When people read what you’ve written they will inevitably judge you on your use of grammar. The spell check will only go so far in catching your mistakes.
The English language has many words that sound the same but have different spellings and very different meanings. We can wind up looking very silly indeed by using the wrong word in the wrong place.
It knocks our credibility down and will actually turn some people away, brand new visitors in particular. First impressions are important and the way that we write makes a big impression online.
Brian Clark from Copyblogger has created a fun infographic to help us understand the difference between 15 of the most common grammatical mistakes so that we can make sure that we avoid them. Enjoy!
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Grammar plays vital role in blogging. This post very useful for error analysis. Thanks for sharing such a nice post.
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Stacy Claflin Reply:
August 9th, 2012 at 1:04 pm
I’m glad that you enjoyed the post, Nawaz.
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Hi Stacy,
thanks for sharing this. It is extremely helpful for me as a non-native speaker. I am amazed though that native speakers seem to have the same issues as we do
Take care
Oliver
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Stacy Claflin Reply:
August 9th, 2012 at 1:06 pm
Hi Oliver,
Believe me, this infographic is equally helpful for native speakers. I see so many native English speakers who can’t keep most of those straight. For many years (until I was at least 30) I struggled with affect/effect.
Stacy
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Nice post, Stacy! These are very common grammatical errors in American English that many native-born Americans make. A good book on English grammar can certainly help solve this problem.
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Stacy Claflin Reply:
August 9th, 2012 at 1:07 pm
Hi Anthony,
You’re right. Anyone who writes should have a grammar book – or at least some handy infographics!
Stacy
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I have to admit these are some common problems many people around the world in dealing grammar, we all know that in any business we should think a head, our grammar should be perfect. specially in online business, if you are creating a content all we should bear in mind how to create a better article that will catch other people’s attention, not like some one sentence is enough which is not good.the lesson here is we should learn about the grammar nothing more nothing less.
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Stacy Claflin Reply:
August 9th, 2012 at 1:13 pm
Hi Kate,
These are definitely problems for many people. The English language is very complicated and I’ve heard it’s one of the most difficult to learn as a second language.
Stacy
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Kate Brown Wilson Reply:
August 10th, 2012 at 12:03 am
Yes Stacy even though we consider English as a universal language many people are still confuse about the words they pronounce, but anyway thanks for you reply.
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For every blogger it is very necessary that he/she will have a good English and have a good grammatical knowledge.so here is great information for bloggers and students specially.
so a big thank you for this.
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Stacy Claflin Reply:
August 9th, 2012 at 1:15 pm
I’m glad that you found this useful, Bhushan!
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Bhushan Reply:
August 9th, 2012 at 11:15 pm
Stacy this post are not getting attraction of me but others bloggers also because this is big problem done by some bloggers and many others.I appreciate your post at last.
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This is an awesome refresher. The compliment / complement one kinda got me! Grammar is something that’s incredibly important when trying to build your reputation – especially when your main communication method is the written word!
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Stacy Claflin Reply:
August 9th, 2012 at 1:17 pm
Grammar definitely impacts our reputation! Many people don’t think as highly of someone who constantly use improper grammar.
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I learned a few things. The fewer/less example was a good really good one. I think grammar will be a continuous struggle for me. However, I do get the simple things.
Not long ago, I saw a business advertising the fact that they can help you ‘loose weight’. I was dumbfounded, and it took everything I had not to go in there and say “Really?”
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Stacy Claflin Reply:
August 9th, 2012 at 1:19 pm
That example is a good one, Bellaisa. Especially during an advertising campaign people should take extra steps to make sure that they have it right!
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Hi Stacy,
Just like Oliver, I appreciate this very much being a non-native speaker of the English language. However, I love what Mark Twain said, (at least I think it was him) …
“I have nothing but contempt for anyone who can spell a word only one way.”
Cheers,
Ilka
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Stacy Claflin Reply:
August 9th, 2012 at 1:20 pm
Hi Ilka,
I hadn’t heard that quote before.
Thanks for stopping by!
Stacy
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That’s a great graphic Stacy.
I use to have a best friend who was an executive assistant if you can believe that. She made these grammatical errors all the time and I wondered how she kept her job. I was always correcting her and she definitely didn’t appreciate it. I couldn’t help it, it got on my nerves big time.
Cute!
~Adrienne
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Stacy Claflin Reply:
August 9th, 2012 at 1:22 pm
Hi Adrienne,
I don’t blame you. Grammatical errors drive me crazy too. I usually don’t say anything but it’s like nails on a chalkboard to me!
