50 Grammar Mistakes You Don’t Want To Make (Because Good Grammar Is Sexy)

1. People that do not understand how to use a/an. A apple, a hour, an user…

2. Defiantly / definitely. Your paper topic is not defiantly important. That evidence doesn’t show anything defiantly. Just stop; I don’t even know how you made your autocorrect do this.

3. Apart vs. a part. “I was glad to be apart of this team!” NO THAT’S NOT CORRECT.

4. When people say larger then instead of larger than.

5. When people confuse plural for possessive. Like when people say humanities last hope instead of humanity’s last hope.

6. Mixing up lose/loose and breath/breathe.

7. Using would of instead of would’ve ( would have).

8. When people write it ya’ll, instead of y’all.

9. Ect. It’s et cetera, damn it. It means and the rest in Latin. So you abbreviate it etc. Whenever I see ect, my brain wants to pronounce it ehkt and it’s annoying.

10. When people say, I could care less instead of I couldn’t care less.

11. People using the word good when they should be using well.

12. Not using the subjunctive. Saying I wish I was instead of I wish I were.

13. Brake and break. Work has breaks, your car has brakes. Though the best way to break your car is failing to use the brakes properly.

It’s amazing how often this mistake happens, even in car and motorsport related subreddits where you expect the users would know the damn difference.

14. Throwing a random persay in a sentence. (It’s spelled per se, and you probably don’t know what it means if you can’t spell it properly.)

15. Ok, here’s mine…pique/peak/peek.

Your interest is piqued, not peaked, or you storm off in a fit of pique.

You peek at your partner’s phone, if you spend any time in /r/relationships, that is.

You climb to the mountain peak.

Peak is a noun. Peek is a verb. Pique may be either noun or verb.

16. Definitely “nother.” THERE IS NO WHOLE NOTHER ANYTHING.

17. Everyday is an adjective. Every day is not. Saying, I go to school everyday is wrong.

18. Irregardless. Not a word.

However, my university supervisor during my student teaching said it constantly.

I was also in an AP training conference recently where the speaker said irregardless numerous times. He was incredibly smart and well-spoken other than that.

19. A little nitpicky, but the lack of an Oxford comma when dictating lists. Eg “Item 1, Item 2 and Item 3” rather than “Item 1, Item 2, and Item 3”

20. Any adjective with unique. Unique is what it is – it can’t get more than itself.

21. “Hence why.” The “why” shouldn’t be there, it’s just “hence.”

This one bothers me because even in the most pompous reddit threads, this one still always slips under the radar.

22. People who say anyways… blood is boiling just typing it.

23. Saying “how it looks like” instead of “how it looks” or “what it looks like.” Grrr…

24. People who don’t know the difference between breath and breathe.

25. I prefer writers and speakers who pay attention to details that matter. (It’s who for people and that for things. Thank you.)

26. When people try to use “whom” to sound smarter, but then use it incorrectly.

27. Anyone who types “$100 Dollars” must work for the Department of Redundancy Department. (It physically hurt me to type that…)

28. People who don’t know the difference between our and are.

29. I’s. See it all the time: “A photo of my SO and I’s cute pupper.”

30. When people use a question mark when they are unsure of something but are really just making a statement.

“I don’t know where Adam wants to go for dinner?”

31. I was sat instead of I was seated…

32. Two, too and to.

33. It bugs the shit out of me that try and is largely accepted as being correct instead of try to. You’re either trying to do something, or you’re doing it…not both!

34. When people use who’s when referring to the possessive form whose.

35. Americans placing the $ after the value (ex. I paid 800$ for my iPhone).

That may be the way you say it, but it’s not the way you write it and I can’t believe how many Americans do that.

Yes, I’m an American and I mentioned the nationality because I know it’s not a universal rule.

36. “All the sudden” has become so ubiquitous these days that I see it used by professional media people, it pops up in song lyrics by musicians who should be intelligent enough to know better… pisses me off to no end.

37. Expresso. It’s espresso.

38. As a foodie & former chef, the use of palette in place of palate makes me reach for my knives.

39. “The reason why is because….” (Or “the reason is because”). Double redundancy! All you need to say is “The reason is that…” When you say “reason,” you’re already implying a “because” and a “why.”

40. Using an apostrophe to pluralize words instead of using the correct plural forms. Example:

I have two pet bunnys’.

I have two pet bunnies.

41. Use of the word myself instead of simply me. I cringe when I hear it in the real world as well.

42. Misusing woman and women.

43. Mostly punctuation like the lack of commas or question marks.

44. Not sure if this is a solely Reddit thing, but I notice quite a few posts that Capitalize Every Word Like This. I Don’t Think It Takes An English Major To See Why It’s Bad English And Downright Hideous To Look At.

45. It’s not alot, it’s a LOT!

46. Definitely the you’re/your mixup

47. It’s and its.

48. Not exactly grammar, but…

IT’S SEGUE NOT SEGWAY.

The only way to “segway to something else” is to jump on a fucking standing scooter and roll there at 3 mph.

49. Using an apostrophe for plurals (plural’s).

50. Spelling rapping or wrapping as raping.