There are a number of simple grammar mistakes that are so common we don't even think about them, Yet they can undermine how people perceive us. They are all easy to fix.

1. Grammar Mistakes That Make
You look Silly
- And How Not to Make Them.
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2. Don’t be scared, this is not hard but there are
some simple recurring mistakes that undermine
our credibility when we write.
It may not sound like fun but it is absolutely
necessary to get these right.
I promise to keep you amused. (I will give it a
go at least.)
Essential Grammar
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3. Your / You're
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4. One of the 2 most common mistakes.
"Your" is a possessive pronoun,
"You're" is a contraction of "you are.”
Examples:
Do you mind if I have a drink of your beer?
If you touch my beer you're history.
Your / You're
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Its / It's -
This is the other one and it can be easy to miss
because it is used so often.

6. © We Teach Well.
Its / It's -
This is the other one and it can be easy to miss
because it is used so often.
"Its" is a possessive pronoun
"It's" is the contraction for ‘it is.’
Examples:
This school treats its teachers so well, I could
cry.
Your teacher is so wonderful, it's crazy!

7. This is a mistake that we are all guilty of at some time or
another.
There / Their/They're
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8. This is a mistake that we are all guilty of at some time or
another.
“Their" is a possessive pronoun.
"They're" is of course a contraction for "they are.”
"There" is an adverb indicating direction.
Examples:
You will be in trouble if you steal their beer.
They're going to get cranky if you drink their beer.
Go over there to the bar and get your own beer.
There / Their/They're
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9. Apostrophes indicate possession and form contractions.
Apostrophes
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10. Apostrophes indicate possession and form contractions.
That's it.
Possession: This is my sister’s jacket. – it belongs to her
Contraction: I wouldn’t (would not) lose her jacket.
Wrong – driver’s wanted, 70’s,
It is believed that contractions were invented by sign-painters back
before digital because they kept running out of room or paint when
they were plying their trade.
Apostrophes
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11. This is a tricky one and it can stump even professional writers.
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Affect vs. Effect

12. This is a tricky one and it can stump even professional writers.
Affect is a verb, a doing word.
E.g. “Not communicating well will affect your income immensely.”
Effect is a noun, a naming word.
E.g. “The effect of a low income on health care is well known.”
By thinking in terms of “the effect,” you can usually sort out which is which,
because you can’t stick a “the” in front of a verb.
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Affect vs. Effect

13. Different than vs. Different from
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This one often slips under the radar

14. Different than vs. Different from
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This one often slips under the radar
Logically things differ from one another. So
using the word ‘than’ after different is a
grammatical no-no.
This wine is different from the one I am drinking,
but I think my wine tastes better than this one.

15. Please don’t do this.
Could of, Would of, Should of
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16. Please don’t do this.
I should of gone to the shops, and I could of, if Mum
would of finished on time.
NO, NO, NO,
I should have gone to the shops, and could have, if
Mum would have finished on time.
Why do people make this mistake?
The contractions are: Could’ve, would’ve, should’ve.
Could of, Would of, Should of
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17. Adjectives and Adverbs
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18. Nouns have adjectives
E.g. The music was beautiful.
The race was slow
Verbs have adverbs.
E.g. He sang the music beautifully
He sang the music beautiful. –
WRONG
He ran slowly
He ran slow - WRONG
Adjectives and Adverbs
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19. This one can be tricky and
has gone through some
changes over time.
Me, Myself and I
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20. This one can be tricky and
has gone through some
changes over time.
The rule is that if you can
separate the parts and they
make sense then that is
what you use.
Me, Myself and I
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Can you take me and Ben to the movies?
Can you take me to the movies?
Can you take Ben to movies?
Excellent.. You could not say ‘Can you take I
to the movies?’ Therefore Ben and I would be
wrong.
Ben and I are going to the movies.
Ben is going to the movies.
I am going to the movies.
Me is going to the movies….. WRONG.
Therefore Ben and I is correct.

21. Seriously!
Relative Pronouns.
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22. That – refers to things
The green book that is on the step.
The blue car that is parked out side.
The computer that is broken
Who – refers to people
The boy who is sitting on the step.
The teacher who is tearing her hair out.
The refugees who are coming by boat.
When we use ‘that’ to refer to people we are
de-personalising them. Turning them into
objects.
Relative Pronouns.
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23. Tricky Vocab..
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There are some words that
commonly get us all a little
confused.

24. Literally
I am literally dying of shame.
Unlikely – literally means absolutely true.
Tricky Vocab..
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25. Bear / bare
We could not bear it if everyone came to
work bare.
Tricky Vocab..
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26. Principle / Principal
On principle we defer to the Principal.
Tricky Vocab..
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27. Loose / lose
You will lose your trousers if they are too loose.
Tricky Vocab..
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28. Fewer / less
Tricky Vocab..
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29. Fewer / less
Numbers = Fewer
He has fewer coins than her. ✔
He has less coins than her. ✗
Mass = Less
She has less sand in her car.
But he has fewer sand grains in his.
Tricky Vocab..
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30. Many / Much
Tricky Vocab..
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31. Many / Much
Numbers = Many
She has many watches.
Mass = Much
She has much jewellery.
Tricky Vocab..
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32. Historic / Historical
Tricky Vocab..
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33. Historic / Historical
Historical = happened in the past
Genghis Khan is an historical figure.
Historic = makes history
Man’s first step on the moon was historic.
Note… In spoken and written word, historic/historical are
proceeded by - an – the ‘h’ is silent.
Tricky Vocab..
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34. Where you put your commas and fill stops can
make quite a big difference.
Punctuation matters
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35. Punctuation matters
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36. A woman without her man is nothing.
Male view - A woman without her man, is nothing.
Female view – A woman: without her, man is nothing.
Lets eat Grandma.
Carnivore view - Let’s eat Grandma.
Preferable - Let’s eat, Grandma.
With the above example you can see whether it makes sense if you
put the noun at the beginning; Grandma, let’s eat.
Punctuation matters
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37. Don’t worry where they came from.
"e.g." and "i.e.“
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38. Don’t worry where they came from.
"i.e." means "that is" "e.g" means "for example."
For example:
We asked the boss, i.e., Chris, to be kind to the consultants.
The concert showcased different types of music, e.g., rock n’ roll,
country and R&B
It was inappropriate for host, i.e., you, to make comments to
John’s new girlfriend about his Uni days, e.g., the drugs, the
gambling, and the alcohol.
To avoid making these mistakes, just say "that is" in your head whenever
you write "i.e." and "for example" if "e.g." is what you want to write.
"e.g." and "i.e.“
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39. Hopefully is an adverb which describes the manner of
someone who is hopeful.
Hopefully
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40. Hopefully is an adverb which describes the manner of
someone who is hopeful.
For example:
When he saw the ice-creams Ben looked at his Mum hopefully. - ✔
Hopefully, people won't think I'm an idiot who can’t write. - ✗
Correct would be – I am hopeful that, I hope that, or It is to be hoped.
The reason we make this mistake when we speak to someone is that
we are assuming the verb in our head, and assuming that the other
person understands that.
We need to be more careful on our writing.
Hopefully
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41. © We Teach Well.
That is It!
If you remain alert and mindful of these
common and easily made errors your writing
will improve consistently.
Thank you for watching.
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