If the “your” and “you’re,” “its” and “it’s,” “here” and “hear” mixups on social media drive you crazy, then we’re on the same page. If you need a grammatical tune up, admitting it is the first step. I recently had a grammar bleep with “ensure” and “insure.” Thank goodness for proofreading!  Take it away, Stacey… -aa

“‘Your (Not You’re) Ugly Grammar” by Stacey Barlow

Even as a writer I am subject to mistakes. It gets on my nerves that a few people I know (and love) actually write the way they speak.

Let me explain: English class did nothing for most people. People still think they will get a job with “a mouth like that.” Counting down from 5 to 1 is the list of my grammatical pet peeves. Yes, I even catch myself falling short when I don’t check the things that I write.

5. Misspellings.

Now this is the most common pet peeve around for some. But it’s not the person’s fault. It could be that they are not good spellers. I’ve been there~ I’ve been there to the point that as a child, I would force myself to practice the spelling of the word over and over. The you have some people who are just too lazy to write the full word.

  • Incorrect: I have know idea what to do.
  • Correct: I have no idea what to do.
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4. Subject Case Pronounces (Pronoun Order).

  • Incorrect: I and Zola played volleyball.
  • Correct: Zola and I played volleyball.
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3. Object Case Pronouns (Serving as Objects of Prepositions).

  • Incorrect: The cup was passed between you and I.
  • Correct: The cup was passed between you and me.
  • Tip: Use the object case pronoun if the pronoun is an object of a preposition. A preposition shows some relationship or position between the preposition and its object (a proper noun, a common noun, or a pronoun). The preposition asks “What?” and the object provides the answer.
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2. Gender Based Pronouns.

  • Incorrect: Everyone has their own cars or Everyone has his/her own cars.
  • Correct: Everyone has his own cars (Yes, English is a masculine-based language) or better… All people have their own problems.
  • Tip: Avoid using wordy and confusing “his or hers for him and her.”

I am guilty of this so many times because it seems correct to me but, the correct way to write using gender based pronouns is this the example above.

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1.  The Which Pronoun (serving at the start of relative clauses).

  • Incorrect-A dog, which is compliant, is easy to train.
  • Correct-A Golden Retriever, which is compliant, is easy to train.
  • Tip: The pronoun which can only refer to specific things. Use the pronoun which in clauses that provide additional, but not necessary information to the rest of the sentence. 

Being an English buff , I didn’t realize that I was being lead to write. It took a minute to understand my love of writing and learning the grammatical language. I am still not perfect in it but, I love it. It has been said the English language is the hardest language to learn. I find that to remember this, grammar reflects our background, education and the ability to communicate.

“I used Grammarly’s proofreading software because every time you publish a typo, the errorists win!”

About today’s passionate blogger: Stacey Barlow is a three-time award winning poet, author, television and internet radio host.  Stacey has two published poetry books, and presently writing her autobiography.  She resides in Texarkana, Texas. Her last post for this blog was a courageous confession about online dating. This is a sponsored post but the advice and opinions are the writer’s own.

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