To offer some grammar tips to anyone who might want them?

[UnaCorda]

I sincerely hope this doesn't come across as either rude or patronising - it genuinely isn't meant to. It's also not intended as a pedants' thread.

I just thought it might be useful to list a few common mistakes, with an explanation, so that anyone who isn't very confident with their written English might be able to correct errors which, for example, could perhaps count against them in a job application or when used in a professional context.

I'll start with three:

1. "Your" shows that what you're referring to (probably a person or object) belongs to whoever "you" is in the sentence; for example, "Your brother showed me your book". If you mean "you are" you need to write "you're".

2. "Non" is not a word on its own - it is negating something, such as in "non-stick" or "non-committal". ("None-stick" would be incorrect, as would "non of them".) "None" means there aren't any. "How many cakes are left?" "Sorry - none." Or, "How many of the children finished the test?" "None of them."

3. "Alot" is not a word and the same goes for "abit", "infront", "incase" and "inbetween". Instead use "a lot", etc., just like "a little".

Hope I haven't made any mistakes myself...

Not at all patronising. Thank you for posting. Can you please explain clearly the difference between practice and practise?

Also, is this correct?

Sarah and I went to the museum.

How do I use "Sarah and me" in a sentence?

'Practice' and 'practise' are easier to remember how to use if you compare them to 'advice' and 'advise'. Ise is the verb, and ice is the noun.

'Sarah and I went to the museum' is correct. You can take Sarah out of the sentence and it still makes sense.

'The attendant handed a pamphlet to Sarah and me.' Again, take Sarah away, and you will know what sounds right.

Bringing up the incorrect use of the words you have done is fine, your explanation is patronising though.

Haven’t RTFT but Less/Fewer irks me.

Less: When it’s a mass or substance you can’t individually count ‘There is less water in that cup’

Fewer: Anything you can count ‘Fewer people came to his party’

Happy to argue the toss over whether there are less or fewer grains of sand in a jar...

@GhostTypeEevee

I've got one that I would like help on. When I was at school years ago I was sure I was taught that you don't use a comma after and but I've noticed in lots of places that people seem to now. Can you explain the rule?

It's called 'the Oxford comma'. That is, putting a comma after 'and'. I was an editor and we employed the Oxford comma.

• but yes, unless following that specific house style, a comma after 'and' is wrong! 😀

Your sooo patronising

I actually wasn’t aware of some of those OP

TBH I’m not sure that people who regularly make basic mistakes are even aware that they’re making them.

And even if they are, they don’t necessarily care, because they may have been given to understand that these things don’t matter any more, except to crusty, nitpicking old pedants.

Having said that, I’ve long wanted to post an it’s/its explanation!

I used to teach English as a foreign language to (mainly) speakers of Arabic, and just one 2 hour session was enough to sort it out, so why on earth can so many Brits not manage it?

It’s is always short for ‘it is’ or ‘it has’.

It’s raining (it is), but it’s been very hot lately (it has).

If it doesn’t mean ‘it is’ or *it has’ then it doesn’t have an apostrophe.

Its is a possessive, indicating something belonging to it.
Our cat doesn’t like its new bed. Unfortunately we chucked its manky old one out.

@MorningManiacMusic

Why the playground bully vibe? You're coming across as very bitter, all this desperation to trip OP up.

If you don't like it, find something else to do. Very much seems you really

@PigletJohn

I think a good tip here is to think of yourself as a sexual adviser.

When people want your f*ing advice, they'll ask for it.

Ooh! A lovely example of irony there, thank you. :D

I would also love a plumbing self help thread... Some of my taps are a bit drippy and the shower diverter on my bath mixer tap has gone wrong, but I’m terrified of flooding the house if I attempt DIY.

* Its is a possessive, indicating something belonging to it.
Our cat doesn’t like its new bed. Unfortunately we chucked its manky old one out.*

If you get mixed up on its, think about that sentence with his or her instead - grammatically the same type of word and they don't have an apostrophe. 'It's hers'.

I find hearing "can" instead of "may" irritating. I think it's partly because it tends to happen when someone is trying to enforce some petty and unneccessary rule. I remember collapsing exhausted into a chair just outside the changing room while my DD tried on the umpteenth outfit, only to be told "You can't sit there". As I was sitting there it was clear that I could (it was possible). And I couldn't actually see any reason why I shouldn't be allowed, either - "may not".

As a child if I asked "can you make shepherd's pie for dinner please?" the response was "well I can but it doesn't necessarily mean I will!" What I should have said was "Please would you make shepherd's pie for dinner?" (which denoted willingness not ability) - but hey ho, I still had my favourite dinner in the end and the lesson stuck.

I'm smiling at people getting all huffy and offended at this thread, typical MN I'm afraid - it's great OP!

@IgiveupallthenamesIwantedareg0

Where I live now I speak a language that is not my "first language" . What I have experienced over the years is that if you can make yourself understood and if you can understand enough of what is said to you, then forget about the small stuff - understanding is more important that grammatical correctness.

