TOP TEN COMMON GRAMMAR MISTAKES

The famous American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne once said that "Easy reading is damn hard writing". 

Well, as your editor, your writing wingman, it's my job to make your writing a little easier – for you to write, and for your readers to read.  I've edited a lot of manuscripts, and there are always some common spelling and grammatical errors that pop up to disturb the flow and comprehension of the story. Identifying and fixing these usual suspects will put you ten steps ahead of the writing game.

They're, their and there

• They're is short for they are. "They're English." ("They are English.")
• Their is the possessive of they. "I like their English accents."
• There indicates a place. "They live there."

You're and your

• You're is short for you are. "You're right." ("You are right.")
• Your sits before a noun (word) to show that it belongs to it. "That is your opinion."

It's and its

• It's is short for it is. "It's raining." ("It is raining.")
• Its denotes ownership. "A leopard can't change its spots."

To and too

• To denotes distance or movement. "I went to the movies."
• Too denotes something in addition to. "I too want to go to the movies."

Then and than

• Then denotes time. "We went to dinner, then we went home."
• Than compares. "Nike is better than Adidas."

Who's and whose

• Who's is short for who is. "Who's that?" ("Who is that?")
• Whose denotes ownership. "Whose jacket is that?"

Let's and lets

• Let's is short for let us. "Let's go to the park." ("Let us go to the park.")
• Lets is a verb. "He lets me use his computer."

Loose and lose

• Loose as in "loose cannon" or "my belt is loose".
• Lose as in "don't lose the race" or "don't lose your phone".

Affect and effect

• Affect is a verb, effect is when you're talking about the noun (word) itself. An experience can affect you deeply, but the experience had a great effect on me.

Alot and alright

• A lot is always two words. Always.
• Alright as a word for 'satisfactory' has grown in popular usage, as opposed to all right, which means 'everything is fine'. To be on the safe side always use all right.

Have you ever made any of these common grammatical mistakes before? Have I missed any? 

I still remember my religious studies teacher, Mrs Strickland, teaching me the difference between 'they're, their, and there'. As her name suggests, it wasn't a gentle lesson, and I think she started with the words "You're doing this all wrong!" But I learnt my lesson, and, years later, it's pretty much the only thing I remember about that class.

Please share any comments about this article or stories you have of your own grammar mishaps.