Common Grammatical Mistakes
- Vague Pronoun Reference: I believe careless use of pronouns contributes to more confusion in writing and speech than any other mistake. Very often, especially in broadcast writing, it is better to avoid pronouns and use proper names instead. (JMD).
When using a pronoun, it should be clear what subject it’s replacing. For example: “The car has a big tire, and it’s black.” The reader faces a dilemma here, because it is unclear what the pronoun is replacing. It could replace either the tire or the car. The best way to fix this is by eliminating the pronoun completely: “The car has a big black tire.” (Guest blogger)
- Use of commas:
Comma Clauses: The most confusing aspect of the English language is the correct use of a comma. There are many uses for commas; one of them is for clauses. In clauses, additional information is in between two commas. For example: “The dog, Stewart is a German Shepard.” If “Stewart” is removed, the sentence would still be a sentence. Therefore, this sentence needs to have a clause: “The dog, Stewart, is a German Shepard.” (Guest blogger)
Related to the above: A comma is NOT needed in giving the job description or title.
INCORRECT: Mayor, John Ballotti, says …
CORRECT: Mayor John Ballotti says …
However, if the article “the” is used, the example is like the one above: “The mayor, John Ballotti, says …” (JMD)
Comma Splices: This is one of the most frequent errors anywhere. Comma splices are used to describe sentences with the incorrect use of conjunctions and commas. For example: “I went to the park, and saw her.” If you look at both sides of the conjunctions “I went to the park” is a complete sentence. However, “saw her” is not a complete sentence. Therefore, a comma is not needed. Is should just be: “I went to the park and saw her.” (Guest blogger)
Comma after introductory element: This is probably the one grammar mistake to rule them all. There has to be a comma after phrases that introduce something. For example: “After that everything is going to be fine for awhile.” “After that” introduces the idea of “going fine for awhile.” Therefore, there has to be a comma after that: “After that, everything is going to be fine for awhile.” Other phrases that need commas after them include: indeed, maybe, however, eventually, essentially, etc. (Guest blogger)
- Possessive/plural: Every proper name with an “s” on the end doesn’t necessarily require an apostrophe. It depends on the situation:
Plural (two or more): ducks
Singular (one) possessive: duck’s
Plural (two or more) possessive: ducks’ (JMD)
- Sentence Fragments: A sentence must have a verb to be called a sentence. Some authors exclude verbs to add effect, but for the most part there needs to be a verb. For example: “Another dreaded World War.” There is only a subject in this sentence. To fix this you need to add a verb: “Another dreaded World War has started.” (Guest blogger)
OCCASIONAL EXCEPTION: In broadcast writing, for news and commercials, sometimes incomplete sentences are permitted in the interest of being conversational. Example: “Another walk-off homer for Josh Hamilton.” If you do this, it must be clear that you’re doing it for the purpose of being conversational, and not simply by mistake.Tip: A “verbless” sentence in broadcast writing usually comes at the beginning of the news story, commercial, etc. (JMD)
ANOTHER TIP (you will hear this often): READ YOUR COPY ALOUD TO YOURSELF, AND YOU WILL SPOT MANY ERRORS.
- Run-on sentences: Run-ons jam together two or more sentences, failing to separate them with appropriate punctuation. The writer must be careful to determine where one main clause stops and the next begins.
Faulty: I do not recall what kind of printer it was all I remember is that it could
sort, staple, and print a packet at the same time.
Revised: I do not recall what kind of printer it was. All I remember is that it could
sort, staple, and print a packet at the same time. (The Brief Penguin Handbook)
Again, read your copy aloud to yourself.
- It's for its
“It’s” is a contraction of “it is.” “Its” is possessive.
No: Download the HTA, along with it's readme file.
Yes: Download the HTA, along with its readme file. (Jody Gilbert, Tech Republic)
- They're for their for there
“They’re” is a contraction of “they are.” “Their” is a possessive pronoun. “There” indicates a place.
No: The managers are in they're weekly planning meeting.
Yes: The managers are in their weekly planning meeting.
No: The techs have to check there cell phones at the door, and their not happy about it.
Yes: The techs have to check their cell phones at the door, and they're not happy about it. (Jody Gilbert, Tech Republic)
Also … “you’re” (contraction of “you are”) for “your” (pronoun).
- Who or that?
“Who” is about people. (I have a friend who changed shifts with me.)
“That” is about things. (The car thatis parked there must be moved.)
(Mrs. Bluezette’s Grammar Guide: Writing Tips for Broadcast News)
- Do the quotes go after or before the period?
Put quotation marks after a period or comma. Put quotes before a colon. Put quotes after a question mark unless the entire sentence is a question.
Examples:
He asked, "Are you hungry?"
She replied, "Yes."
Did she say, "Yes"? (Kempton Smith)
- Hyphens
Compound adjectives + noun -- hyphenate when the adjectives appear before a noun but not if used after
Example: The newsletter contains the most up-to-date material in the SEO industry. (up to date is hyphenated because it is used as an adjective modifying the noun “material.”)
Example: The material in the newsletter is kept up to date. (There's no noun following up to date, so it shouldn't be hyphenated.) (Nobles)
And one more …
- Abusing semi-colons.
Wrong: The following will be on the test; Locke, Hume, Parfit.
Wrong: Although there is no right answer; there are many wrong answers.
Right: There is no right answer; there are many wrong answers.
(THE RULE: Use a semi-colon only where you could use aperiod instead. In other words, a semi-colon must join two clauses that could stand by themselves as completesentences.) (Pasnau)
JMD’S RULE: DO NOT USE SEMI-COLONS FOR BROADCAST WRITING. IF YOU CAN USE A PERIOD, USE A PERIOD.
Grammatical mistake websites: