The top 10 most common mistakes that writers make and editors miss

July 9, 7:52 PMSalt Lake City Technology ExaminerJulie Sartain

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The Associated Press Stylebook (AP Style)

(This article started with Microsoft Word’s flawed grammar checker; see this link: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-7996-Salt-Lake-City-Technology-Examiner~y2009m7d9-Microsoft-Words-grammar-checker-is-seriously-flawed-do-not-trust-its-recommendations, then evolved into recommendations for style guides; see this link: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-7996-Salt-Lake-City-Technology-Examiner~y2009m7d9-Chicago-Manual-of-Style-equals-errors-and-contradictions-do-not-use-it. This last section is about the most common mistakes that writers make and editors miss.)

The first day in my college English class (creative writing), the professor told us to buy three books: Webster’s New World Dictionary, Roget’s International Thesaurus, and Strunk & White’s Elements of Style. He said if the answers were not in the Elements of Style, to use the grammar section in the back pages of the dictionary. The first day in my college communications class (report journalism) was much the same. This professor advised the same dictionary and the same thesaurus, but told us to purchase The Associated Press Stylebook (AP Style). Both professors said we would use these books not only in college, but for the rest of our lives.

Just because you see something published in a magazine, newspaper, or on television, doesn’t make it right. In today’s environment, everyone writes (blogs), very few read, and many editors have degrees in history or economics instead of English grammar or copyediting.

The top 10 most common mistakes that writers make and editors miss:

1. The serial comma (also called the Harvard or the Oxford comma) is a big one. Some guides say it’s unnecessary to add a comma after the last item in a list (before the conjunction) if it’s a simple list of three items such as red, white and blue. Other guides say to use a comma (the serial comma) before the conjunction regardless of the list’s contents; for example, red, white, and blue.

For those individuals who cling to the “simple list of three items” theory (no serial comma), note that the keywords here are SIMPLE and THREE. So even if you choose not to add a comma to a simple list of three items such as red, white and blue, this rule does not apply to lists of four or more items OR to complicated lists of more than one word per item. In other words, if the list contains four colors, then the serial comma applies: red, white, blue, and green. Or if the list contains multiple words per item such as blood red, eggshell white, and navy blue, then the serial comma also applies. Most all style guides say this but, for some reason, many individuals just don’t understand what a simple list of three items means.

2. Bring (brought) and take (took)—also a big one. These two words are misused more than any other two words in the English language (including that and which). Use bring when you want something or someone to come to you at your location. Use take when you want something or someone moved away from you at your location. In other words, bring is transported towards you, take is moved away from you. An easy way to remember this rule is this sentence: Bring in the mail, take out the trash.

Correct:
Bring the towels to me; bring me a soda; bring some milk home from the store (when you are at home).
Take me to the clinic, take me to your leader, the soldiers took the horses to China.

Incorrect:
Bring me to the clinic, bring me to your leader, the soldiers brought the horses to China.
Take the towels to me; take me a soda; take some milk home from the store (when you are at home).

The most irritating abuse of this rule is when a film or television show portrays a character such as a doctor, corporate CEO, marine biologist, or an English college professor as an educated person, then provides lines/dialogue abundant with grammatical errors such as “bring me to your leader.”

3. Punctuation with quotation marks: Commas and periods always go inside the quotation marks. Other punctuation such as colons, semicolons, question and exclamation marks, and hyphens go outside the quotes except in dialogue. It might look funny to you and it might not make sense, but that is the rule.

Examples: Her name was “Alice Wonderland.” She said she lived in “Neverland,” but she meant to say the “Netherlands.” Did someone say her name was “Alice Wonderland”?
“Yes, her name is Alice Wonderland,” he replied, “Do you know her?”

The only exception is when quotes are used to signify inches. The depth of the block was 1”, the width was 4”, and the height was 9”. It looked like a small monolith.

4. Time acronyms: Ante meridiem (before noon) is a.m. and post meridiem (after noon) is p.m. In other words, these acronyms are always in lowercase followed by periods, no exceptions. Also, 12 noon is 12 p.m. (not 12 a.m.)

5. Articles an or a: The articles “an” and “a” are based on pronunciation not spelling. He is an honest man, not a honest man. It happened an hour ago, not a hour ago. He has an M.B.A. and a master’s degree in science. He has an SQL database where he maintains an SAT file.

Even if the word begins with a consonant, if it sounds like a vowel, then you use “an,” and vice versa. If it begins with a vowel but sounds like a consonant, then you use “a.” For example: George is a useless carpenter, but a great architect. Useless begins with a vowel, but sounds like a consonant (the letter “y,” although y can be a consonant or a vowel). I know that’s confusing, because in the word “sky,” the y is a vowel. But in the word “you,” the y is a consonant. And since useless sounds like it begins with the consonant “y,” you would use “a,” as in a useless carpenter, not an useless carpenter. Note: Word’s grammar checker usually gets this one right.

