All it takes is a single tweet or text for some people to reveal their poor grasp of the English language.
11 grammatical mistakes that instantly reveal people's ignorance
Don't make these mistakes.
1. Your vs. Youre
"Your" is a possessive pronoun, while "you're" is a contraction of "you are."
Example 1: You're pretty.
Example 2: Give me some of your whiskey.
2. Its vs. Its
Normally, an apostrophe symbolizes possession, as in, "I took the dog's bone." But because apostrophes also replace omitted letters — as in "don't" — the "it's" vs. "its" decision gets complicated.
Use "its" as the possessive pronoun and "it's" for the shortened version of "it is."
Example 1: The dog chewed on its bone.
Example 2: It's raining.
3. Then vs. Than
"Then" conveys time, while "than" is used for comparison.
Example 1: We left the party and then went home.
Example 2: We would rather go home than stay at the party.
4. There vs. Theyre vs. Their
"There" is a location. "Their" is a possessive pronoun. And "they're" is a contraction of "they are."
Use them wisely.
5. Were vs. Were
6. Affect vs. Effect
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7. Two vs. Too vs. To
"Two" is a number.
"To" is a preposition. It's used to express motion, although often not literally, toward a person, place, or thing.
And "too" is a synonym for "also."
8. Into vs. In To
"Into" is a preposition that indicates movement or transformation, while "in to," as two separate words, does not.
Example: We drove the car into the lake.
Example: I turned my test in to the teacher.
In the latter example, if you wrote "into," you're implying you literally changed your test into your teacher.
9. Alot
"Alot" isn't a word. This phrase is always two separate words: a lot.
10. Who vs. Whom
Use who to refer to the subject of a sentence and whom to refer to the object of the verb or preposition. Shortcut: Remember that who does it to whom.
Example: Who ate my sandwich?
Example: Whom should I ask?