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English Grammar Guides
The Grammar Mistakes That Make You Look Like You Didn’t Proofread
I’ve edited enough writing — my own and other people’s — to notice that certain mistakes keep showing up, over and over, regardless of education level or experience. They’re not the obscure rules from your 10th grade grammar textbook. They’re the small things that make a reader pause and think “wait, that doesn’t sound right.” Here are the ones I see most often.
20 Grammar Errors I See Every Single Day
- Your vs You’re. “Your” shows possession. “You’re” is short for “you are.”
- Their / There / They’re. “Their” = possession. “There” = location. “They’re” = they are.
- Its vs It’s. “Its” is possessive. “It’s” means “it is.”
- Affect vs Effect. “Affect” is usually a verb. “Effect” is usually a noun.
- Then vs Than. “Then” = time. “Than” = comparison.
- Loose vs Lose. “Loose” = not tight. “Lose” = misplace.
- Who vs Whom. Subject vs object. Quick test: he→who, him→whom.
- Fewer vs Less. “Fewer” for countable. “Less” for uncountable.
- Me vs I. Remove the other person to check.
- Could of / Would of. It’s “could have,” never “could of.”
- Lie vs Lay. Lie = recline. Lay = place something.
- Subject-verb with “there.” Wrong: “There’s many reasons.” Right: “There are many reasons.”
- Dangling modifiers. Wrong: “Walking down the street, the trees were beautiful.”
- Pronoun agreement. Rephrase to avoid singular/plural mismatch.
- Comma splices. Don’t join two sentences with just a comma.
- Parallel structure. Keep the same grammatical form in lists.
- Between you and me. “Between” takes object form: “me,” not “I.”
- Irregardless. Not a word — use “regardless.”
- Alot. Not a word — it’s “a lot” (two words).
- Double negatives. Wrong: “I don’t have none.”
Passive Voice: Not Evil, Just Overused
Passive voice isn’t grammatically wrong — it’s a choice. But it often makes writing weaker and longer. Active: “The developer fixed the bug.” Passive: “The bug was fixed by the developer.” The passive version is four words longer and buries who did the action. Quick test: can you add “by zombies” and have it make sense? That’s passive.
Comma Rules Worth Knowing
The Oxford comma goes before “and” in a list of three or more. “I’d like to thank my parents, Beyonce, and God” — without it, your parents are Beyonce and God. Independent clauses joined by “and/but” need a comma. Introductory phrases usually need a comma: “After the meeting, we went to lunch.”
Academic vs Business Writing
Academic writing rewards complexity and hedging. Business writing rewards clarity and speed — your reader is scanning between meetings. Write for your reader, not your English teacher. Read it out loud — if you stumble, your reader will too.