11 Common Grammatical Errors To Purge From Your Emails

11 Common Grammatical Errors To Purge From Your Emails 11 Common Grammatical Errors To Purge From Your Emails Image Source: iStockTHERE is nothing that can undo good intentions or an excellent idea quite like an email which is laced with common grammatical errors and typographical slip-ups.Spelling mistakesâ€"especially with the range of spell-checking functions availableâ€"send a signal that the writer is careless. And if so, what might that say about whatever it is they’re selling or promoting?Then there the other tics in emails, which are attributable to poor practice (Number One on the list below just has to go) or to words and grammatical procedures that there has always been widespread misunderstanding about.However, with a little close attention to detail, you can soon be rooting this mistakes out of your prose like an editorial pro. Here are a dozen common grammatical errors  you should be alert for. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 1. Hey!IF YOU saw someone on the street that you needed to talk to, but did not know them personally, would you walk up to them and announce “Hey!”?  It’s unlikely. It  would be rude and presumptuous. It’s no less so in an email. Keep it business-like.No-one will think any less of you for stating: “Hello”, or “Good morning / afternoon”.2. Exclamation PointsWHEN ejecting ‘Hey’, ensure it is accompanied by its exclamation point. Never can something have been used so frequently by so many with so little understanding of its function.The exclamation mark signifies strong feelings and shouting. In the print industry, it is known as a scream, a gasper, a slammer or a startler. Over-use is distracting and erodes its significance. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 3. Your / You’reTHE  word “your”  is a determiner, meaning “belonging to or associated with the person that the speaker is addressing”, i.e., “What is your name?”“You’re”, on the other hand, is a contraction of two words, “you” and “are”, i.e., “You’re [you are] being assigned to this task.â €4. Its / It’sONE of the most common mix-ups in the language.“It’s” is a contraction of two words, ‘It’ and ‘is’, i.e., “It’s cold today,” or “It’s my opinion that…” “Its”, on the other hand, is a determiner, meaning “belonging to or associated with a thing previously mentioned or easily identified”, i.e., “Return the document to its owner.” (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 5. Been / BeingIN ONE of the most painful of common grammatical errors, these  two words are often use  interchangeably. They do  not mean the same thing.The word “been” is the past participle of “be”, which indicates the identity, qualities or condition of a thing, i.e., the past tense of “I will be” is “I have been.”The word “being” means “a living thing; the state of existing; the most important or basic part of a person’s mind or self”, i.e., “The client is  being persistent on this point,” or “This policy was brough t into being in 2005.”Here’s a sentence with both words: “I have always been convinced that the policy should be brought into being next year.”6. Adverse / Averse“ADVERSE” means “detrimental”, i.e., “The conditions are adverse”; “There have been adverse consequences.”“Averse” indicates “an active feeling of repugnance or distaste”, and is usually used with the word “to”, i.e., “I am averse to making a decision in these circumstances”; “I am not averse to broccoli if it is cooked right.” (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 7. Appraise / Apprise“APPRAISE” means to “say how much something is worth after you have carefully examined it”.“Apprise” means “to give information to someone”, or “to give notice to”.The correct usage of both these words is as follows: “I apprised him of the financial situation after appraising the assets.”8. IrregardlessTHERE is no such word as “irregardless”. The word that y ou want in the context where “irregardless” is used, is always either “regardless” or “irrespective”. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 9. DisinterestedTHIS word is misused often when writers are attempting to convey a lack of interest. It actually means unbiased, or “not influenced by personal feelings, opinions or concerns”.The word that means “not wanting to learn more about something, or become involved in something”, or simply, “not interested” is uninterested.10. LiterallyMISUSE of literally, is another of the painfully common grammatical errors. This  word should only ever be used to described something that is actually happening. To say that “He literally danced with joy” is correct use of the term. But it should not be used for emphasis.  â€œHe literally blew his top” is absurd.As Merriam-Webster notes, “the use is pure hyperbole intended to gain emphasis, but it often appears in contexts where no additional emphasis is nece ssary”. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 11. UltimateTHIS  word, in the sense of  â€œbest quality” is one of the most  common grammatical errors it  has almost been bled dry of its proper meaning. “Ultimate” derives from Latin, and means the “most remote in space or time”; the last in a progression of series; eventual; or best or most extreme of its kind, in the sense of “utmost”, i.e., the greatest or highest in degree, number, or amount.12. BasicallyTHE  correct definition of “basically” is “in fundamental disposition or nature”. In use, particularly verbally, “basically” has become what is known as a “crutch” wordâ€"almost a nervous tic. Here’s a great example from Stuart Vail, editor in chief of The Scream Online.