Each. Other. (final post, #15)

     Just when I am convinced that one grammar error bothers me the most, I discover another that ticks me off even more than the previous one I rant about.  This error rubs me the wrong way that I will in fact correct someone on a social network for it because I cannot, I repeat, can NOT stand this mistake.

It's simple and easy to learn. Are you ready?

Are you sure you're ready to hear it?

Okay, here it goes: Each other is two words.

Bam. that's it.  Not eachother.

Each. Other.  This one is easy to remember, just like a lot is two words, so is each other.

The naked "this"

     Most often this occurs when students are writing essays in which they want to explain a quote, fact or simply a statement.
For example, "Making the mistake of the naked 'this' is very common but easily fixed." This means that you can easily learn the reason why it's wrong so you won't make the mistake again."
     In the above example, the word "this" stands on its own and although the writer may think it is quite obvious that "this" refers to the quote stated before, you can not just assume that reader knows this fact. In order to fix this simple mistake, all you have to do is add a noun in after the "this" so it is no longer "naked," or standing on its own.
    So, it would be better written as,
"Making the mistake of the naked 'this' is very common but easily fixed." This quote means that you can easily learn the reason why it's wrong so you won't make the mistake again."
     Now that the noun "quote" has been added, the word "this" has a noun to modify whereas it was standing on its own before, which isn't grammatically correct.

a lot

     This is probably the grammar mistake that I see most often. There isn't much to it, except that a lot is two words. Everyone seems to write it as one word, and I'm not sure why this is.  The only reason why I can think that this happens is because then you say "a lot," it's said fast as one word, so many people think it is just one word. 

Alot is not a word.

Semicolons

Why use a semicolon? I so often see semicolons used where they aren't supposed to be used, and I see them not used when they should be. The point of a semicolon is to join two independent clauses.

The rule is, that if the two clauses can stand alone, it's okay to use a semicolon.

NEVER use a semicolon with a conjunction. A conjunction is a word that combines two independent clauses (for, and, yet, but, so, nor, or).  Since a semicolon and a conjunction most often have this same function, it's not necessary or grammatically correct to use both in a sentence.

To make it easier, my high school teachers taught me that it's most appropriate to use a semicolon when you have two contradicting clauses. This way, the contrast between the two clauses can be seen better since they are in the same sentence.

Sand-Which

     Did you know that the word sandwich is not a compound word of the words sand and which?
A compound word combines two words that can stand alone as words, into one big word!
     Examples are, boardwalk, lifetime, grandmother. These words can be broken up into two words that can stand alone with their own meaning.
BUT, the word sandwich is not a compound word! It only has one H in it, contrary to popular belief. Many times I've seen people spell it as sandwhich, as though it is a compound word.
     This hits home for me (no pun intended) because my hometown is actually named Sandwich, and I know it is spelled like the food, so it helps me remember the correct spelling for the word.

Dunkin' Donuts has ruined it all.

     I am blaming Dunkin' Donuts for the fact that people incessantly spell the word doughnut as donut, which is incorrect. Yes, it is easier to write it this way, but I really believe that people just don't know that it's spelled as doughnut. They have no idea that Dunkin' Donuts just spells it that way for slang.
     What sparked my need to write about this is because I saw it spelled as donut  two times on Twitter today.  Twitter and Facebook are the forums that I usually see all of the grammatical errors that bother me so much.
     It's not that I'm some type of a snob, because I know that's how a lot of people see people like me who get annoyed about grammar mistakes. I will not correct someone on Facebook in public about a spelling mistake (unless I'm in a really bad mood and I dislike the person.) I just really think that how you present yourself on these public forums is really important, especially as you grow older. That's why this blog is what I needed.  Somewhere to blow off my steam when I get mad thagt people can't speak or write correctly.
     So back to doughnuts.  In conclusion, I think the popular coffee chain really ruined it for the world and now no one knows how to spell the actual word! That's my theory.

Coulda Woulda Shoulda

Okay so this post is different because I'm addressing an error in speaking. So often I hear people say "I should of gone too." This is not proper English, no matter how convinced you are that it is right, it's not. The proper way to say it is should've.

Why?
Because the word is a contraction, as I've written about before. It joins together the words should and have. So don't say should and of.  And it's definitely not shoulda (sometimes I say this I'll admit.) The same goes for would've and could've. They are all contractions with the word have.

Am I cooler THEN you?

Then and than.

This is another huge pet peeve of mine.  All the grammatical errors that I rant about bother me, but this is one that really rubs me the wrong way because if you're going to make a comparison between two things, do it right.

It is very simple. Use than when comparing, and use then every other time. That's all there is to it.

Than: comparison
Then: at a point in time/addition to

So the title of this post is wrong. I am not cooler then you, I am cooler THAN you. Never use then in a comparison and you'll be golden!

It's vs. Its

This one is a little bit special because I make this mistake so often. Since adding an apostrophe s to nouns usually shows possession, with it's, adding an apostrophe just means it is, and no apostrophe shows possession. I always forget this, and I know that many people also do as well.

Here are some examples:

It's cold outside. 
     In other words, It is cold outside.

That has its own name.
     Shows possession of name.

Affect? Effect.

This mistake is so common. I'd be a rich, rich girl if I had a dime for every time I saw this error.
In simplest terms: Affect is a verb and effect is a noun.

One word is used to show action, and the other one is a person, place or thing.

So you would never say this:
How does that effect the final product?  In this sentence, effect is clearly used as a verb, which doesn't work because affect is a verb, not effect.

