How to eliminate common writing errors

There are many reasons to write. You write for the reason closest to you. How many times have you read over someone else’s work finding mistakes at every turn? Even the best of writers have a tendency to make some common mistakes and read their writing as they intended to write it rather then what is actually there.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• a keen eye

1. The first mistake would be matching your verb to the subject. We can all read a sentence and see for the most part when it is not quite right. Maybe you verb just does not have the right ending but there are other mistakes here that are much more tricky. In sentences where you have two subjects sharing the same verb try to take one out to see if the sentence still makes sense with a single subject. For example, Joe is taller then him. You can either kick Joe out for a minute or add the verb again to see if it works. Such as, him is taller? Or Joe is taller then him is? These obviously don’t make sense now. Try this correction, Joe is taller then he is.
2. Watch your apostrophes. These should only be used for two reasons to form contractions and to show possession. For example, The baker’s coat, The dog’s leash, We can’t go, or I haven’t asked. These are all good uses of the apostrophe but some tend to use them when making a noun plural and it just does not jive. For example, The cat’s were walking or The parade’s were long. It is a simple mistake but is also one that is made often if you don’t keep your apostrophes in check.
3. My favorite is the word hopefully. Too many people use it wrong. It is not to be used to begin a sentence nor as the meaning “to be hoped”. The word is only used as a adverb which describes a person’s action. Try replacing common misuses with the phrase, I am hopeful.