Top Ten Grammar Mistakes

This is a public service for people who are grammatically challenged (or who rely on spell-check to catch errors that it can't catch, because it's the wrong word spelled correctly).

ZDNet yesterday provided the top ten grammatical errors that make their user look stupid.

So here we are in the era of Word's red-underline "wrong spelling, dumb ass" feature and Outlook's Always Check Spelling Before Sending option, and still the mistakes proliferate. Catching typos is easy (although not everyone does it). It's the other stuff — correctly spelled but incorrectly wielded — that sneaks through and makes us look stupid. Here's a quick review of some of the big ones.

The list of words is from the article, but the definitions are mine (the article used right and wrong words in sentences, which made it lengthy).

#1: Loose for lose
"Loose" is not tight/not attached. "Lose" is to misplace something.

#2: It's for its (or god forbid, its')
"It's" is a contraction of "it is." "Its" is the possessive: belonging to it.

#3: They're for their for there
"They're" is a contraction of "they are." "Their" is possessive: belonging to them. "There" is the location that is not here.

#4: i.e. for e.g.
"i.e." means, "in other words." "e.g." means, "for example."

#5: Effect for affect
As a noun, "effect" is the result, and "affect" is an expression of emotion.
As a verb, "effect" means, "to bring about," and "affect" means "to have an influence on something."

#6: You're for your
"You're" is a contraction for "you are." "Your" is the possessive: belonging to you.

#7: Different than for different from
"Different than" is wrong. Use "different from."

#8 Lay for lie
(I'm going to pretend there's no double entendre on this one.)
"Lay" deals with an object (Lay the book on the table). "Lie" doesn't (I'm going to lie down).

#9: Then for than
"Then" is another time besides now. "Than" is used for comparisons (His grammar is better than hers).

#10: Could of, would of for could have, would have
"Could of" and "would of" are wrong. Use "could have" or "would have."

Finally, they left out my particular favorite, so I'll throw that in as a bonus.

#11: Insure for ensure
"Insure" is preparation in case it's needed ( insure against something happening). "Ensure" is making certain (ensure that something happens).

Go and sin no more...