Instead it would be:
How does that affect the final product?

Effect is used as so:
The effect of not studying for the exam is possible failure.  In this sentence, effect is used as a noun.

I through the ball? I threw the ball.

     The difference between through and threw. First off, they aren't even the same parts of speech. Threw is a verb, meaning it represents an action. Through is a preposition, meaning it indicates the spacial position of something. Therefore it would make no sense to use a preposition as a verb, which people SO often do.
     This is what I always see:
I was walking threw the yard.
      and
I through the ball to my dad.

     See the errors? In the first sentence, since it's not telling an action, the preposition should be used.
In the second sentence, it is supposed to be telling the action of throwing the ball to dad. Instead, it uses the preposition which is incorrect.

     I was on Twitter today and saw this mistake TWICE on my news feed. Twice. Then I really felt the need to rant and straighten this out because it's not just some "typo," people really have no idea the difference between the two.

That's defiantly not okay.

This is going to be short but sweet. And by sweet I mean sour. Do you know how to spell definitely? Do you REALLY know how? Are you sure you know how?

Guess what? Did you know that "defiantly" is not the same word as "definitely?"  Never has been, never will be. So please, for the love of whatever it is you believe in, stop writing "defiantly" when you mean "definitely!"

They're not the same word, and their definitions aren't remotely the same.  At first, I thought it was a common typo that occurred once-in-while. Then I realized that few people really know how to spell "definitely."

I genuinely hope this makes it easier on those of you who are "definitely-challenged."
Think about this for a second: "Definitely" comes from the word "definite." So remember, when you want to write this word out, think of its root word and you'll be mistake-free!

The 3 theres.

Their There and They're

We all learned the difference between these three words in middle school, maybe you reviewed it in high school a bit, but once college comes people forget their purpose in the English language.
Before I get into the three there's, you should know a tiny bit about the parts of speech so you aren't totally lost. Here's a few of the parts of speech...
Noun: name of anything
Pronoun: takes place of a noun (he, she, it)
Adjective: tell the kind of noun/pronoun; describes noun
Verb: action word (I hope you knew that one already)
Adverb: tells how something is done; describes verb
Interjection: shows surprise
Contraction: combining two words with an apostrophe to make a shortened version

First off, their. It is a pronoun that shows possession. Often, it is followed by a noun. 
Example: Please bring the money to their house

Once you know the why of things in the English language, you can use the words right because you understand the explanation of their usage.

Next, there.  It's simple Use this one to refer to any place. It can serve as a noun, a pronoun, an adjective, an adverb, and even an interjection. See above for their definitions.
Example: Over there is where we can sleep.

Finally, they're. This one should be the easiest to remember its function. It is a contraction that joins they and are. So really it's just used if you want to combine these two words. It is the combination of two parts of speech, a pronoun (as the subject) and a verb.
Example: They're not ready for the exam. 
See how they're joins they and are? That sentence means the same thing as, They are not ready for the exam. So remember: if you can replace they're with they are and it makes sense, you got the right one.

Your and You're.

For anyone who understands grammar, this is one of our BIGGEST pet peeves.  The reason why it bugs us grammar-sticklers is because it's not that hard, at all. It's so easy to just put an apostrophe and an re. Since it's so damn easy to do, this obviously means that people literally do not understand when to use you're and your. So let's go over it.

You're is a conjunction. This means that it connects two words with an apostrophe. How I think about: When what I mean to say is you are, then I know to use you're because, obviously this is what you are means.  My question is this- do people even know that you're is just a simplified version of you are? So whenever you what you mean to say is you are, remember: apostrophe re. All you're doing is taking out the a in are and replacing it with an apostrophe to show that you simplified the two words into the conjunction you're.
You are and you're MEAN THE SAME THING.

For example: You're weird looking. This can also be said as You are weird looking.
Next is your which I find much easier to understand because if you're not trying to say you are, then you use your every other time. It's that simple.  The word your is a pronoun, in possessive adjective form.  Think about what this means- it is showing possession and modifying another word (which is what an adjective does.)
For example: Is that your car?  your is modifying car and showing possession.

I sort of feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders after finally ranting like that. It's really not that hard to understand and I pity people who can't get it straight.

I did good.

     So I rewrote this about five times because I had no idea where to start.  There's so many grammatical errors that people commit over and over.  It literally drives me crazy. I know it may seem like it's not a big deal, but being able to speak and write well is so important. Notice how I didn't say "write good?" If you can sound eloquent and smart when you speak, it makes the difference. I promise.  Think about it.  If you're (no, not "your") at an interview and you use the wrong tense of a verb or, you incessantly say "I did good," you can end up sounding uneducated.
     Say it's been narrowed down to you and one other person for this job position.  You have equal experience and the employer thinks you could both be fit for the position. However, the other person speaks well and also knows that she is doing "well," not "good" today. Speaking improper English says so much about a person. It could potentially make-or-break this type of scenario. You are making audible the things you've learned in school when you speak. Talking like a caveman isn't okay.  You want to show that you paid (not payed) attention in school and actually know how to talk.
   So I just wanted to make a little introductory post that explains a bit about why I think it's important.

Description

     On this blog I am basically just going to address common grammatical errors made when writing and speaking. This includes spelling, sentence structure, formatting, and parts of speech.  I want to make people aware that how you present your words can make quite an impression on the person you're addressing, especially with things like resumes and papers. It may not seem like a big deal, but it can make a big difference.  I hope to make known the most common misconceptions in the English language because to me, knowing the basics is crucial.