Image courtesy of Stuart Miles/FreeDigitalPhotos.net Some people find grammar boring and uptight. Others cannot get enough of it (ourselves included...we are commonly referred to as the grammar police and don’t mind one bit!). Even if you use spell check (and please use spell check!), mistakes happen. These errors hinder effective communication, distract readers, and are just unprofessional.
Here are four grammar errors that even a good proofreader might miss:
1. The Comma Artist
This blog post is about the comma, a very important punctuation mark, and proofreading.
This blog post is about proofreading and the comma, a very important punctuation mark.
Where you put commas matters. It’s easy to overlook, but it does matter. Usually careful re-reading and some fiddling with placement will solve the problem. Keeping style guides on hand, such as the Chicago Manual of Style, will also help alleviate common comma woes.
2. The Dangling Participle
Hurrying to think of an example of a dangling participle, the tea got cold.
Here’s the problem: as much as I wish my tea could think up examples for me, it seems rather unlikely. The first clause of this sentence doesn’t name a subject, so it grabs the nearest noun it can: the tea. Generally, readers can infer the meanings of these sentences, but not always. Pay attention to subject placement. (Also, if you don’t dangle your participles, people won’t giggle at your inadvertently absurd sentences!)
3. The Wrong Word
They sound the same, so sometimes we type the wrong one. Here are a few of the most commonly mistaken homophones:
-Fewer and Less – The less you confuse this, the fewer times you’ll have to edit.
-You’re and Your – You’re going to make fewer grammar mistakes in your writing now!
-Their, There, and They’re – There are many grammar experts, and they’re very precise in their writing.
4. The Agreements
While writing many late night essay in college, I frequently made this error.
All the nouns, verbs, and pronouns need to be in the same tense and plurality. Our brain will often do things like fill in the “s” at the end of a word, and we don’t always see these things when we edit. Editing by reading out loud will help to locate these errors.
Paying attention to grammar helps make your smart ideas and phrases easier to understand and more enjoyable to read. When you need a fresh set of eyes, Juniper Shore Publications is happy to be your first responder to editing emergencies.
Here are four grammar errors that even a good proofreader might miss:
1. The Comma Artist
This blog post is about the comma, a very important punctuation mark, and proofreading.
This blog post is about proofreading and the comma, a very important punctuation mark.
Where you put commas matters. It’s easy to overlook, but it does matter. Usually careful re-reading and some fiddling with placement will solve the problem. Keeping style guides on hand, such as the Chicago Manual of Style, will also help alleviate common comma woes.
2. The Dangling Participle
Hurrying to think of an example of a dangling participle, the tea got cold.
Here’s the problem: as much as I wish my tea could think up examples for me, it seems rather unlikely. The first clause of this sentence doesn’t name a subject, so it grabs the nearest noun it can: the tea. Generally, readers can infer the meanings of these sentences, but not always. Pay attention to subject placement. (Also, if you don’t dangle your participles, people won’t giggle at your inadvertently absurd sentences!)
3. The Wrong Word
They sound the same, so sometimes we type the wrong one. Here are a few of the most commonly mistaken homophones:
-Fewer and Less – The less you confuse this, the fewer times you’ll have to edit.
-You’re and Your – You’re going to make fewer grammar mistakes in your writing now!
-Their, There, and They’re – There are many grammar experts, and they’re very precise in their writing.
4. The Agreements
While writing many late night essay in college, I frequently made this error.
All the nouns, verbs, and pronouns need to be in the same tense and plurality. Our brain will often do things like fill in the “s” at the end of a word, and we don’t always see these things when we edit. Editing by reading out loud will help to locate these errors.
Paying attention to grammar helps make your smart ideas and phrases easier to understand and more enjoyable to read. When you need a fresh set of eyes, Juniper Shore Publications is happy to be your first responder to editing emergencies.
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