While journalists and PR professionals aren’t the arbiters of correct English language usage, we are quick to spot grammatical errors.
Here’s why we think it’s important to get your grammar top notch when writing in professional and business contexts to:
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- boost your professional image, and credibility
- improve the clarity and understanding of your message, and
- support others’ perceptions that you’re competent and have the expertise you claim.
But we’re not the only ones on the get-your-grammar-right-please bandwagon.
Research shows that over time businesspeople have become more ‘bothered’ by errors in others’ writing. Some even think they grammatical errors reveal much larger problems with an employee, except where the writer’s first language is not English.
Quick typing spelling errors in emails might be forgivable, but not in documents, presentations or contracts. In fact, for external documents, having errors made people feel embarrassed for their company even if it was a co-worker’s mistake.
The main bugbears included using the wrong words, run-on sentences, fragments (think split infinitives), word-ending errors, misspellings and unnecessary quotation marks. And yes, older people are hassled by grammatical errors more so than those newer to the workforce. Another study found impoliteness in emails was offensive, too. Just so you know.
Here’s our list of the top 10 most common mistakes; not in priority order
Incorrect use of apostrophes:
It’s (it is) easy to confuse possess apostrophes (the cat’s tail) with contractions (it’s sunny).
Mixing up ‘your’ and ‘you’re’:
The first is possessive; the second is a shortened form of ‘you are’.
The subject and verb don’t agree:
What can trip up people is hearing sports reporters say, ‘the team are winning’, but ‘team’ as a subject is singular, and so should be the verb used with it. ‘The team is winning’ is correct. Other collective nouns include choir, jury, ministerial cabinet, and regiment.
Overusing passive voice:
We’re not fans of the passive voice (think ‘the dog was walked by the man’ v ‘the man walked the dog’). Often, you’ll hear or read ‘the course was delivered online’, but it leaves you thinking ‘who did the delivering?’. Consider instead, ‘X delivered the course online’.
Confusion between ‘effect’ and ‘affect’:
Effect is typically a noun and means ‘result’, but ‘affect’ is more likely used as a verb and means ‘to influence’.
Using ‘fewer’ and ‘less’ interchangeably:
If you can count the nouns (people, animals, media release, for example), use ‘fewer’. But, if you can’t count the nouns (salt, sauce, grass, etc.) then ‘less’ is the go.
Getting in a tangle with tenses:
Aim to be consistent. For example, not ‘the business has launched its new service yesterday’, but the business launched its new service yesterday’,
Ignoring the elegance of parallel construction (sigh):
Aim to express a group of ideas in a similar form, such as ‘The strategic plan included a policy, procedures, and to rolling out an implementation plan’. Try instead: ‘the strategic plan included a policy, procedures and an implementation plan’.
Run-on sentences:
This is where you join two sentences, which don’t belong together. Incorrect: The new marketing campaign is exciting it has the potential to reach a wider audience. Correct: The new marketing campaign is exciting. It has the potential to reach a wider audience.
Fragmenting a sentence.
This happens if your sentence lacks a main clause. For instance, ‘because she was early.’ Is an incomplete sentence.
Curious to learn more?
Check out the timeless guide, The Elements of Style, by Strunk and White. Chances are writers you know would have heard of it. This guide is baked into journalism courses and traineeships around the country.
Helping you find the right words with The Ideas Suite
For over a decade, The Ideas Suite has been helping businesses craft clear and effective communication.
For expert PR services to refine your writing and communication, visit our PR Services page.
If you have any questions or need assistance, feel free to contact us.
