Why Grammar Matters in your Online Presence
Have you ever been reading a blog post or Instagram caption and run across a grammar mistake?
What’s your first thought?
What if you see constant grammar mistakes on the same website? Instagram account? Business profile? Does it lose a bit of its lustre?
It may not matter if your social media presence is just for friends and family or if your audience doesn’t care (or doesn’t know enough to care). Social media seems to have popularized common mistakes in the name of “authenticity” (much to my grammar-loving chagrin). But when you are running a business, you don’t want to appear careless. Your message needs to come through clearly, and poor grammar can make things very difficult to understand. When readers see a pattern of misspellings, misused punctuation marks, lack of capitalization, and misused words, you might lose clients and customers who might view you as unprofessional or lacking attention to detail.
The best way to avoid mistakes is to proofread! Don’t click “post” without reading over what you have written. Autocorrect can really garble what you mean to say even when you type it correctly (and we’ve all seen those stories where people end up mortified because of what they accidentally sent their bosses or coworkers!). Read what you have written ALOUD and listen to how it sounds—as I tell my students, you will often hear mistakes before you see them. Or, have someone else read what you have written.
Here are some common mistakes to look out for:
your/you’re: Your shows ownership. You’re is the contraction for you are. Just read it that way when you’re (YOU ARE) proofreading your writing, and it will help.
it’s/its: It’s is the contraction for it is. Make sure you read it that way when it’s (IT IS) in your writing. Its shows ownership. Yes, an apostrophe is usually used to show ownership, but not in this case.
they’re/their/there: They’re is the contraction for they are. Again, read it as THEY ARE when you are proofreading. Their shows ownership. There refers to a place. ( I always remind my students that they can see the word here in t(here), reminding them which one it is.)
I/me: I is a subject pronoun and can be used as the subject of a sentence. Me is an object pronoun, and can only be used after a verb or preposition. So “Me and my husband went to the store” is incorrect, as is “The wedding gift was sent to my husband and I.” The correct way to write those sentences would be “My husband and I went to the store” and “The wedding gift was sent to my husband and me.”
to/two/too: To is a preposition, indicating position. Two is a number (2). Too is a synonym for very or also. When used as also, it also requires a comma. (In other words, it requires a comma, too.)
then/than: Then is a word that indicates time order (first, next, then). Than is a word used to compare (stronger than, bigger than).
good/well: Good is an adjective, which can describe a noun (thing). Well is an adverb, which describes a verb (an action)—how you do something—unless you’re describing someone’s health. In that case, well can be used as an adjective.
affect/effect: Unless you’re using these words in a sophisticated dissertation, just remember that affect is a verb (action), and effect is a noun (thing).
apostrophes: Apostrophes are used in contractions or to show ownership. They are not used to make something plural!
i : For the love of English, please stop leaving your i’s uncapitalized! I blame this on Apple: the iPod, iPhone, iMac—it has created a whole generation of the iCan’tcapitalizecorrectly. But unless you’re Apple and have a patented name that uses bad grammar on purpose, always capitalize I’s when referring to yourself.
!!! : I love the exclamation point. But don’t overuse it!!! Before I post anything online or send an email, I read through and make sure it doesn’t make me sound like I am yelling or overexuberant, and I usually end up changing some of those !!!s back to periods.
ALL CAPS: Like the overuse of the exclamation mark, writing in all caps makes your writing appear as if you are yelling. Unless you’re trying to get someone’s attention or make a point, don’t use all caps.
comma splices: Commas splices are run-on sentences, because run-on sentences are sentences that are joined incorrectly. You cannot use a comma to join together two independent clauses (complete thoughts). If you use a comma, you must use a coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS-for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so). If you don’t want to use a coordinating conjunction, use a semicolon to connect your two thoughts. Or just separate them completely!
Kimberly Cauble is a full-time ELA teacher who has been teaching for 23+ years, as well as a part-time wedding and portrait photographer in the Charlotte area. She is a big fan of the Oxford comma and will most definitely capitalize all of your i’s.
Photo by Siobhan Lorraine Photography
Fellow creatives, I would love to help you proofread/edit your blog and social media posts! Click here to inquire out about my *NEW* copy editing services! I would love to help you put that finishing touch on your words so that you can perfect your work online and exceed your potential!
Pricing:
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