Comments on: Freelance Writer’s Guide to Correcting Grammar Gaffes

By: Lori Widmer

Lori Widmer — Thu, 20 Mar 2014 12:30:16 +0000

Susan, that one gets to me, too. And putting two spaces between sentences is a huge peeve for editors, agreed! I've taken to doing a search/replace for them in Word, but sometimes the clients think that's the way it should be, and good luck convincing them otherwise.

Paula, I used to think it was regional, but I've heard people saying that on TV and in different parts of the country. Not sure where it originated.

Hyphens can be tricky, I agree.

By: Paula

Paula — Thu, 20 Mar 2014 01:09:10 +0000

Confusing there/their/they're is bad enough. Using "there's" when you mean "there are" is worse.

Maybe it's a regionalism, but hearing someone say "a whole nother" only bothers me when I'm quoting them because there is no way to make that scan well.

Hyphens will always be my downfall.

I have an issue with affect/effect, so I hope I can remember Cathy's tip!

By: Susan Johnston

Susan Johnston — Wed, 19 Mar 2014 23:36:11 +0000

Your/you're is another issue that pops up a lot.

I see a lot of people hyphenating -ly adverbs as well and it can an uphill battle getting them to change.

More of a style issue than a grammar issue, but I know a few writers who still cling to two spaces after a period instead of one. It's easy to fix using find and replace, but I know it really bugs some editors!

By: Lori Widmer

Lori Widmer — Wed, 19 Mar 2014 18:29:43 +0000

Jenn, I've heard that one on TV. Drives me completely nuts.

By: Lori Widmer

Lori Widmer — Wed, 19 Mar 2014 18:29:19 +0000

Cathy, I worried every syllable. :) And thanks for giving me some Google+ love.

Oh, I hate that one, too. It's never been a hard one for me, but I've seen others struggle with it.

And I'm with you on the slipping up as age gets the better of us...

Sharon, glad you enjoyed. Thanks for posting it on Google+.

By: Jennifer Mattern

Jennifer Mattern — Wed, 19 Mar 2014 17:57:56 +0000

LOL That's the way it always seems to go, isn't it Cathy?

Lori -- Great post. :) While I've heard people say "a whole nother," I'm grateful I haven't seen it in writing until now. ;)

By: Sharon Hurley Hall

Sharon Hurley Hall — Wed, 19 Mar 2014 13:25:14 +0000

Great examples, Lori. I love articles like this. :0

By: Cathy Miller

Cathy Miller — Wed, 19 Mar 2014 11:20:35 +0000

Okay, you are incredibly brave, Lori. Any time I write about this topic, typos magically appear. :-)

But, I'll bravely go where you have gone. Hopefully, I'll live to write another day. I do have a Common Writing Errors list in my Free Stuff. And I survived that. ;-)

We can thank my dad for the following example. It was his pet peeve--ergo, I notice it everywhere.

Affect vs Effect - affect is a verb. Think verb=action. It starts with an "A" like affect.

There is one thing I've noticed that is frightening. I used to be the Queen of grammar and spelling. The older I get, the more often the occasional slip appears that has me gasping. Really.