10 Most Frequent Grammar Mistakes That Are Costing You Money

It's one of those teeny tiny little errors that on its own is oh so easy to make when you are in the flow of writing, and of course doesn't always get picked up by a spell checker.

The latest Microsoft Word grammar and spell checker is actually pretty good at picking it up, so if you are inclined to repeat this error then a quick copy into Word to check it is always a good plan -- copy it back into Notepad before pasting into your webpage editing software though or it will mess up all the formatting.

If you are unsure, then replace whatever form of its/it's you are using with 'it is' or 'it has' and see if it still makes sense.

This one is seen frequently on Facebook statuses, and while it might be OK in text speak and social media (although even then if you are using it for business...) it really does make you look bad to make this simple error on your webpages.

'Of' is all too often seen twinned with could, should, would etc. If you are speaking quickly then the two can sound similar, which I guess is where it comes from.

Fans of Friends no doubt remember the scene where Ross read a long letter from Rachel before they broke up (again). The argument that followed then caused him to shout:

"Y-O-U apostrophe R-E means you are. Y-O-U-R means your!"

Another Facebook status classic, that is easy to rectify using Ross's advice above. Do you mean 'you are' or do you mean 'your' -- it's your fault if you get it wrong!

Getting "are" and "our" confused isn't noticeable in speech, but is instantly easy to spot when visualized. The two are obviously very different words, the reason the mix-up happens is because you are in the flow of writing and typing as you hear the words enter your head. This is more likely with some people than others, depending on your accent.

If in doubt then see how it sounds/looks when using the other word in its place. "Our you going?" or "It's at are house," are obviously not right.

This one is harder to clarify than the other grammar mistakes we've looked at so far, as it's just one of those things that you can only really notice when you proofread your work when it's done. Often it is down to incorrect sentence order and/or a punctuation error.

Here is an example:

After being whipped for 10 minutes, the chef put the cream on the cake - This gives the reader the impression that the chef is being whipped rather than the cream! Re-order it to say something like "After the chef whipped the cream for 10 minutes he put it onto the cake."

If you want to get technical on this last example it is known as a dangling participle; watch out for words ending in 'ing' and 'ed' ('whipped' in this example). It is left dangling; as in it is not attached to anything. We know at the start of the sentence that something is being whipped, but we don't know what. Then the chef enters the sentence and conclusions are drawn!

Unless you have an editor then at least one read through is a must to stop these errors slipping through -- you are but a human.

I honestly think that most of us know the difference between these three, yet they seem to be used interchangeably all too frequently. Yep, another one of those mistakes that's made just because they sound the same.

The 'they're' one is easy to work out if you aren't sure; simply substitute for 'they are' and see if the sentence still makes sense.

The other two (there/their) are the two that get confused the most, so just think about whether you are referring to a person or group (their), or a position or place (there).

The best of us make this mistake at one time or another even if we know the difference. When you are typing at speed it's really easy to miss an 'o' or to add an extra one as you pound away on your keyboard.

The main rule to remember if you get confused is: if you mean 'as well' then it's double oo = too.

Too busy typing at speed again to notice you've got the two mixed up? I would bet that most people reading this obviously know the difference between 'then and than', but the problem is that again it would not get picked up by a spell checker.

If you really aren't sure then see how the sentence sounds if you were to switch the two words -- does it still make sense? A common error is to see sentences like 'I would rather do that then anything else.' Read or typed at speed it is difficult to pick up.

We all do it, and again it's down to those speedy fingers and the fact that the resulting word is still a word so does not always get flagged by a spell checker.

Here are some common ones to look out for:

This happens so much and can change the entire meaning of a sentence, so remember to proofread your own work.

I now know how easy it is to type the incorrect word!

OK so you get the idea by now: you type too fast and don't check your work, 'cause I know you know the difference between 'know' and 'now' by now :-)

So does being guilty of the most frequent grammar mistakes really mean it's costing you money? Well, actually all the evidence seems to point that way. The BBC recently reported that not only does good spelling and grammar make a difference; the lack of it could be costing online companies millions in lost revenue.

Online entrepreneur Charles Duncombe has seen the evidence for himself. His sales figures clearly show that the incorrect use of English actually puts consumers off from giving you their business. After spotting an error on one of his websites he closely monitored the sales after it had been fixed -- the revenue was twice as high!  

And it isn't just one sale you are missing; it's costing you future sales, your credibility as a company, and your search engine ranking too. Google is pretty smart these days, and can not only pick up on obvious spelling mistakes but also bad grammar and nonsensical sentences as well. Let's face it, it's worth giving that page you've written a read through before you hit 'publish' - isn't it?

_{Grammar Nazi thumbnail image - http://media.photobucket.com/image/grammar/bjkeefe/comforting-a-grammar-nazi.jpg?o=6}