Grammar. A never ending list of language rules we start using in grade school, we continue learning throughout our secondary education and then slowly screw everything up as educated, working adults. Spelling simply falls aside as a sentence like this, “We r in need of assistance getting more paper out, if u can help message me back, we nerd feet on the ground for the next hour.” comes from an elected official on his Facebook wall. Nice.
As a self proclaimed control freak myself, I have annoyance issues with some types of bad grammar. Bad word choice in adults drives me insane. Here is a quick review:
It’s vs Its
- It’s not going to snow today. (The contracted form of “it is” as a helping verb.)
- The bird ate its meal. (The possessive pronoun form used to express that something belongs to it.)
Your vs You’re
- You’re not dressed appropriately. (The contracted form of “you are” as a helping verb.)
- Your score was the highest. (The possessive pronoun form.)
Their vs There vs They’re
- The movie was at their house. (Possessive pronoun.)
- When are you going there? (Adverb.)
- They’re moving to California in December. (The contracted form of “they are”.)
To vs Too
- That book is too expensive! (Can mean “also”.)
- I gave the book to him. (Preposition.)
The next time you are tempted to use the number 4 in place of an actual word, don’t do it. Think back to all the hours your brain spent absorbing grammar and language and put those skills to the test.