We’re back talking about grammar today!!
You certainly know from reading web pages and blogs that a lot to good online writing is presenting your copy in a conversational tone…using written words to converse with your reader. In order to do this, we may have to break a few grammar rules. Ending sentences with prepositions, dangling a modifier or using ellipses liberally are just a few examples.
However, there are some grammar mistakes that are blatantly obvious to just about anyone who knows anything about grammar. Some mistakes, to put it bluntly, make you look stupid and can harm your credibility with potential customers.
Continue reading to learn five of these mistakes and how you can recognize the correct term to use when writing for your blog or website.
1. Your vs. You’re
Extremely common among bloggers, it’s easy to avoid this mistake if you take a minute and think about what you want to say. “Your” is a possessive pronoun – “your computer”, “your job” – things like that. You’re on the other hand is short for you are, a contraction you use to say for example “you’re crazy for using bad grammar in your online copywriting!”
2. It’s vs. Its
Another common mistake that’s fortunately easy to spot. Again, take a minute and figure out what you’re trying to say. “It’s” is short for it is while “its” is another possessive pronoun. An easy rule of thumb – say the sentence out loud using “it is.” If it sounds goofy, then you should use “its.”
3. There vs. Their
A pretty common mistake that’s easy to make – especially in the rush of getting your thoughts down. I even make this mistake, catching it while proofreading.
“There” can be used to refer to a place (ex: I want to go there) or as a pronoun (ex: there is no need). “Their” on the other hand is a plural possessive pronoun (ex: their stuff, their jobs). Do a “that’s ours” test to see which one you should use. If you’re talking about more than one person and something they possess, “their will get you there.”
4. Affect vs. Effect
Another common mistake that even veteran online copywriters have to think about for a minute sometimes.
“Affect” is a verb while “effect” is a noun…it’s actually pretty easy to figure out which one you should use. You cannot use “the” in front of a verb so think in terms of “the effect” and you can determine which one to use in your particular sentence.
5. Dangling Participles
Perhaps the most difficult to spot, this error can perhaps damage the flow of your entire piece and even confuse your readers. Basically, you’re opening phrase should modify what immediately follows. Consider the following:
After rotting in the cellar for weeks, my brother brought up some apples
This sounds like your brother is bringing some rotten apples to you – what a gift!
Instead, this sentence should probably say:
My brother brought up some apples that have been rotting in the cellar for weeks.
Readers mentally expect the opening phrase to always modify what immediately follows. If the opening phrase doesn’t do this, you’ve left a dangling participle along with some confused readers.
These are just a few common online copywriting mistakes many writers commit. It’s important you carefully review copy at least a couple of times before posting. In fact, you should give your copy a good once over and solely focus on grammar to ensure you catch any mistakes.