Bad Writing is Bad for Your Organization: Common Grammatical Errors

‘If the English language made any sense, lackadaisical would have something to do with a shortage of flowers.’

Doug Larson

Lackadaisical

Every piece of written content that you publish, and every email that you send, is a reflection of you and your organization’s professionalism and attention to detail and quality.  Whether it is done subconsciously or with complete knowledge, when most people read what you have written, they will be editing, analyzing,  appreciating – or not –  each and every morsel.

As one who loves words – and the powers that they can possess – I have decided to share some of the good, the bad and the unforgivable that I have seen.  Please note that although I will only share what I have actually received or discovered, the originators shall remain anonymous (unless, of course, they choose to admit to the error of their ways).

The following have been taken from actual emails that I received from well-educated professionals/professional organizations.  Each include very common grammatical errors:

Excerpt A: ”…Thats great! Thank you for the offer to help.  I’m sure your knee deep in boxes. . .”

Excerpt B: “A couple of attendance reminders:  1) The event is sold out, so be sure to bring you’re confirmation, . . .4) Their will be a Q and A following. . .”

If you found all 4 grammatical errors, and are confident with your understanding of the corresponding grammatical rules, please feel free to ignore the following ‘lessons’ (and please forgive me for I cannot stop myself from donning my teacher’s hat):

Excerpt A’s Mistakes: 1) ‘Thats great” should read: “That’s great”.  Reason: “That’s” is a contraction of “that is” or “that has.” “Thats” is not a word, as the plural of “that” is “those”.  An easy rule of thumb about contractions: repeat your sentence out loud using “that is”, “it is”, “she is”, etc.  If it sounds okay, an apostrophe (‘) before the “s” is required.

2) “I’m sure your knee. . .” should read: “I’m sure you’re knee. . .” Reason: “Your” is a possessive pronoun, as in “your organization” or “your email.”  “You’re” is a contraction for “you are,” as in “you’re making yourself look bad by using your when you really mean you are.”

Excerpt B’s Mistakes: 1) ”. . .so be sure to bring you’re confirmation,” should read: “so be sure to bring your confirmation,” Reason: Please see #2 above:  “you’re now making yourself look really bad by using you are when you mean your!”

2) “Their will be. . .” should read: “There will be. . .” Reason: “There” is used many ways, including as a reference to a place (“let’s go there”), as a pronoun (“there is my office”), or with the verb to BE (am, is, was, were, are) to indicate the existence of something or to mention it for the first time (“there will be refreshments”).  “Their” is used to indicate possession. It is a possessive adjective and indicates that a particular noun ‘belongs’ to them (“their volunteers” or “their suggestions”).

Please let me know if I miss something, if I err, and/or if you have a piece of good, bad or unforgivable writing to share. Together we can help to spread the word about the power – and importance – of  good writing.