Grammatical ErrorsThat Kill Your Writing CredibilityGrammatical error is a term used in prescriptive grammar to describe an instance of faulty, unconventional, or controversial usage, such as a ​misplaced modifier or an inappropriate verb tense. Also called a usage error.

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3. A placewherecoins are made…
A mint is an industrial facility which manufactures coins that can be used
as currency.
Mint

4. A building whereold things are kept/preserved…
Museum

5. A person having golden hair…
A person with fair or pale yellow hair
Blond

6. Speaking and using two languages…
Bilinguals

7. A road with treeson both sides…
Avenue

8. A mute performanceon thestage…
Mime

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10. • "Your grammar is a
reflection of your image.
Good or bad, you have
made an impression. And
like all impressions, you are
in total control.
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11. • First impressions matter: You want to
make sure you come across as the
business professional you are. You want
to give your readers a good first
impression.
• Not only do you want to get their
attention, but you also want to earn their
respect.
• Good spelling, correct grammar and the
appropriate use of punctuation will give
them more confidence in the person (or
the company) communicating with them.
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12. • Clients and suppliers are more likely to trust a
company that communicates clearly and
correctly.
• The use of proper grammar will help maintain
your business’ credibility and reputation as a
professional, trustworthy enterprise that views
all of its interactions with its customers and
traders as equally important.
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13. • you do not want to distract your readers
from the message you are trying to convey
by giving them grammar and spelling
mistakes to take note of.
• Such errors make your writing harder to
read. You wouldn’t want to create any
distraction in your audience’s mind,
particularly if you are trying to get them to
take some form of action .
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14. • Incorrect spelling or a lack of punctuation
may create confusion.
• Your audience may be left guessing what
you are trying to say.
• Spelling errors and grammatical mistakes
may also change the meaning of your
message.
• Some readers may get back to you to clarify,
others might not; which, in the case of new
prospects / customers, is something you
want to avoid.
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15. • Grammatically incorrect documents
may convey misinformation,
misguiding the reader into taking the
wrong action or their reaction to it.
• This, in turn, may leave your
business open to costly legal action,
on the basis that the information
provided was false or misleading in
some way.
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16. GRAMMATICAL ERRORS
THAT KILL YOUR WRITING CREDIBILITY
• Grammatical error is a term used in prescriptive
grammar to describe an instance of faulty,
unconventional, or controversial usage, such as
a ​misplaced modifier or an inappropriate verb
tense. Also called a usage error. We will
compare grammatical error with correctness.
• It's also known as: error, usage error, grammar
error or mistake, bad grammar
• Grammatical errors are usually distinguished
from (though sometimes confused with) factual
errors, logical
fallacies, misspellings, typographical errors, and
faulty punctuation.

17. MISSING COMMA AFTER INTRODUCTORY
ELEMENT
• A comma should be used after an
introductory word, phrase, or clause. Using a
comma gives the reader a slight pause after
an introductory element and often can help
avoid confusion.
• Example 1:
• Incorrect: In case you haven’t noticed my real
name doesn’t appear in the article.
• Correct: In case you haven’t noticed, my real
name doesn’t appear in the article.
• Example 2:
• Incorrect: Before she had time to think about
it Sharon jumped into the icy pool.
• Correct: Before she had time to think about it,
Sharon jumped into the icy pool.

18. SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT ERRORS
• The subject and verb of a sentence must agree with one another in number, whether they are singular or
plural. If the subject of the sentence is singular, its verb must also be singular; and if the subject is
plural, the verb must also be plural.
• Example 1:
•
Incorrect: An important part of my life have been the people who stood by me.
•
Correct: An important part of my life has been the people who stood by me.
• Incorrect: The two best things about the party was the food and the music.
• Correct: The two best things about the party were the food and the music.

19. SENTENCE FRAGMENTS
• Sentence fragments are incomplete
sentences that don’t have one
independent clause. A fragment may
lack a subject, a complete verb, or
both. Sometimes fragments depend
on the proceeding sentence to give it
meaning.
• Example 1:
• Incorrect: He gave his mother an
extravagant gift after the argument.
In spite of everything.
• Correct: In spite of everything, he
gave his mother an extravagant gift
after the argument.

20. MISSING COMMA AFTER INTRODUCTORY
ELEMENT
• A comma should be used after an introductory word, phrase, or clause. Using a comma
gives the reader a slight pause after an introductory element and often can help avoid
confusion.
• Example 1:
• Incorrect: In case you haven’t noticed my real name doesn’t appear in the article.
• Correct: In case you haven’t noticed, my real name doesn’t appear in the article.
• Example 2:
• Incorrect: Before she had time to think about it Sharon jumped into the icy pool.
• Correct: Before she had time to think about it, Sharon jumped into the icy pool.

