64: The 7 Grammar Mistakes You Should Never Make

This week on the podcast the seven Deadly Sins of Grammar. The mistakes you may be making in your writing that will cause you to lose credibility, especially online. Period. Full stop. Hey there. Welcome back to the podcast. This week I want to give you confidence when it comes to your grammar, especially in your writing. I mentioned in the open that good grammar is all about credibility. It's your currency for intelligence. People will pass judgment whether it's a typo or a blatant mistake, because grammar mistakes don't get by everyone. It's important. Wouldn't you all agree that proper grammar makes for good business, helps command respect, and creates clarity in your writing? Before I get to the list of seven grammar mistakes, let's spend some time on the word itself. What it is the definition of grammar is the study of the way words are used to make sentences. It can be the written word and the spoken word, mostly known for the written word. However, grammar can be slippery and very hard to pin down because grammar we use while speaking speaking can be slightly different from the grammar we use while we are writing. So in this episode we're going to focus on the written word. In my experience, I found that people who make fewer mistakes with grammar are also people who make fewer mistakes when they are doing something completely unrelated to their writing. For me, it's an indicator that they pay attention to detail in the absence of it. I think this person really doesn't or they don't know how to write. There are plenty of people who use grammar helpers out there. These are the online programs like Grammarly or Hemingway AP Style Guide. You get the idea. There are many, many that you can use. I highly, highly recommend that you do, because if you can master your writing, then you would be considered a good grammarian. See? Not a word people feel confident saying as well as their writing. Now, last bit of advice. If you are someone who corrects people's grammar in public when they're speaking, don't people don't like people who correct grammar publicly. It's rude, it's the height of arrogance and people will never, ever forget it. Like me. I remember the three people who corrected me in my lifetime, two of whom corrected my choice or my decision to end a sentence in a preposition using the word with which any Minnesotan knows is proper English. Oh yeah, I know it's annoying, but a lot of Minnesotans do this and they tend to do it in a very casual way. For example, one guy did it to me at the Red Sox game right after I moved to Boston and we're all hanging out, you know, beer in hand, as casual could be. And I said, hey, why don't you come with? And he said, you know, you shouldn't end a sentence with the word with. So you can imagine what I said. Well, at the time I didn't say anything because I just moved there. But I have never forgotten it. And I still know the guy to this day, and it still annoys me every time I see him. I think about that. And there were other people who did the same thing. And usually all of them are tied into grammar use from being a Minnesotan. So rule of thumb, people will judge you a la FA hasha for being a person who corrects grammar in front of other people as opposed to the person who says it incorrectly. Now, speaking of judging, let's lose the phrase grammar Nazi, shall we? The term Nazi shouldn't roll off of anyone's tongue anymore. Now, what should you say in place of the word Nazi for grammar Nazi? Well, not a thing, because people hate people who correct their grammar. So there you go. You don't even need to use it. So now it's well worth 10 minutes of your time to get a quick refresh on the basics and make sure that you don't fall into using these common grammar mistakes that can kill your credibility instantly. So let me do it in the privacy of your car or your headphones. And this is as a service and not a Put down the seven grammar mistakes you should never make. Bad grammar. Good advice. Thank you, Mr. Burns. Here we go. First mistake number one. Who dat that? It's my titles. This is a grammar mistake that trips people up all the time who are not paying attention. It's a super easy one to correct once you understand the rule. It's using the word who over the word that. Use who when describing people, use that when describing objects. For example, Frank Sheeran is a truck driver that gets involved with a Pennsylvania crime family. If you said that sentence is incorrect, then you're right. It should sound like this. Frank Sheeran is a truck driver who gets involved with the Pennsylvania crime family. Now if you said the movie the Irishman was unwatchable, then that would be correct as well. Who? And that happens all the time. It's a mix up that I hear on podcasts. It's a mix up that I hear in talks. It's a mix up that I hear in person. When I do it, I notice it immediately. I've even done it on the podcast and I know when other people do it as well. Just take A mental note of it now. Chances are you won't do it again. Number two Dangling modifiers I love the word dangling. It's such a descriptive term. It also sounds a little dangerous, but it helps me remember to keep them out of my writing. This mistake happens when a descriptive phrase dates. It doesn't apply to the noun that immediately follows it. Huh? This is what it means. Having finished the work the TV was showing the Irishman. Having finished the work, I turned on the TV to watch the