Stacy
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Good morning Stacy,
I’m curious where you come down on the “over vs. more than” (and its twin “under vs. less than”) question.
Back in the dark ages when I attended Journalism school, one of my professors would hammer anyone who wrote: “The attendance at the rally was over 20,000 people.”
His point was that “over” denotes physical position: “The Moon is over the horizon” and that if you meant to say that a number was greater than some set point then you should writes: “The attendance at the rally was more than 20,000 people.”
I ask because over the years I have observed that my professor (and myself) are in a tiny minority. Even one of my writing idols, George Orwell, consistently used over instead of more than.
What do you think?
Do all you can to make today a good day,
Jeff Hess
Have Coffee Will Write
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Such a nice summary of the most common grammar mistakes, I often meet them on the blogs I follow. I wish that this infographic would be printed out and hung on the wall of all the bloggers.
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This infographic is wonderful! As a student who wants to go into editing, I can’t tell you how much these silly mistakes anger me. Well, I probably could tell you, but then we’d be here all day.
I found this graphic so much less grating and insulting than some of the grammar tips I’ve seen on the Internet. Instead of making people feel stupid and degraded, you have done something positive and fun! Great job, I love this.
P.S., the zombie example has to be my favorite!
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Great infographic, the last rule is my favorite. I find that proofreading often alleviates making the “dangling participle” mistake.
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Now I have to admit these are some common problems lots of people world wide in interacting grammar. I was thinking i am the only person
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Great post Stacy. I have to point out, however, a mistake in your own introduction to the infographic. In the last paragraph, rather than the “difference between 15 common errors”, the infographic helps us recognize the errors or, alternatively, understand the difference between commonly confused words. I hate misuse of the language, though, and I thank you for posting this useful infographic.
Helen Wilkie, author of “101 Grammar Gaffes and How to Correct Them”
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Thank you for sharing this Stacy. These are indeed the most common grammatical error people commit.
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Thanks for sharing this Stacy! Very funny actually because I am originally from Sweden and have made hundreds of these mistakes. Hopefully I didn’t do one now haha.
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Excellent infographic. As a professional resume reviewer, I’m still amazed at how many people butcher the English language. Another thing that drives me crazy is people’s insistence on saying “irregardless”, which isn’t even a word!
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Wow)) my week rule is loose/lose.
And that’s all)
Thank you for reminding me I still remember English)))
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Hello Stacy,
I love this post. I have been a language trainer for many years now. And all the errors pointed by you above are the most famous ones. In addition to this, another common error I hear is ‘quite’ instead of quiet where both differ in meaning and context. What is funny is, they never realize that they are making mistakes while communication in oral or in writing.
Thanks and Regards,
Sanjib
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Hi Stacy,
This blog helps me recognize some of my grammar mistake! Thank you for sharing this one..
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That reply written my Kate Brown reads like something I would have written. Tongue in cheek of course. Grammar has been my area of expertise since I attended college in 1960, studied in “Composition and Rhetoric” and was fortunate enough to have an english teacher who KNEW how to teach. I learned ALL the english I should have learned in my prior schooling from this one teacher. Now, I think you might want to address proper punctuation. So many people, and a few animals I am sure, have no concept of proper punctuation. Without it, so much is lost in the reading. I dearly enjoy your ‘home’ and plan on spending an inordinate amount of time here. Thanks for ‘being’. bob
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Excellent job. These rules seem funny when on paper like that but we often overlook them. I am going to print this out for review. Thanks for sharing!
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Hi Stacy,
This post if quite interesting and useful. Excellent job. I have noticed these mistakes on some of the blogs before. Indeed, you caught the point.
Loved reading
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Hi Stacy nice to read this information as infographics, and this is my first visit to your blog really I got inspired with all your articles
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This is a great infographic! This is very useful for bloggers and writers. These commonly misused words may appear petty but the truth is it causes a huge annoyance to readers.
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These basic grammar issues are commonly committed by many writers and bloggers. Bloggers should be reminded that they should carefully proofread their content before publishing it.
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[...] 15 grammar mistakes to avoid (Infographic) [...]
I chuckled at some of those items. English is not my native language but I don’t think I make those mistakes at all. It’s a matter of paying attention and choosing to write like a grown up and not like a 14y/o girl on a cellphone.
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Informative information stacy. When you will avoid the grammar mistakes then you will perfect in language.Thanks for sharing this common mistakes with us.
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Loved this Infographic, Stacy. I am otherwise fine with grammar, but one common mistake I most of the time made is of than and then. Thanks for the share.
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