21. MISTAKES WITH WELL AND GOOD
• One of the most common
grammatical errors is mixing up
"well" and "good."In general, "well"
is an adverb, while "good" is an
adjective. When you aren't sure
which one to use, simply ask
yourself whether an adjective or
an adverb is appropriate for the
situation.
• For example:
• Incorrect: "I am doing good in
math."
• Correct: "I am doing well in math."

22. MIXING UP POSSESSIVES AND PLURALS
• People often get confused when adding an
"s" to the end of a word. When do you need
an apostrophe? In general, you use an
apostrophe before an "s" to show
possession or as a contraction, like "that's"
for "that is." If you're just trying to say
something is plural, you don't need the
apostrophe. Like most rules in the English
language, this has some variation. However,
if you keep the general guidelines in mind,
you'll be correct most of the time.
• For example:
• Incorrect: "The dogs dish was full of bone's."
• Correct: "The dog's dish was full of bones."

23. MISUSING THE APOSTROPHE WITH “ITS”
• You use an apostrophe with it’s only when the word means it is or it has. Without the
apostrophe, it means belonging to it.
• Example 1:
• Incorrect: I don’t believe its finally Friday.
• Correct: I don’t believe it’s (it is) finally Friday.
• Example 2:
• Incorrect: The cat was licking it’s tail.
• Correct: The cat was licking its tail.

24. NO COMMA IN A COMPOUND SENTENCE
• A comma separates two or more independent clauses in a compound sentence
separated by a conjunction. The comma goes after the first clause and before the
coordinating conjunction that separates the clauses.
• Example 1:
• Incorrect: The man jumped into a black sedan and he drove away before being noticed.
• Correct: The man jumped into a black sedan, and he drove away before being noticed.
• Example 2:
• Incorrect: She was beautiful and she was happy and she was full of life.
• Correct: She was beautiful, and she was happy, and she was full of life.

25. ENDING A SENTENCE IN A PREPOSITION
• Another common grammar mistake is ending a sentence with a preposition. A preposition, by its
nature, indicates that another word will follow it. In casual conversation, this type of error is no big
deal, but you should avoid this mistake in your writing.
• For example:
• Incorrect: "What reason did he come here for?"
• Correct: "For what reason did he come here?"

26. MISPLACED OR DANGLING MODIFIER
• A misplaced modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that is separated improperly from the word it
modifies or describes. Sentences with this error can sound awkward, ridiculous, or
confusing. A dangling modifier is a word or phrase that modifies a word not clearly stated in
the sentence.
•
Example 1:
• Incorrect: While walking on the sidewalk, Mary found a sparkly girl’s bracelet.
• Correct: While walking on the sidewalk, Mary found a girl’s sparkly bracelet.
• Example 2:
• Incorrect: After finally setting off on the trail, the morning felt more exciting.
• Correct: After finally setting off on the trail, he felt the morning was more exciting.

27. VAGUE PRONOUN REFERENCE
• A pronoun can replace a noun, and its antecedent should be the person, place, or thing to
which the pronoun refers. A vague pronoun reference (including words such as it, that, this,
and which) can leave the reader confused about what or to whom the pronoun refers.
• Example 1:
• Incorrect: When Jonathan finally found his dog, he was so happy. (The dog or Jonathan?)
• Correct: Jonathan was so happy when he finally found his dog.
• Example 2:
• Incorrect: Don felt a lot of anger and bitterness as a result of Marie’s decision. This is what
ended everything. (What ended everything? Don’s anger and bitterness or Marie’s decision?)
• Correct: Don felt a lot of anger and bitterness as a result of Marie’s decision. Her choice ended
everything

28. RUN-ON SENTENCE
• A run-on sentence occurs when you connect two main clauses with no punctuation.
•
Example 1:
• Incorrect: She tried to sneak out of the house her mother saw her leaving.
• Correct: She tried to sneak out of the house, but her mother saw her leaving.
• Example 2:
• Incorrect: He ran through the field as fast as he could all the while rain was soaking him
to the bone.
• Correct: He ran through the field as fast as he could. All the while rain was soaking him
to the bone.

29. COLON MISTAKES
• A colon is used after a complete sentence to introduce a word, phrase, clause, list, or
quotation. The colon signals that what follows proves or explains the sentence
preceding the colon.
• Example 1:
• Incorrect: People move to Florida for: the warmer weather, the beach, and the theme
parks.
• Correct: People move to Florida for three reasons: the warmer weather, the beach, and
the theme parks.

