Looks like you made your own mistake directly after describing the parallel issue, in your next section you make the parallel blunder…practice what you preach
So it would be impossible to have childrens as an owner because there is no such word as childrens
#9 I could care less. is an American colloquialism, and while logically incorrect, is perfectly understandable in its meaning.
#152 We cannot effect change in this organization. is perfectly correct when effect’ (verb) is followed by a direct object (change). It means to cause to happen.
#152 Everything we do is affected by our supply chain. Affect’ here is used in the context of something acting upon a process already in progress, not caused to happen by the object phrase (our supply chain).
The Smiths car is a seven seater. The car belongs to the Smiths – mum, dad the kids. So the Smiths own the car. The Smiths’ car is a seven seater.
The last guidance rule I use is that if once you have put the apostrophe after the owner, if it sounds right to do so, you may add another s.
My pupils seemed to make sense of this, but I’ve got no follow-up evidence that it had a lasting impression! Pity!
As a child, I heard a lot of facetious comments, ironically, from my mother who was a very serious person. So, needless to say, this was a phrase that was common in my home.
As for my struggles, they are with who and whom. Those two battle it out with me all the time! Who wins? LOL!
These are all great things to keep in mind…although…I’m surprised that my biggest pet peeve of all was not mentioned anywhere in the comments…which is…the overuse of ellipses!
Clearly that was overdoing it, but honestly some people’s blogs are nothing but a big run-on sentence punctuated by a ton of ellipses. It’s like people aren’t sure about the correct punctuation, so they just throw those … in there and call it a day.
Ellipses have their place in writing, but it really is tedious to read something that is full of dots. To the bloggers out there: ellipses are not a suitable substitute for a comma or a semicolon!
I liked the simple way in which u explained these simple rules. Guilty of having erred many a times, I’ve now made a note of these points. Thanks.
Thanks, this is very useful. My mother tongue is not English, but I use it in my daily life. It’s funny, that I hardly ever make mistakes, like Loose vs. Lose ,affect vs. effect or than vs. then, even the Grammar Nazis warn about these (but of course, I make other mistakes).
Another excellent post. Grammar is usually a strong subject of mine (it should be, my mother is an author…), but I do sometimes make these mistakes. I know when I read other sites whose content writers make frequent grammatical errors their credibility goes down in my eyes.
These are not so much mistakes as gaps in knowledge. It’s reasonable that bloggers should make them but professional writers really should know better!
Yes, Who does!
The one mistake that puzzles me is could’ve and could of… I just don’t understand why people make that mistake.
Into the pool I throw: She lay it on the floor’; It was lay on the chair’. Is this a regional quirk? If it is, it drives me barmy. Also PEOPLES’ which seems to be gaining ground. I is bad credit personal loans in Oakland OR so pleased too find that theirs like-minded peoples’ around – going 2 save my sanity.