Irishman. Side note, and I immediately regretted it. Okay, enough of the Irishman. But first, having finished is a participle expressing action, but the doer is not the television. Do you get that TV sets don't finish assignments? And for that matter, does anyone even call them a TV set anymore? So watch your dangling modifier. If you use online grammar programs, they will always spot them for you. Number three My oh my, it's me versus I. Most people understand the difference between the two of these until it comes to the time for them to use it in a sentence. So when you get done with the plan, can you email it to Kate and I? The sentence above is wrong, as right as it sounds. And just so you know, a lot of people make this mistake. Now the trick is to take the person out of the sentence. In this case, it's Kate. It may sound weird, right? But when you get the plan, can you email it to I? Still sounds odd. So you would never ask someone to send something to I when you were finished with something. So the reason it sounds weird is because I is the object of that sentence and I should not be used with objects. So in that situation you'd use me. Does it make sense? So when you get done with the plan, can you send it to Kate and me? When you get done with the plan, can you send it to me? See, that's how it works, but much better. Next I E I e I vs eg now here's a confession. I never ever remember this rule, so I have to google it every single time I use it in my writing. I E versus E G. Many people who want to use the terms use them interchangeably when they're trying to elaborate on a point, but clutch is to remember that they don't mean the same thing I, period. E roughly means that is or in other words, while the E G dot is an example, or for an example, the former is used to clarify something that you've said, while the latter adds color to a story through an example. My only hack for remembering this is The E G starts with e and I just remember it being example. But keep that in mind and if you have to Google it every time, it's well worth the time. Next, number five. Think about this one for a minute. Which one do you say when it matters? If you care less or couldn't care less, the way it's written suggests that you possess care which still could be allocated to the situation in question. Question. So I couldn't care less is correct because it communicates that I have no more care to give. The hack on this one is remember the T couldn't. You just have to remember the couldn't at the end. So it's not could care less, it's couldn't care less. All right, number six, using two prepositions back to back. This one you don't hear a lot if you read articles or blog posts on grammar mistakes. It it doesn't come up a lot, but I see it often in writing when I'm reading blog posts or articles or social media. Many people often do it in speech, and that's the reason why they also write it as well. It's a bad habit and one that should be avoided at all costs. What do I mean when I say the back to back preposition example? I had to get off of the train. It should be I got off the train. See, it's clear writing. It's quicker writing. Okay, number seven, I saved it for last as the most deadly of all grammar sins, because it's the one that is my top. I'm not going to call it a peeve, but it's more of my judgy judge. When I see it, I judge. And I think when other people see it, they judge as well. It's the quotation marks. If it's incorrect, if they're placed incorrectly, people do notice. I notice. And here's the reason why. It's not one of those quick mistakes. Like, for example, if you're typing quickly and instead of typing two with two O's, T o O like are you going to. And let's say you accidentally put the T w o. One could argue that you were typing too fast. Or maybe the spell check checked it the wrong way. But quotations, that doesn't get by spell checks. It doesn't get by grammar checks. People deliberately type that incorrectly. So remember, commas and periods always go inside the quotation marks in English, okay? The dashes, the colons, the semicolons always go outside the quotation marks. So question marks, exclamation marks sometimes go inside, sometimes they stay outside. And honestly, if you have to google it, there's nothing wrong with it. I always find myself goop googling it in those cases. But in general, remember those periods, they stay inside the quotation marks. So there you have it, the seven grammar mistakes you should never make. I hope you found the list helpful and easy to remember. So tell me some of your grammar peeves. You can share them with me on Twitter Molly McPherson, and you can use the hashtag grammar peeves or reply to this week's email about grammar. What's that? You say you don't get my email? Well, if you want weekly tips to help you communicate more confidently. If you need to reach me, my email is chunkylover53ol. You can tell I was in a bit of a Simpsons mood when I wrote this episode. The actual place you should go is my website, mollymcpherson.com subscribe to sign up to my newsletter. You can also see it on the homepage of my newsletter. And if you want even more confidence with your communications, you can head over to my website and check out my online course, Communicate with Power in Less than an Hour. The title says it all. You can find the link in the show notes and also on the homepage of my website. Again, Molly mcpherson.com that's all for this week. Thank you so much for listening. Period. Full stop. Sam.