7 Grammar Blunders to Avoid
Nothing is worse than getting in the first edition of our new issue, opening it up and finding a giant grammar mistake plain as day. This doesn’t happen often, but when it does it blows my mind. “How did that happen? We read the issue 5 times each, hired an extra copy editor and even used the Microsoft WORD’s spell check (which never misses a mistake, right?).”
Nothing is worse than getting in the first edition of our new issue, opening it up and finding a giant grammar mistake plain as day. This doesn't happen often, but when it does it blows my mind. "How did that happen? We read the issue 5 times each, hired an extra copy editor and even used the Microsoft WORD's spell check (which never misses a mistake, right?)."
OK, so even editors are human (shocking) and can miss something every once in a while. But it's the editor (and writer) who strives for grammatical perfection who has a leg up on everyone else.
Today I thought I'd share the 7 top grammar blunders that seem to trip up a lot of people. Bookmark these if you need to. And if you already know the rules by heart, don't hesitate to e-mail this to your friend who's always driving you crazy by using "alot" when it doesn't exist:
Who vs. Whom
Affect vs. Effect
Fewer vs. Less
Sneaked vs. Snuck
Lay vs. Lie
"Alot" vs. "A lot"
Lead vs. Lead vs. Led
What grammar pet peeves do you have? Leave it in the comments section so others can learn from your wisdom.
Brian A. Klems is the former Senior Online Editor of Writer’s Digest, and author of Oh Boy, You’re Having a Girl (Adams Media/Simon & Schuster). Follow him on Twitter @BrianKlems.
