When you’re a writer by trade, you can’t help but to be irked by certain (or all, let’s be real) grammatical faux pas. Like a clean freak around dusty shelves or a minimalist around clutter, being exposed to things like incorrect word choice, dangling modifiers and the like can be anxiety inducing for a grammarist.
Here are a few of my pet peeves and the rules we should all remember to follow.
Their vs. Its
I mostly run into this one in press releases, when writers are talking about a company or brand. In that case, you should always use its.
Incorrect: Tropical Smoothie Cafe reported their franchise development team signed 199 franchise agreements in 2015.
Correct: Tropical Smoothie Cafe reported its franchise development team signed 199 franchise agreements in 2015.
Fleshed Out vs. Flushed Out
This one annoys me to no end. I think The Oatmeal explains it best, but for the sake of not forcing you to click on a NSFW link, I’ll rehash it here.
If you’re talking about expanding on an idea or a plan, use flesh out. If you’re at war and trying to force your enemy out into the open — or you’re on a juice cleanse and trying to rid yourself of those nasty little toxins — use flush out.
Incorrect: Let’s regroup next week to flush out the 2017 PR strategy.
Correct: Let’s regroup next week to flesh out the 2017 PR strategy.
i.e. vs e.g.
Plenty of people use these interchangeably, but they’re actually different. If you want to get really nerdy about it, i.e. stands for id est in Latin and means “that is.” E.g. stands for exempli gratia, which means “for example.”
E.g. should be used when you’re giving an example.
I love wine, e.g. pinot noir, sauvignon blanc and cabernet sauvignon.
In this case, I’m giving examples of wine I like. So it’s implied these are not the only varietals of wine I enjoy. (I drink them all!)
I.e. should be used when you’re clarifying something.
I used to be obsessed with Backstreet Boys (i.e. Brian, Kevin, AJ, Howie and Nick).
You use i.e. in this case because you’re clarifying something. There are no other Backstreet Boys other than those five adorable guys.
Hyphen vs. En Dash vs. Em Dash
I’m a stickler for hyphens and dashes — and, luckily, they’re pretty easy rules to remember.
Hyphens should be used to combine words, like “fastest-growing brand” or “college-aged student.”
An en dash should be used to show a span or range, such as “slides 8–10 of the presentation” or “the final score was 24–0.”
Finally, an em dash is used in place of commas or to set something apart from a sentence. For example, “Her 30 years in the franchising industry — with companies like SONIC Drive-In and Burger King — put her in a position to serve on the board of the International Franchise Association.”
A few quick hints:
- The keyboard shortcut (on a Mac) for the en dash is “Option +hyphen key.
- The keyboard shortcut (on a Mac) for the em dash is “Option+Command+hyphen key.
What other grammar mistakes bug you? Share in the comments!