30. SPLIT
INFINITIVES
• An infinitive is the word “to” with a verb. A split infinitive separates the
word “to” and the verb with another word (often an adverb). There are
no grammar rules that prohibit split infinitives, but many experts
disapprove of them. If the sentence sounds awkward by correcting the
split, our rule of thumb is to go with what makes the most sense in the
context of your writing and for the ease of reading. (For example, “To
boldly go where no man has gone before” would sound awkward and
less powerful as, “To go boldly where no man has gone before.”)
• Example 1:
• Incorrect: She tried to quickly finish the book before she had to leave.
• Correct: She tried to finish the book quickly before she had to leave.

31. MISTAKES IN APOSTROPHE USAGE
• Apostrophes are used to show possession. However, you do not use an apostrophe after a possessive
pronoun such as my, mine, our, ours, his, hers, its, their, or theirs.
• For example:
• Incorrect: "My mothers cabin is next to his' cabin."
• Correct: "My mother's cabin is next to his cabin."
• In the case of it's, the apostrophe is used only to indicate a contraction for "it is."
• For example:
• Incorrect: "Its a cold day for October."
• Correct: "It's a cold day for October."

32. NO CLEAR ANTECEDENT
• An antecedent is a word that comes before a pronoun and helps the reader understand what
the pronoun means. Generally, you can clear up this confusion by rearranging the wording.
• For example:
• Incorrect: "The dad found the boy, and he was happy."
• Correct: "The dad was happy when he found the boy."

33. UNNECESSARY COMMAS
• While commas are important for clarity and give the reader a chance to pause in the sentence, it's
possible to use commas when you don't need them. These unnecessary commas can be confusing to
read, and they make writing look less professional. Before you use a comma, think about why you're
using it. If you aren't sure it's needed, double check by reviewing comma rules.
• For example:
• Incorrect: "She had a stomach ache, because she ate too much ice cream."
• Correct: "She had a stomach ache because she ate too much ice cream."

34. MIXING UP SIMILAR WORDS
• Sometimes, it's not a matter of mixing up the spelling as much as an error in word choice. There are
many words that sound similar but have different meanings and spellings. These include the following:
• "Affect" and "effect"
• "Except" and "accept"
• "Comprise" vs. "compose"
• "Further" vs. "farther"
• For example:
• Incorrect: "The rain had a good affect on the farmer's field."
• Correct: "The rain had a good effect on the farmer's field."

35. MIXING UP SPELLINGS
There are words that sound the same but have different spellings and meanings. If you mix these up, it
can be an embarrassing mistake. These are a few of the most commonly confused words:
• "You're" vs. "your"
• "To" vs. "two" vs. "too"
• "Weather" vs. "whether"
• "There" vs. "their"
• For example:
• Incorrect: "There father went to school there."
• Correct: "Their father went to school there."

36. MIXING UP ADVERBS AND ADJECTIVES
• If you mix up adverbs and adjectives, this can be an embarrassing
grammar mistake. This is the kind of error that can annoy a teacher or
make the difference between a great grade on an essay and getting
marked down. This happens most often with words that end in "-ly."
• For example:
• Incorrect: "Susan gave me a real nice bouquet of flowers."
• Correct: "Susan gave me a really nice bouquet of flowers."

37. . TITLE CAPITALIZATION PROBLEMS
• Knowing when to capitalize the words in a title can be very confusing. In general, you
should capitalize the first and last words, all nouns and pronouns, all verbs, and all
adjectives and adverbs. However, there are specific title capitalization rules depending
on the style you are using.
• For example:
• Incorrect: "Around the world in 80 days"
• Correct: "Around the World in 80 Days"

38. CONFUSION BETWEEN FEWER AND LESS
• Many people mix up "fewer" and "less." If you're talking about the amount of
something, you need to decide whether the item is all one thing or a group of many
things. If it's a group of many smaller things, you should use "fewer." If it's one thing,
you should use "less."
• For example:
• Incorrect: "The store was almost out of dog food. There were less cans on the
shelves than there were yesterday."
• Correct: "The store was almost out of dog food. There were fewer cans on the
shelves than there were yesterday."

39. INCOMPLETE COMPARISONS
• This one drives me up a wall when I see it in the wild. Can you see what's wrong
with this sentence?
• Our car model is faster, better, stronger.
• Faster, better, stronger ... than what? What are you comparing your car to? A
horse? A competitor's car? An older model?
• When you're asserting that something should be compared to something else,
make sure you always clarify what that something else is. Otherwise, it's
impossible for your readers to discern what the comparison actually means.

40. POSSESSIVE NOUNS
• Most possessive nouns will have an apostrophe -- but where you put that apostrophe can be
confusing. Here's an example of possessive nouns used incorrectly:
• All of the lizard's tails grew back.
• In this sentence, "all" implies there's more than one lizard, but the location of the apostrophe
suggests there really is just one.
• Here are a few general rules to follow:
• If the noun is plural, add the apostrophe after the s. For example: the dogs' bones.
• If the noun is singular and ends in s, you should also put the apostrophe after the s. For
example: the dress' blue color.
• On the other hand, if the noun is singular and doesn't end in an s, you'll add the apostrophe
before the s. For example: the lizard's tail.