“When asked where he was from, a celebrity on a television talk show responded, “Well, basically I was born in Chicago.” A traffic reporter on the radio once said that the freeway was “jammed basically from th e downtown area.” A local weather man announced that “tomorrow the weather will look worse than it will basically appear.” In a story on CBS News about the procedure for the (then) upcoming Clinton impeachment, it was said that “The Senate will start by basically taking attendance.” In her commentaries on budget cuts on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered,” a reporter used “basically” no less than six times. There was no reason for her to say the word even once. It was mere filler. It added nothing to what she was saying.Learn from this. If the word “basically” adds nothing to what you are writing about, dont add it. 11 Common Grammatical Errors To Purge From Your Emails 11 Common Grammatical Errors To Purge From Your Emails Image Source: iStockTHERE is nothing that can undo good intentions or an excellent idea quite like an email which is laced with common grammatical errors and typographical slip-ups.Spelling mistakesâ€"especially with the range of spell-checking functions availableâ€"send a signal that the writer is careless. And if so, what might that say about whatever it is they’re selling or promoting?Then there the other tics in emails, which are attributable to poor practice (Number One on the list below just has to go) or to words and grammatical procedures that there has always been widespread misunderstanding about.However, with a little close attention to detail, you can soon be rooting this mistakes out of your prose like an editorial pro. Here are a dozen common grammatical errors  you should be alert for. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 1. Hey!IF YOU saw someone on the street that you needed to talk to, but did not know them personally, would you walk up to them and announce “Hey!”?  It’s unlikely. It  would be rude and presumptuous. It’s no less so in an email. Keep it business-like.No-one will think any less of you for stating: “Hello”, or “Good morning / afternoon”.2. Exclamation PointsWHEN ejecting ‘Hey’, ensure it is accompanied by its exclamation point. Never can something have been used so frequently by so many with so little understanding of its function.The exclamation mark signifies strong feelings and shouting. In the print industry, it is known as a scream, a gasper, a slammer or a startler. Over-use is distracting and erodes its significance. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 3. Your / You’reTHE  word “your”  is a determiner, meaning “belonging to or associated with the person that the speaker is addressing”, i.e., “What is your name?”“You’re”, on the other hand, is a contraction of two words, “you” and “are”, i.e., “You’re [you are] being assigned to this task.â €4. Its / It’sONE of the most common mix-ups in the language.“It’s” is a contraction of two words, ‘It’ and ‘is’, i.e., “It’s cold today,” or “It’s my opinion that…” “Its”, on the other hand, is a determiner, meaning “belonging to or associated with a thing previously mentioned or easily identified”, i.e., “Return the document to its owner.” (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 5. Been / BeingIN ONE of the most painful of common grammatical errors, these  two words are often use  interchangeably. They do  not mean the same thing.The word “been” is the past participle of “be”, which indicates the identity, qualities or condition of a thing, i.e., the past tense of “I will be” is “I have been.”The word “being” means “a living thing; the state of existing; the most important or basic part of a person’s mind or self”, i.e., “The client is  being persistent on this point,” or “This policy was brough t into being in 2005.”Here’s a sentence with both words: “I have always been convinced that the policy should be brought into being next year.”6. Adverse / Averse“ADVERSE” means “detrimental”, i.e., “The conditions are adverse”; “There have been adverse consequences.”“Averse” indicates “an active feeling of repugnance or distaste”, and is usually used with the word “to”, i.e., “I am averse to making a decision in these circumstances”; “I am not averse to broccoli if it is cooked right.” (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 7. Appraise / Apprise“APPRAISE” means to “say how much something is worth after you have carefully examined it”.“Apprise” means “to give information to someone”, or “to give notice to”.The correct usage of both these words is as follows: “I apprised him of the financial situation after appraising the assets.”8. IrregardlessTHERE is no such word as “irregardless”. The word that y ou want in the context where “irregardless” is used, is always either “regardless” or “irrespective”. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 9. DisinterestedTHIS word is misused often when writers are attempting to convey a lack of interest. It actually means unbiased, or “not influenced by personal feelings, opinions or concerns”.The word that means “not wanting to learn more about something, or become involved in something”, or simply, “not interested” is uninterested.10. LiterallyMISUSE of literally, is another of the painfully common grammatical errors. This  word should only ever be used to described something that is actually happening. To say that “He literally danced with joy” is correct use of the term. But it should not be used for emphasis.  â€œHe literally blew his top” is absurd.As Merriam-Webster notes, “the use is pure hyperbole intended to gain emphasis, but it often appears in contexts where no additional emphasis is nece ssary”. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 11. UltimateTHIS  word, in the sense of  â€œbest quality” is one of the most  common grammatical errors it  has almost been bled dry of its proper meaning. “Ultimate” derives from Latin, and means the “most remote in space or time”; the last in a progression of series; eventual; or best or most extreme of its kind, in the sense of “utmost”, i.e., the greatest or highest in degree, number, or amount.12. BasicallyTHE  correct definition of “basically” is “in fundamental disposition or nature”. In use, particularly verbally, “basically” has become what is known as a “crutch” wordâ€"almost a nervous tic. Here’s a great example from Stuart Vail, editor in chief of The Scream Online.“When asked where he was from, a celebrity on a television talk show responded, “Well, basically I was born in Chicago.” A traffic reporter on the radio once said that the freeway was “jammed basically from th e downtown area.” A local weather man announced that “tomorrow the weather will look worse than it will basically appear.” In a story on CBS News about the procedure for the (then) upcoming Clinton impeachment, it was said that “The Senate will start by basically taking attendance.” In her commentaries on budget cuts on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered,” a reporter used “basically” no less than six times. There was no reason for her to say the word even once. It was mere filler. It added nothing to what she was saying.Learn from this. If the word “basically” adds nothing to what you are writing about, dont add it.