6. Which or that: The word “which” introduces non-restrictive clauses; i.e., the additional, but not necessarily essential, parts of a sentence. The word “that” introduces restrictive clauses; i.e., the necessary parts of a sentence that cannot be removed.

The phrase that follows the word “which” is really just a parenthetical phrase and this entire phrase is set off by commas. If you remove this phrase, the sentence still makes sense because the parenthetical portion is just extra information. If you remove the phrase that follows the word “that,” the sentence will either make no sense or the meaning of the sentence will be completely different.

For example: “I found a yellow jacket that did not fit, but I bought it anyway.” If you remove the phrase that follows the word “that,” the sentence becomes this: “I found a yellow jacket, but I bought it anyway.” This makes no sense; therefore, “that did not fit” is a restrictive clause and cannot be removed. In this sentence: “I found a yellow jacket, which only cost $10, so I bought it.” The parenthetical phrase “which only cost $10” is extra information, nice to know, but not necessary for the sentence to work. In other words, this sentence: “I found a yellow jacket, so I bought it” still makes sense and the meaning is still intact.

I know that’s just a simple example for this rule and in real-world situations, the sentences are usually much more complex; therefore, more difficult to determine which word is correct. Just remember that “which phrases” are extra, but unnecessary information and “that phrases” are necessary and cannot be removed.

7. Can or may: Can means ability; can you do it, are you able to do it. May means permission to do it or an uncertainty about doing it. May I go, come what may, it may be time for a new style guide. The Internet is loaded with new websites/bloggers that claim to be grammar experts, providing new age grammar advice that contradicts all the professional style books. Guess which style book these bloggies get their information from—The Chicago Manual of Style, the style book of contradictions.

8. Comparative and superlative adjectives: How many times have you heard radio and television announcers say “more pretty,” “more happy,” “more strong”? And even worse is the atrocious “she’s more prettier,” “the most happiest man on Earth,” and “the more fattest man in the room.” There is a long list of comparative and superlative adjectives, too long for this article; however, this website has a comprehensive list of these adjectives and a catchy way of remembering how these words are used. See this link: http://lucalasalle.blogspot.com/2009/02/list-of-comparative-and-superlative.html.

9. Who or Whom: Both are pronouns, but who refers to the subject of a clause (or sentence) and whom refers to the object of a clause (or sentence). Subjects are doing the action, objects are receiving the action. The most popular tip/memory aid for this rule (which I first saw in a little book called Grammar Smart, copyright 1993, by the Staff of the Princeton Review) is to answer the sentence using the word him (or he). If him works, then the correct usage is whom. For example: Whom did you speak to? Tip: I spoke to him (not I spoke to he). If he works, then the correct word is who. Example: Who wrote this paper? Tip: He wrote this paper (not Him wrote this paper).

10. Like or such as: Like is a preposition and used to make comparisons. Such as means for example. If you say: This year she planted lots of different vegetables in her garden such as eggplant, cauliflower, snow peas, and artichokes. If you said she planted vegetables like eggplant, cauliflower, snow peas, and artichokes, then you’re saying that she didn’t actually plant these specific vegetables, but vegetables like these. Best tip/memory aid for this one is to substitute the words “for example” and, if that works, then use such as. Use like to compare one thing to another; example: He has a car like mine.

So, in conclusion, help your readers understand what you’re trying to say by following the rules they learned in “grammar” school. I know the language is continually evolving, which creates some controversy over new terms such as Web site/website and e-mail/email, but this will always be a challenge. In these cases, the popular vote (i.e., the most common usage) usually makes the final decision, and that was generally the case for the existing rules—but once determined and adopted, rules make it easier for everyone. Imagine the chaos if some small, independent group of people suddenly decided to change all the red traffic lights to blue and all the green traffic lights to purple.

Please also note: We all make mistakes, especially in writing, so if you notice an error here and there, you might consider letting the author know. If the same mistakes are repeated throughout an entire article/document/book, then it’s time for the writer (or possibly the editor) to take a grammar class.

When J.R.R. Tolkien first wrote The Lord of the Rings, the editors changed words (spellings), grammar, sentence construction, punctuation, and other things in his novels (without his consent) and this infuriated him. He was a major scholar of the English language and a professor of Anglo-Saxon (Old English) at the University of Oxford. According to him, the editors ruined several print runs of his novels before he finally convinced them to back off and publish it as he wrote it. In other words, it’s often the editors and not the writers who make these mistakes. So be kind when you criticize and offer your comments as helpful advice instead.