Common Grammar Errors

Front 1

Who vs. Whom

Back 1

Who: pronoun acts as the subject

WHO loves you?

Whom: pronoun acts as the object

I consulted an attorney WHOM I met in New York.

Front 2

That vs. Which

Back 2

That: vital info

John wants THAT money you owe him.

Which: non vital, w/ comma

The house, which is white, is mine.

Front 3

Lay vs. Lie

Back 3

Lay: a verb meaning to put or place

LAY the book on the table. Yesterday I LAID the book on the table. I have LAID the book on the table many times. I am LAYING the book on the table right now.

Lie: verb meaning to recline

Every night I LIE down. I LAY down last night. I have LAIN down many times. I am LYING down right now.

Front 4

Whether vs. If

Back 4

Whether: expresses a condition w/ two or more alternatives

I don’t know WHETHER I’ll go drinking tonight.

If: expresses a condition w/ no alternatives

I can go drinking tonight IF I have money for booze.

Front 5

Fewer vs. Less

Back 5

Fewer: things you can quantify

The firm has FEWER than ten employees.

Less: reserved for hypothetical quantities

The firm is LESS successful now that we have only ten employees.

Front 6

Farther vs. Further

Back 6

Farther: implies a measurable distance

I threw the ball ten feet FARTHER than Bill.

Further: abstract lengths you can't always measure

The financial crisis caused FURTHER implications.

Front 7

Since vs. Because

Back 7

Since: refers to time

SINCE I quit drinking I’ve married.

Because: refers to causation

BECAUSE I quit drinking I no longer wake up in my own vomit.

Front 8

Bring vs. Take

Back 8

Bring: toward

Take: away

Front 9

Affect vs. Effect

Back 9

Affect: to influence or produce an impression

Facebook AFFECTS people’s attention spans.

Effect: describes the result or outcome

Facebook's EFFECTS can also be positive.

Front 10

Collective Nouns & Verb Tenses

Back 10

If acting as a single unit, use a singular verb

The staff IS very efficient.

A group of discrete individuals acting independently = plural verb

The staff ARE working on many different projects.

Front 11

E.g. vs. I.e.

Back 11

E.g. means 'for example' (from Latin exempli gratia)

I.e. means 'in other words' or "that is" (from Latin id est)

Front 12

Noun, Pronoun Agreement

Back 12

Singular noun = singular pronoun

John must bring HIS own lunch.

Plural noun = plural pronoun

Everybody must bring HIS OR HER own lunch.

Pluralize the noun if you want to pluralize the pronoun.

Front 13

More than vs. Over

Back 13

Use more than when referring to numbers

He had to walk MORE THAN 10 miles to find the nearest gas station.

Front 14

Numbers

Back 14

Write out the numbers one through nine and use numerals for numbers 10 and higher.

Front 15

Composition Titles

Back 15

Magazines and newspapers are not italicized, just capitalized. Books, films, TV shows, works of art, etc., use quotation marks around them.

She read The New York Times before she turned on the television to watch “Survivor”.

Front 16

Comma in direct address

Back 16

Hullo, John.

Front 17

Could have / Should have / Would have

Back 17

NOT 'of'

I never would HAVE thought that he’d behave like that.

Front 18

Colons and semicolons go outside quotation marks

Back 18

Example: Dan gave Serena a “diamond”; it was really a cubic zirconia.

Front 19

Question marks and exclamation marks go inside the quotation marks if they apply to the quotation.

Back 19

Example: Jenny whined, “Dad, why can’t I go to the dance?”

Example: What song has the lyric “Hey I just met you and this is crazy”?

Front 20

All together vs. Altogether

Back 20

All together = together in a single group

We completed the task ALL TOGETHER.

Altogether: completely or in all

We eliminated the task ALTOGETHER.

Front 21

NEVER different THAN, always DIFFERENT FROM

Back 21

DIFFERENT FROM!

Front 22

Always put "However," at the beginning of a new sentence, complete with a comma.

Back 22

Never use however, however, like this.

Front 23

each, every, everybody, nobody, anybody, neither"

SINGULAR

Back 23

WRONG: Everyone must clean their shoes.

RIGHT: Everyone must clean his or her shoes.

Front 24

Pronoun antecedent agreement

Back 24

WRONG: A child must know that they are loved.

RIGHT: CHILDREN must know THEY are loved.

Front 25

A vs. An

Back 25

An = vowel sound

A = consonant

Front 26

Do not hyphenate between two or more adjectives when they are separate ideas that could each be used alone with the noun. Only use a comma between the adjectives when you can mentally insert “and” between them.

Back 26

e.g., A friendly little dog is all I need for company.

Front 27

Do not hyphenate between an “-ly” adverb and an adjective.

Back 27

e.g., This appears to be a firmly built house.

Front 28

Hyphenate between two or more adjectives when they come BEFORE a noun and act as a single idea. "Kindly" is an "-ly" adjective here.

Back 28

e.g., What kindly-looking eyes my grandfather had.

Front 29

Do not hyphenate between an adjective and a noun.

Back 29

e.g., If someone causes bodily harm while defending herself, should she be prosecuted?

Front 30

Do not hyphenate adverbs or compound words that follow the verb.

Back 30

e.g., The tree was firmly planted in the ground.

Front 31

Capitalize the first word of a quoted sentence.

Back 31

e.g., She said, "Bees are not the only insects that sting."

Front 32

Capitalize points of the compass only when they refer to specific regions. In this sentence, "northeastern" is an adjective describing "part," not a region.

Back 32

e.g., I live in the northeastern part of the state where the climate is colder.

Front 33

Capitalize points of the compass when they refer to specific regions.

Back 33

e.g., The West, especially California, is famous for its cutting-edge technology.

Front 34

Always capitalize the first and last words of titles of publications regardless of their parts of speech. Capitalize other words within titles, including the short verb forms “is, are, be.” Do not capitalize little words within titles such as “a, an, the, but, as, if, and, or, nor,” or prepositions, regardless of their length.

Back 34

e.g., Have you read All the King's Men?

Front 35

Do not capitalize names of seasons.

Back 35

-

Front 36

Capitalize only the first word of a salutation and the first word of a complimentary close.

Back 36

e.g., My dear Mr. Simpson:
Sincerely yours,

Front 37

Verbs after OR

Back 37

two singular subjects w/ the conjunction 'or' = singular verb

Either my mom or my dad IS calling tonight.

If one of the subjects plural = plural verb

Either my brother or sisters ARE calling tonight.