10 Common Grammar and Style Errors

(A public service from your content team.)

With material extracted from:

1. Vague Pronoun References

More than one word implied by a pronoun, but none explicitly stated:

So, do this: Check for clear backward reference of pronouns, words such as he, she, it, they, this, that, which and who that replace another word so that it does not have to be repeated. Pronouns should refer clearly to a specific word or words (called the antecedent) so readers can be sure whom or what the pronoun refers to.

Actual example: “A recent survey by the Enterprise Strategy Group dug into what it called ‘The Network Monitoring Mandate.’ They talked to 150 IT professionals with enterprise-level companies.”

2. Comma Calamities• Missing comma in a compound sentence, like this:

“Starting a new job can be stressful and the first day is critical for making the right impression,” says David Kiger, CEO and founder of Worldwide Express. (Needs a comma before the conjunction.)

• Missing comma with dependent clauses, like this:

The company was responsible for developing the widget which has now been in use for five years. (Needs a comma before the clause.)

• Using a comma when you really needed something else, like this:

“The analysis was separated into two segments, smartphone users and non-users.” Try a colon instead.

And … remember, no commas before “and” in a series (in most cases)

“Junar delivers an easy-to-use, cloud-based open data platform that enables governments to open data sets to the public to drive new opportunities, collaboration, and transparency.”

3. Wrong word, you knucklehead.Common infractions: there/they’re/their, more/over, may/might, it’s/its.

• “Ruhman has over two decades of experience in the hospitality industry and a record of successfully driving multi-million dollar sales growth.”

• “Current IBM customers may be concerned

about the uncertainty with GERS moving forward as new updates and customer support for the platform have already ceased.”

4. Apostrophe catastropheMissing or misplaced possessive apostrophes:

Wrong• A companys revenue• User’s experience• The companies products

Right• A company’s revenue• Users’ experience• The companies’ products

Actual example: “Unfortunately, its also one of the hardest business process to accurately track.”

5. Unnecessarily Shifts in Tense

“Jill laughed until she cried while watching Seinfeld. Then she goes off and makes herself a sammich.”

Pick a tense and stick with it. Otherwise, you will confuse the reader.

6. Shifting PronounsRemember who you’re talking about and keep the pronoun consistent.

• “When one sees the delicious chocolate cake, you can’t help but to eat a piece.”• “The audience members were outraged when the panel announced their choice

for song of the year.”

Actual example: “At the end of the two days, each group presented their solutions in front of a panel of judges.”

7. Other pronoun problems

• Each of the companies competed in their own product market

• The board has made their decision.• Neither the company nor its channel partner

believed the product flaw was their responsibility.

No: In all cases, “their” should be “its.”

Lack of agreement between a pronoun and its antecedent.

8. Modifier MadnessMisplaced and dangling modifiers cause vague meaning and confuse readers.

• “They could see the eagles swooping and diving with binoculars.” • “He decided he wanted to be a doctor when he was 10 years old.”• “While reading the newspaper, the cat jumped on the table.”• The girl was walking the dog in a short skirt.”• “Standing on the balcony, the ocean looked lovely.”

Remember: Put the modifier as close as you can to the word or phrase it modifies.

Ask yourself: Does that sentence say what I think it does?

9. Numbers: Check AP Style

Actual example: “The company has for almost twenty years helped their customers align their IT needs with their business goals.”

• In general, spell out one through nine. Use numerals for 10 and up.• Use numerals for: addresses; ages; anything with a decimal;

financial figures; distances and dimensions; any figure in the millions, billions or trillions; ranks; speeds; temperatures or times.

• At the start of a sentence, a number is always spelled out, except in the case of a year.

Question? Look up the “numerals” entry in the stylebook.

10. Hyphens

“Hyphens are joiners. Use them to avoid ambiguity, or to form a single idea from two or more.” – AP Stylebook.

Use hyphens:• To avoid ambiguity: “The company is interested in reaching small-business

owners.” • As compound modifiers, when two or more words express one thing

together: “The company’s first-quarter results were startling.”• Two-thought compounds: “Million-dollar idea.”• Compound proper nouns: “The German-American company.”• To avoid duplicated vowels or triple consonants: “Anti-immigrant.”

The End

Let’s Be Careful Out There, Kelsey.