Grammar rules you shouldn’t break – and a few you can
If you’re here for tips on avoiding some classic grammar blunders, please be my guest and scroll down the page. I’ve included a few heroes, such as ‘me’ versus ‘I’, dangling modifiers, hyphenating words and so on. You’re in for a treat.
But if you’re up for it, can I first interest you in a quick discussion about how far grammar truly matters? An odd proposition from a woman who sells words for a living, I know.
I’ve taught English as a foreign language, worked in a literary house museum, and devoted myself to a career in wordsmithery as a copy and content writer – so you won’t be surprised to hear I’m also a self-confessed grammar nerd.
Yet there’s something about the grammar conversation that leaves a funny taste in my mouth, not least because differences in grammar can reflect geography, socio-economic class, and ethnic heritage. Writing with ‘bad’ grammar can be an active choice and a cultural celebration.
And, cultural choices aside, ‘incorrect' grammar can sometimes make your writing easier to read.
Grab your flippers, let’s take a deeper dive into why perfect grammar isn’t everything.
Wouldst thou write as I do?
Language evolves. We know this, because the majority of us aren’t running round talking to each other as though we were in a Shakespeare play, even without the idioms and rhyming couplets. And, because language evolves, so does grammar.
So, can we really say that emerging grammar trends are ‘wrong’?
For example, many people would think the following sentence sounds a little old-fashioned:
‘Billy, to whom I was speaking, gave me a free biscuit.’
Instead, it feels more natural to opt for:
‘Billy, who I was speaking to, gave me a free biscuit.’
Day to day, I wouldn’t say the first sentence, and I probably wouldn’t write it for my own business either – even if it is considered better grammar. Which leads us onto the next point.
Say what, now?
Here’s a precious gem for you from the Golden Guide to Copywriting: write how you speak. When it comes to crafting content for public consumption, you’ll get far better engagement if you do it in a way that sounds good when read out loud.
Now, that doesn’t have to mean it’s casual or sloppy. But it might mean you contract phrases such as ‘nobody is going’ to ‘nobody’s going’ or drop ‘that’ from certain sentences (for instance, ‘some people think that happiness can be bought’).
The decision to do so might mean your grammar isn’t up to the Queen’s English, but does that matter if your writing flows better as a result?
Of course, ultimately, it depends who you’re writing for and why. You might make different grammatical choices based on the age of your audience, for example, or the industry you’re engaging with.
I’ve seen social media posts typed out in regional, grammatically ‘incorrect’ dialect do incredibly well, because their audience is local. You wouldn’t write for the website of a global brand in this way, though, because it would make it tricky for many readers to understand.
And that brings us to the final, but most important, point…
It’s all about comprehension
At the end of the day, any written text you put out there has to be digestible. You’re looking for engaging writing that people actually enjoy reading – and you’re looking for grammar that doesn’t confuse things.
In some cases, a grammatical mishap can alter the meaning of your text or make it hard to untangle. Likewise, there’s an argument that bad grammar can be distracting – even if it’s clear what you’re trying to say.
So, let’s keep an open mind about grammar, but it’s worth remembering the below rules before you hit post, publish or print.
Six grammar rules to watch out for
First off, a few grammar tips that’ll make sure readers don’t misunderstand you – this is where the correct grammar is definitely important.
The mighty comma
Example: We hopped on a train back to the city where we won our first prize and had a fantastic time meeting the people working in this exciting industry.
Correction: Either…
We hopped on a train back to the city where we won our first prize, and had a fantastic time meeting the people working in this exciting industry.
Or…
We hopped on a train back to the city, where we won our first prize and had a fantastic time meeting the people working in this exciting industry.
Explanation: Commas can be used to separate phrases and help the reader understand which parts of the sentence go together.
In the first correction, the meaning of the sentence is that the writer travelled to a city where they’d previously won a prize, but this time they just had a fantastic time meeting people. In the second, the meaning is that the writer went to the city and won a prize while there, as well as meeting industry people.
One small comma can make a big difference. It also breaks up phrases where you’d naturally pause if speaking aloud. This means the sentence is easier to take in when you’re reading in your head as well.
Dangling modifiers
Example: From Vincent van Gogh to Frida Kahlo, our visitors experienced a trailblazing collection.
Correction: From Vincent van Gogh to Frida Kahlo, the artists in our collection were historic trailblazers.
Explanation: The first part of the sentence introduces the subjects (Vincent van Gogh and Frida Kahlo).
In the example, the writer changes the subject to ‘our visitors’ in the second part of the sentence. This is confusing, because it now sounds like Vincent van Gogh and Frida Kahlo are visitors of the collection.
To avoid this, the correction maintains Vincent van Gogh and Frida Kahlo as the subjects in the second half of the sentence (referring to them as ‘the artists’) to keep things clear.
Hyphenating words
Example: The five star printing machines.
Correction: Either…
The five-star printing machines.
Or…
The five star-printing machines.
Explanation: Are we talking about printing machines that have been awarded five stars for quality, or are we talking about five machines that print stars? We’ll never know without that hyphen.
The hyphen joins two words together to make them into one adjective that describes a noun.
These next grammar rules won’t make a huge difference to the meaning of your words, but if you want to give a good impression to your readers, you should watch out for them.
‘Me’ versus ‘I’
Example: Me and my colleagues are happy to announce…
Correction: My colleagues and I are happy to announce…
Explanation: ‘I’ is a subject pronoun (the one doing the action), whereas ‘me’ is an object pronoun (the one having the action done to them). In the example, the speaker is doing the action (along with their colleagues), so you want the subject pronoun ‘I’.
One way to work it out is to remove the second subject (in this case, the colleagues), and see how it reads: ‘Me is happy to announce’ doesn’t sound right in standard English.
It works the other way, too. ‘Steph gave a demonstration to Harry and I’ should actually be ‘Harry and me’. When you remove the second subject (Harry), you’ll hear why it doesn’t work.
There’s + plural
Example: There’s loads of ways you can make a difference.
Correction: There are loads of ways you can make a difference.
Explanation: ‘There’s’ is a contraction of ‘there is’, and we only use ‘is’ when it’s followed by a singular noun. ‘Loads of ways’ is plural, not singular, so we need to go for ‘there are’ instead of ‘there’s’.
I see this one a lot. It’s the same if you’re saying ‘there’s lots’, ‘there’s plenty’, ‘there’s six’, etc – all of which will be followed by plural nouns, so should be changed to ‘there are’.
‘Fewer’ versus ‘less’
Example: Thanks to this article, I’m making less mistakes in my writing.
Correction: Thanks to this (wonderful) article, I’m making fewer mistakes in my writing.
Explanation: If the noun you’re referring to is countable, go for ‘fewer’. If it’s an uncountable noun, go for less. So: fewer mosquitoes; less disease; fewer problems; less fighting; fewer mugs; less coffee.
Of course, the list of grammar rules doesn’t end there, but these are a few mistakes I see even seasoned writers make, so nailing the corrections will nudge your writing into top-tier standards.
If grammar just isn’t your strength though, and you’re spending ages figuring out whether you should’ve used ‘there’, ‘their’ or ‘they’re’, please don’t panic in silence! Drop me a line. I can proofread your writing, edit it to make it sparkle, or create it from scratch.
Peace of mind is a beautiful thing!
