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Regarding the "it's" as possesive, that's an entirely different pair of shoes (so to speak) from "its". "it's" as a contraction of "it has" would be used (always check usage!) in such contexts as "It has a toy" ("it" refering to teh neutral baby for a german-thinking person). While "its a toy" refers to the toy. If you want to refer to teh baby again you have to drop the article and use "its toy" so "its" and "it's" (for it has) are not interchangeable at all.
So always check ("cehck" is another common mistake for me) they phrase usage, and if uncertain, substitute the possibilities and read them out. The bad ones usually sound bad (to me at least).
Let's see if I managed to sidestep all my finger-knotting typos.
Another I didn't see mentioned is the use of an apostrophe in a plural word.
For example, I got an email from a co-worker that said: "Hi Writer’s of <company>, You guys have been chosen to create a 60 word ad..."
Yes, I think we were chosen because we know the word is "writers" not "Writer's".
I'm a bit of a spelling and grammar freak... :)
some of those are not actually considered mistakes.
1. singular their: [crossmyt.com...]
[languagehat.com...]
would you ever say, "put somebody in his or her place"?
2. commas at end of lists
Using commas in lists:Commas are used to separate out items in a list. However, the use of a comma between the last two items in a list is optional and it only matters that you should be consistent.
EXAMPLE: Clark brought pizza, wine, garlic bread, and a movie.
EXAMPLE: Clark brought pizza, wine, garlic bread and a movie.Both of these are grammatically correct. It is normal US convention to use the final comma; it is normal British-English convention not to use it. Whichever format you use, ensure that you stick to it throughout your story and you'll be fine.
happy foo'ing!
It is normal US convention to use the final comma; it is normal British-English convention not to use it.
Bl**dy yanks, teach them a little bit of English and they start telling us to make our commas boldly go (aargghh!) where no commas have gone before. :)
Those were very interesting links, thanks. The 'singular their' does indeed have a long history, however in linguistics a long history does not imply correct current usage. Many regional forms of speech are remnants of previous historical forms but are still held as incorrect.
As an example, consider the termination of a spoken phrase with a preposition. This is widespread within 'The Westcountry' (primarily comprising Cornwall and Devon), particularly with reference to locations, e.g. "Where've you been to?".
The resurgence in use of this archaic form is almost certainly a side-effect of 'politically correct' forms of speech. Whereas conventionally 'his' was used both as the masculine and 'gender-neutral' term, this usage been criticised as potentially sexist. The politically AND grammatically correct alternative is 'his or her', which is certainly wordy, and has resulted in the substitution of 'their'.
would you ever say, "put somebody in his or her place"?
The use of a comma before the last item of a list is something I will admit is debatable. The most convincing argument, and the one that convinced me, is that it is absolutely required when listing groups.
e.g. There are separate draws for knives and forks, mugs and cups, and plates and bowls.
Without the comma before the word 'and', the meaning changes to indicate that cups, mugs, plates, and bowls are to be placed in the same draw. For the sake of consistency, it would be poor practice to apply a comma only where it is required to avoid abiguity.
it would be poor practice to apply a comma only where it is required to avoid abiguity.
In the USA, possibly. In the UK/Ireland, other than when spearating groups, the comma is not considered to be 'correct'. So it really depends what you have been taught and what is the accepted standard in the form of English you are using.
That said, I agree that inconsistent use is worse than just going for one option and sticking with it.
Another thing I have noticed often is the different usage of 'are' and 'is' when referring, for example, to a company.
Is it "CompanyName are to introduce a revolutionary new widget" or "CompanyName is to introduce a revolutionary new widget"
The former is widely used in 'British' English, it appears regularly on such sites as the BBC's and in repected newspapers, but is just wrong in US English.
And has no basis in how English has ever or is currently used.
"who did you go to the party with?"
"who were you talking to?"
"what horse did you put your money on?"
all perfectly acceptable utterances in Standard English.
As Churchill famously commented when one of his memos was corrected by a civil servant,
"this is nonsense up with which I will not put."
e.g. There are separate draws for knives and forks, mugs and cups, and plates and bowls.
Thusly.. plus bas drawer
"abiguity" ahem
and later "spearing"
( come on people , we really should be using the preveiw tool for spell checking is this thread ..even if I never do so under normal conditions ;))
Also,"company name" is by definition referring to more than one person "company" , therefore "are" is correct and "is" is not ..the former being used for referring to plurals and the latter for singulars
One cannot hide behind the "fiction" of a legal "entity" when disregarding the rules ( see Enron ) even in grammar.
vincevincevince you do realise that you are risking the ire of the other "shires" that comprise the "west country" ..Dorsetshire , Somerset , Borsetshire ( the midlands "archers" county where the same character's accent can drift hundreds of miles in one sentence ;)..and not forgetting Mummerset ..where all the RADA students go to retire ;)
