Tricks for Avoiding Common Grammar Mistakes

Grammar can be perplexing. Is it who or whom? Me or I? We don't all have the aptitude for proper grammar, and even as a writer, I have trouble with these confusing rules. Just as I've learned to use tricks and tips to help me remember grammar guidelines, I've combined my learning techniques and scoured the internet for new ways to help you remember these mind boggling rules.

I.e. versus E.g.

Grammar Girl gives great examples of when to use each. Both are Latin abbreviations. I.e. stands for is est, which roughly translates to "that is". E.g. stands for exempli gratia which means "for example". If you can remember that e.g. sounds like the beginning of the word "example" you should be able to determine the difference between the two abbreviations. My teachers always associated e.g. with "eggsample"

I.e. is used to offer clarification on something. "I was hanging out with my friends, (i.e. Mike, Heather and Nicole)."

E.g. is used to provide an example of something. "Using bleach is a great way to clean your porcelain surfaces (e.g. sinks, tubs and toilets)."

Who versus Whom

Without getting into too much grammar mumbo jumbo, Writingforward.com states that who refers to the subject and whom refers to the object. When deciding which to use, try this to help you remember: If a sentence can use the word him instead of whom, you should use whom.

Example:

"Who are you?"

You wouldn't say "Him are you", so you using whom would not be correct either.

The sentence "I see whom?" sounds completely fine with "him" inserted, so whom is correct.

Affect versus Effect

This one gets me every time. If it weren't for the MS Office incredibly intuitive grammar check, I would probably be offending writers everywhere with my articles. They are both very similar in meaning which makes it even more difficult to come up with some sort of mnemonic device to help us get them straight.

Here is a great way to remember the difference between the two: you can "affect" something, or have an "effect" on it. Affect is a verb and effect is a noun.

To versus Too

This may be review for some of you, but I've noticed plenty of people still do not understand the difference between the two.

My teachers have always suggested remembering that the word "too" can be substituted for "also" or "as well".

"I've got to stop by the post office too."

You can easily substitute the word "too" for "also" in this sentence.

"I've got to stop by the post office also."

This is the only time "too" should be used in a sentence: when it's used to convey something that you need to do as well, or have done as well, or will do also.

Me versus I

I'm not sure that I'll ever fully understand the rules of me and I, but SparkNotes.com actually gives an easy example to remember the rule. When in doubt, remove the other person from the sentence and see how it sounds.

Example:

"Me and Bobby went to the store."

Remove Bobby from the sentence and see if it still makes sense.

"Me went to the store."

Obviously, the correct word would be "I" in this sentence.

Example:

"The new kid likes Bobby and I."

Take out Bobby and what do you get?

"The new kid likes I."

This is incorrect. The correct sentence would be, "The new kid likes Bobby and me."

Hopefully these easy tricks will help you remember these complex rules, but don't be discouraged if you still have trouble. All things take practice to master. Write these tricks down to recite over to yourself at certain points throughout the day. Once you've mastered these, try three more and so on. Eventually, you'll eliminate the simple errors in your writing and learn to harness the power of memorization to help you in your endeavor.

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