In our last article, we talked about how to avoid the grammar police in our conversation. Today we discuss three mistakes to avoid in our written grammar.
English is a difficult language. It can be understood through tough, thorough thought, though.” ~ Unknown
1. For Their Sakes, Use the Correct “There”! (They’re always watching, after all…)
There are three ways to write “there.” And if you don’t want the grammar police to get their trunks in a knot, you’d better get it right. Don’t worry—it’s easy to do if you remember these tips:
There: It’s just “here” with a “t.” It speaks of a state of being or a place. The cookies are over there.
Their: The possessive form of “they” or “those.” You can remember this easily: the possessive form has “i” in it, like for I, me, mine, my. The cookies over there are theirs. (Belonging to them—think selfish, possessive, I, me, etc.)
They’re: This is a contraction. The apostrophe signals action, not only of two words being smashed together, but also the pronoun “they” being combined with the verb “are.” They + are = they’re. They’re going to eat their cookies over there.
2. Is It “it’s zits” or “its zits”?
Well, it depends what you mean. “It’s” is a contraction of “it” and “is” while “its” is possessive. This is confusing because it seems like “it’s” should be possessive because of the apostrophe. (Like “the elephant’s cookies”—the apostrophe signals the elephant owns the cookies.) But with “it’s,” this is not the case.
Here’s how to remember. Treat “its” (the possessive version) like you would treat other possessive pronouns like hers, yours, or his. (Thank you, businesswritingblog.com!) Because in this case, “its” is a pronoun. (The monster wants its cookies while they’re warm.) Plural possessive pronouns don’t contain apostrophes.
When it is used as a contraction, we do put an apostrophe into “it’s” to show action—two words being smashed together, one of which is a verb. (Like they’re and you’re.)
3. Warning from the Grammar Police: Watch Out for Affect’s Effect
Affect and effect are two different words and mean two different things. Affect is a verb and has an effect on something else. The cookies affect me greatly; their effect on me is hunger.
How do we know which one to use? Think “a” for first or beginning, and “e” for end. Affect is the action; effect is the end result.
Cookies actively do something to me—they affect me; they make me hungry. The end result of the cookies’ action—their effect—is my hunger. (Apparently they affect me greatly…their effect is a cookie-saturated article!)
These are just three ways to clean up your written grammar and hopefully avoid any pen-alties (;)) regarding English law.
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