This is true to a certain extent but grammar, punctuation and conventional spelling aid, and in some cases are essential to, understanding. Consider:

Let’s eat, Grandma!
Let’s eat Grandma.

This one’s funny, but I seem to spend half my working life editing this kind of ambiguity (and asking others to check my words for the same...).

I'm smiling at people getting all huffy and offended at this thread, typical MN I'm afraid - it's great OP!

It's rather unfair, since the title is explicitly offering tips 'to anyone who might want them'.

Some of what's come up is, contrary to her wish, rather more about pedantry than real mistakes. Whether an infinitive is split or not is mere pedantry; "To boldly go" sounds better than "To go boldly". 'Oxford commas' are not objectively wrong or right, they're a matter of style unless they specifically aid or hinder clarity. And unless you're writing something for publication, no-one seriously needs to worry about the difference between a hyphen, en-dash or em-dash.

• Let’s eat, Grandma! Let’s eat Grandma.*

Have we had a recommendation of the book "Eats, shoots and leaves"? I think the title is that way round rather than what a panda actually does which is "Eats shoots and leaves".

@SarahAndQuack

No, that wasn't what I meant.

I meant, are there languages that have two distinct verbs to indicate greater degrees of formality?

Spanish does. You don't need to include the "you" word which is tu for informal and usted for formal.

So you would ask:

Estas cansada? (are you tired) to someone you know well and
Es cansada? in a more formal context.

The "usted" formal thing is dying out, it used to be anyone older than you was "usted" and in any non-social context. In Spain at least that's changed a lot over the last 30 years, less so in South America where everyone is "usted".

As far as English grammar goes, most of the things which do my head in have been covered already.

My personal pet peeve is "was" used incorrectly instead of you. Alan Sugar on the Apprentice is dreadful for it. "What was you doing on that task"? And people who use been/being interchangeably.

Having said all that I make my living as a professional writer and wouldn't get many gigs if I didn't know my apostrophes and grammar. I'm quite fond of a semi-colon too.

The difference between “whether” and “if”.
Simple answer is to use “whether” when you are indicating that two alternatives are possible.

Also agree that the Oxford comma is more common in the US. (Not sure about Canada).

I was taught to write - I had a party with Ann, Barbara, Carol and Diana. (you don't need a comma between Carol and Diana).

Oxford Comma would be - I had a party with Ann, Barbara, Carol, and Diana.

I find it very difficult and unnatural to write like that. Unluckily, I have a big project on at the moment for a US client and have to constantly remind myself. As well as writing things like color, honor and using -ize endings for things like organize and categorize. Urgh

@biddybird

UnaCorda It should not be a hyphen; it should be an em-dash. Hyphens are used to join words or parts of words together. (e.g., mother-in-law, off-peak, roly-poly).

On my Mac the command for an em-dash is alt-shift-hyphen.
For an en-dash, use alt-hyphen.

Sorry, I put the terms the wrong way round. I meant to agree with you!

I find it very difficult and unnatural to write like that. Unluckily, I have a big project on at the moment for a US client and have to constantly remind myself. As well as writing things like color, honor and using -ize endings for things like organize and categorize. Urgh

I work for a company which for most of its history has been American, so US spellings and style are the norm. The one which I really don't like because to my mind it should alter the pronunciation, and which we use quite a lot is "modeling" rather than "modelling". On the other hand, "Center" is more sensible than "Centre" . Early on there we had a problem when some bright spark decided to 'correct' the spellings in the code, which was mostly written by Brits ... but only did part of it. 'colour' and 'color' are not the same thing to a compiler!

@Patsypie

Your sooo patronising

The irony!

I know this is a punctuation issue rather than grammar but it drives me mad to read posts on here where posters use a question mark (or exclamation mark) as well as a full stop. For example:

"What did you learn about relationships when you were growing up?."

This is wrong!!

The worst offender on here often gives really good advice but I just feel so irritated by their poor punctuation...

You definitely don't need both a punctuation mark and a full stop. I quite like the Spanish punctuation of putting an upside-down question mark or exclamation mark at the beginning of a sentence as well as a regular one at the end.

Also I know it's a style thing but the overuse of exclamation marks in a perfectly normal post is ridiculous.

"DP and I went to the shops!! He said that we could get coffee! So we went to Costa!!!"

Just no.

@SockYarn

Also agree that the Oxford comma is more common in the US. (Not sure about Canada).

I was taught to write - I had a party with Ann, Barbara, Carol and Diana. (you don't need a comma between Carol and Diana).

Oxford Comma would be - I had a party with Ann, Barbara, Carol, and Diana.

I find it very difficult and unnatural to write like that. Unluckily, I have a big project on at the moment for a US client and have to constantly remind myself. As well as writing things like color, honor and using -ize endings for things like organize and categorize. Urgh

I had a party with Ann, Barbara, Carol, and Diana

The comma before the 'and' somehow suggests to me that Diana is either different in some way to the other people listed or is an afterthought. Amazing how punctuation does that!