41. ME VS. I
• Most people understand the difference between the two of these, until it comes
time for them to use one in a sentence.
• When you get done with that lab report, can you send it to Bill and I?
• The sentence above is actually wrong, as proper as it sounds.
• Try taking Bill out of that sentence -- it sounds weird, right? You would never
ask someone to send something to "I" when he or she is done. The reason it
sounds weird is because "I" is the object of that sentence -- and "I" should not
be used in objects. In that situation, you'd use "me."
• When you get done with that lab report, can you send it to Bill and me?
• Much better.

42. TO VS. TOO VS. TWO
• "To" is typically used before a noun or verb, and describes a destination, recipient,
or action. Take these examples:
• My friend drove me to my doctor's appointment. (Destination)
• I sent the files to my boss. (Recipient)
• I'm going to get a cup of coffee. (Action)
• "Too," on the other hand, is a word that's used as an alternative to "also" or "as
well." It's also used to describe an adjective in extremes. Have a look:
• She, too, is vegan.
• We both think it's too cold outside.
• You might have noticed that there's some interesting comma usage where the word
"too" is involved. We'll cover commas a bit more later, but when you're using the
word "too" to replace "also" or "as well," the general rule is to use a comma both
before and after. The only exception occurs when "too" is the last word in the
sentence -- then, follow it with a period.

43. I.E. VS. E.G.
• Many people use the terms
interchangeably when trying
to elaborate on a point, but
each one means something
different: "i.e." roughly means
"that is" or "in other words,"
while "e.g." means "example
given" or "for example." The
former is used to clarify
something you've said, while
the latter adds color to a story
through an example.

44. REFERRING TO A BRAND OR ENTITY AS
'THEY'
• . "A business is not plural,". "Therefore, the business is not 'they.' It's 'it.'"
• So, what's the problem with this sentence?
• To keep up with their changing audience, Southwest Airlines rebranded in
2014.
• The confusion is understandable. In English, we don't identify a brand or an
entity as "he" or "she" -- so "they" seems to make more sense. A brand or an
entity is "it."
• To keep up with its changing audience, Southwest Airlines rebranded in
2014.
• It might seem a little strange at first, but once you start correctly referring to
a brand or entity as "it," the phrasing will sound much more natural than
"they."

45. PEEK VS. PEAK VS. PIQUE
• This mistake is another one I often see
people make, even if they know what they
mean.
• Peek is taking a quick look at something --
like a sneak peek of a new film.
• Peak is a sharp point -- like the peak of a
mountain.
• And pique means to provoke or instigate --
you know, like your interest.
• If you're going to use one in your writing, stop
and think for a second -- is that the right
"peek" you should be using?

46. WHO VS. THAT
• This one is tricky. These two words can
be used when you're describing
someone or something through a
phrase like, “Samay is a blogger who
likes ice cream." When you're
describing a person, be sure to use
"who."
• When you're describing an object, use
"that." For example, you should say,
"Her computer is the one that
overheats all the time."

47. INTO VS. IN TO
• Let's clarify the "into" versus "in to" debate.
• They're often confused, but "into" indicates movement (Lindsay
walked into the office) while "in to" is used in lots of situations because the
individual words "to" and "in" are frequently used in other parts of a
sentence. For example, "to" is often used with infinitive verbs (e.g. "to
drive"). Or "in" can be used as part of a verb (e.g. "call in to a meeting").
• So if you're trying to decide which to use, first figure out if the words "in" or
"to" actually modify other words in the sentence. If they don't, ask yourself if
it's indicating some sort of movement -- if it does, you're good to use "into."

48. ASSURE VS. INSURE VS. ENSURE
• All of these words have to do with "making an outcome sure," which is why they're so
often mixed up. However, they aren't interchangeable.
• "To assure" means to promise or say with confidence. For example, "I assure you that
he's good at his job."
• "To ensure" means to make certain. For example, "Ensure you're free when I visit next
weekend."
• Finally, "to insure" means to protect against risk by regularly paying an insurance
company. For example, "I insure my car because the law requires it."

49. LESS VS. FEWER
• The grocery store conveys "10 Items or Less“
• That's actually incorrect. It should be "10 Items or Fewer."
• Because "items" are quantifiable -- you can count out 10 items.
• Use "fewer" for things that are quantifiable, like "fewer M&Ms" or
"fewer road trips." Use "less" for things that aren't quantifiable,
like "less candy."

50. THANK YOU
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