The best way to write is the way you talk—at least for most writing.
It’s conversational, and it’s easy to read. That’s exactly what you want in a book.
The way we speak isn’t always grammatically correct, but that’s okay.
Grammar rules are arbitrary and completely made-up.
They’re only “rules” because certain people decided to make them “rules,” and those same people change them every year.
That’s why grammar books have so many different editions.
There are only 2 reasons to follow some generally accepted rules of grammar:
The only real point of following conventional grammar is to meet the expectations of your readers.
This post lays out the difference between the few grammar rules that matter and the vast majority that don’t.
Before I dive into the grammar mistakes you need to avoid, I’ll preface it by saying this: there are times when breaking “the rules” is okay.
In fact, there are tons of great books, including bestsellers, that break grammatical rules left and right.
How can they get away with it? Because readers don’t care—as long as it’s intentional and it works.
In fact, there are plenty of good reasons to ignore grammar rules:
But the best reason of all to ignore grammar is this one:
To get out of your own way and finish your draft.
Don’t worry about grammar when you’re writing. Leave that problem for editing.
Once your first draft is finished and you start editing your own work, you’ll want it to be as clean as possible before sending it to your editor.
But that doesn’t mean all the grammar needs to be “correct.”
You just want to fix the common mistakes that will make you look unprofessional.
Here’s the good news:
There aren’t many grammar errors you should bother to fix before sending your work to an editor.
I say this for 2 reasons:
So, if you’re poring over English grammar books that extol the use of the semicolon and wail about the death of the English language, throw those out right now.
Why? Because many of those “grammatical errors” show up in good writing fairly often:
Instead, just follow this list of the most common grammatical errors, and know how to fix them.
Get these right, and then send that manuscript to your editor to do the rest.
Why isn’t it okay to break this “rule”?
Because it’s not really about grammar. It’s about spelling—and using the wrong word.
If you confuse these 3 words with each other, you might as well be using the word “bed” instead of the word “bad.”
They have completely different meanings.
So, which is which?
They’re is a substitute (technically a contraction) for they are.
Use it whenever saying they are instead of they’re makes sense.
Example 1:
They’re is correct because you can substitute they are and the sentence still makes sense.
Example 2:
They’re doesn’t work. If you write out they are, the sentence doesn’t make sense.
Just remember: if they are works, you want they’re—the one with the y in it. Like they.
Their is used when describing something that belongs to them. Technically, it’s a possessive pronoun.
Example:
There is often about place. It looks just like where, but with a t.
Where? There.
There is also used in the expression there is.
If you could just as easily say there’s, you want this word.
Similarly, it’s and its are two different words.
It’s is short for it is. If you can substitute it is and the sentence still makes sense, you want it’s.
Example 1:
It’s is correct because you can substitute it is and the sentence still works, even if it sounds a bit more formal.
Example 2:
This time, you need its, which expresses the idea of something belonging to something else.
Just remember: only use it’s when you can substitute it is.
Otherwise, use its—because something belongs to it.
This one’s very similar. The one with the apostrophe is a contraction.
You’re is short for you are. If you can substitute the two words and the sentence still makes sense, you want you’re.
Example 1:
The sentence sounds more formal, but it still makes sense. You’re is the right word.
Example 2:
Here, you need the word your, which expresses the idea that something belongs to you.
Your final answer is yours, not someone else’s.
Just remember: if you can substitute you are and it still makes sense, you want you’re.
This is another one where changing the spelling means you’re changing the meaning.
They’re both words; they just mean different things. But they’re somewhat related, so it’s tricky.
Here’s the most common way you’d use them both:
Here, affect is the verb. When you’re affecting something, you’re doing something.
Effect is the noun: an effect, or the effect, or effects.
This gets a little more complicated because you’ll occasionally see effect used as a verb, meaning “to bring about.” It’s most commonly used with nouns like “change” or “solutions.”
Similarly, affect can also be a noun, but it’s hardly ever used that way. It shows up mostly in psychology, to mean a feeling or emotion.
Unless you’re writing a psychology textbook, you can ignore that one and stick to this general rule:
Affect is the verb. Effect is the noun.
This is the last example of words that sound the same but mean different things.
There are plenty of other words in the English language that suffer this kind of confusion, but if you get these first 5 right, you’ll look reasonably professional to an editor.
When the word means main or first or of money, you want principal.
You’ve probably heard that expression. It’s a common mnemonic for remembering this part of the rule.
The principal of a company is also your pal.
That’s one of the most common grammatical mistakes people make with apostrophes. Don’t do that.
Hyphens are used in hyphenated words. Obviously.
The detailed rules about hyphens vary from one manual to the next, and most of them aren’t worth the effort.
But there are a few basics that are worth paying attention to.
Note that you DON’T hyphenate adjectives that come after the noun (usually).
If you’re not sure about a certain instance, don’t worry about it. Let your editor decide.
The Chicago Manual of Style is getting a lot looser about commas these days.
But you still have to pay attention to them when they have the power to change your meaning.
Take a look at these:
In the first one, you’re talking to the reader, addressing them as friends, telling them not to do something.
In the second, you’re making a statement about friendship.
The comma isn’t just a pause—it’s a clue to the reader that changes the entire sentence structure.
In the first one, the Author loves painting pictures of their spouse and kids.
In the second, the Author loves painting as an activity, and also loves their spouse and their kids.
If you’ve ever heard grammar lovers argue about the Oxford comma, it has to do with commas in lists.
And it’s the perfect example of the fact that the rules are made up.
The Oxford Guide (to British English), insists on using a comma before the “and” at the end of a list of things.
The Chicago Manual (of American English) used to agree but eventually rebelled and said hey, if you don’t want to use that last comma, you don’t have to.
In that example, there’s not much difference. But in some lists, leaving that last comma out can make things less clear.
In the end, here’s the best rule to follow: do whatever will make the most sense for your readers.
Use quotation marks to indicate that someone is speaking, or when directly quoting someone or something.
You can also use them to indicate sarcasm or tongue-in-cheek descriptions.
This one isn’t technically a grammar issue. It’s just a key tip for good writing:
Be direct. Be active. Use simple words.
Here’s an example:
The first example uses passive voice. The factory was bought by us—instead of just saying we bought the factory.
I see this kind of writing a lot when Authors are trying to sound smart.
Don’t do that. It’s not something you have to worry about.
Readers assume you’re smart. You wrote a book. Don’t make them work hard to read it.
The second example moves to active voice. It’s better, but it’s still using words like “purchased” and phrases like “the following winter.”
The third example is by far the easiest to read. It also has more personality, despite using smaller words.
And it’s much more engaging.
So don’t spend a ton of time worrying about independent clauses, dangling modifiers, and coordinating conjunctions.
That’s what editing and proofreading are for.
Instead, focus on crisp, clear, direct writing. That’s what really matters.
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