090 N. Camino de la Cumbre
Tucson, AZ 85750

Phone: 520-615-7910

Email us »

Copyright © 2022 · Barbara McNichol Editorial · Website by Connexins