Even experienced, expert writers need to refresh their knowledge and continue to perfect their skill, so be wary of these mistakes...
Most of the common English language mistakes committed by experienced writers are fairly common and for the most part, the writer knows the mistake, but in your rush to meet a deadline or through a simple lack of focus and concentration, the mistake is made.
There are some things that each of us just struggles to comprehend, no matter how many times we read up on it or are told, some of the below are perfect examples of these.
What fails most of us is the complexity of the English language and the slight differences and reasoning behind these differences.
As summed up perfectly by Doug Larson:
“If the English language made any sense, lackadaisical would have something to do with a shortage of flowers.”
Saw and Seen
A rule that I’m guilty of breaking thanks to my North East twang, so I’m sure this is shared with a few of you…
Saw – past tense of see
Saw doesn’t require a helping verb.
I saw that movie.
Seen – past participle of see
Seen needs a helper verb, such as have.
I have seen that movie.
As a general rule, saw follows I, you, he, she, we, they and names of people, animals etc.
Every day and Everyday
Every day is a phrase that means “each day”.
Everyday describes something that’s seen or used every day, meaning “ordinary” or “typical”.
I’ll wear my everyday spectacles for the event.
I need to think what I wear every day.
Your and You’re
Your is a possessive pronoun, in the same way that “my” is a possessive pronoun.
You’re is a contraction of “you are”. The apostrophe replaces the “a” of “are”.
You’re my manager.
I like you’re trainers.
Your taxi has arrived.
Your going to be late for the meeting.
For a full list of common writing errors, check out this infographic from GrammarCheck.net – be aware that this is an American resource.
