Do you ever feel that your copy doesn’t look quite right? As writers, we often get so caught up in how the words sound that we forget about the grammar behind them.
Don’t make grammar an afterthought; it could be costing you a sale, a client, or even that next big promotion. According to BBC News, poor spelling and grammar are costing the UK millions of pounds every year in ecommerce revenue – in fact, a single grammatical error can slash online revenue by as much as 50%.
Take a glance at our top tips before you start writing that next blog post or article. Then polish your copy until it shines!
1. Misplaced apostrophes
Those darned apostrophes - always being used incorrectly. Putting apostrophes in the wrong place is one of the most common grammar mistakes in the English language. You won’t know you’ve done it. Until it’s too late... Not even auto-correct can save you from the grammar police now!
You must remember:
• Use apostrophes to show possession – “Did you just eat Billy’s sandwich from the fridge? You know he writes his name on his food for a reason!”
• Apostrophes can also be used to contract words. For example, “should not” becomes “shouldn’t”, “would not” becomes “wouldn’t”, “could not” becomes “couldn’t” and so on. It’s surprising how many writers slip up on this usage!
• Apostrophes should never be used to make words plural. “One apple, two apples, three apples” – no apostrophes necessary!
2. Its or it’s… now that is the question!
Now that we’ve touched on apostrophes, let’s take it another step further. There’s another big elephant in the room we need to address. Is it “its” or “it’s”?
The rules:
• “It’s” is only used as a contraction for “it is”. To check if you’re using the apostrophe properly, replace “it’s” with the words “it is.” If it still makes sense, it’s correct!
• “Its” indicates possession. Although we often use apostrophes to indicate possession, ”its” is an exception to this rule – and it confuses the best of us!
3. Does the word “effect” affect you?
“Effect” and “affect” sound and even look similar, but it’s a rookie mistake to mix up this pair of homonyms. Luckily enough there’s a simple way to ensure you won’t make the same mistake twice – at least from now on!
Tips to follow:
• Affect is a verb – “to affect” – to influence or have an impact on something or someone. For example, “I was affected by the boulder falling on my head.”
• Effect is a noun – “an effect” – the result of being affected by something. E.g., “The boulder falling on my head had a painful effect.”
4. Comma, Comma, Comma, Comma, Comma, chameleon…
Even experienced writers sometimes find it difficult to know when to use a comma. Luckily for you, we’ve chosen our Top 5 rules of thumb for you to follow when dealing with tricky comma positioning:
1. Use commas to separate items that run in series.
• Incorrect: “I saw a duck a clown an elephant and a marching band.”
• Correct: “I saw a duck, a clown, an elephant and a marching band.”
2. Don’t put a comma in between a subject and its verb.
• Incorrect: “The dog, ate my homework.”
• Correct: “The dog ate my homework.”
3. Add a comma before a conjunction linking two independent clauses.
(Independent clauses are phrases that include a subject and a verb and can stand alone as a full sentence.)
• Incorrect: “I stepped outside the front door and it started to pour.”
• Correct: “I stepped outside the front door, and it started to pour.”
4. Use a comma after a dependent clause at the beginning of the sentence.
(A dependent clause is a phrase that includes a subject and a verb that cannot stand alone as a full sentence.)
• Incorrect: “When I picked up the phone I could hardly hear her speak.”
• Correct: “When I picked up the phone, I could hardly hear her speak.”
5. Use commas when you address someone.
• Incorrect: “David you were meant to hand in your research yesterday!”
• Correct: “David, you were meant to hand in your research yesterday!”
Reading your writing out loud is essential during the drafting stage. As a general rule, place commas where your voice naturally pauses. If a comma creates an unnatural pause, delete it!
5. The monstrous misplaced modifier
A modifier is a phrase that describes another word (or words) within a sentence. A modifier in the wrong place can inadvertently describe the wrong word (or words) – often with humorous results. However, jokes aside, misplaced modifiers in your copy are bad business as they can confuse – or even worse, mislead – your readers.
Don’t slip up:
“While reading the newspaper, the cat jumped up on the table.”
Due to the misplaced modifier, this sentence suggests that the cat is reading the newspaper while jumping on the table. Instead, If we move the modifier (“while I was reading the newspaper”) to the end of the sentence, it makes more sense:
“The cat jumped up on the table while I was reading the newspaper.”