I genuinely believe I'm yet to know of someone who has perfect grammar. Even the most perfect of pedants have made the odd error, I've noticed. Even I do, once in a while. Though with me, it's usually that I'm working and will type something too quickly without checking it. So given that, my arrogant side wishes to share its knowledge, here are some very basic spelling and grammar examples.
You're and Your
You're
You're means "you are".
"You're such a pedant, Dani"
Your
Your is possessive.
"I can't see your face because of that fringe"
Lose and Loose
When did these two get mixed up? I can understand a wrongly placed apostrophe, but these are two completely different words!
Lose
This refers to something being misplaced, reducing bodily mass, or the opposite of winning something.
"I just know Chelsea will lose, they're crap!"
Loose
When something does not fit, it is too big and baggy.
"I'm not sure about this t-shirt, it's a bit loose on me"
Their, There and They're
Their
Their refers to a person and what they possess.
"They picked up their handbag"
There
There refers to the place. When someone points, it's a silent "there".
"Where on earth is my purse"
"It's over there"
They're
The reason there is an apostrophe in "They're" is because it replaces the missing letter. The missing letter would be A. "They are". Understand?
"Where's Shaun?"
"They're running late"
All
"They're picking up their wallet from home as they left it there."
To, Too and Two
To
Seven to eight. Here to there. Quite simple...
"Are you going to the party tonight?"
Too
Too is another way of saying "also".
"Yes, Dani's going too!"
Seven to eight. Here to there. Quite simple...
"Are you going to the party tonight?"
Too
Too is another way of saying "also".
"Yes, Dani's going too!"
Two
This is a number. It can't be any simpler than that. If you're trying to spell "two", there is no exception with the way you spell it. You cannot use "too" if you're referring to the number.
"We'll be partying past two in the morning!"
Could have (And variations)
This one really gets on my nerves. Could of vs. Could have. Could've is correct. But the apostrophe has not replaced an O, It's replaced a "ha". "Could have". Make sense?
"You could have come with us last night!"
Bought
If you have bought something, you have purchased it from someone or somewhere.
"I bought some oranges from Asda"
Brought
Brought refers to the past tense of bringing something somewhere.
"I brought the oranges home afterwards"
We're
We're means "We are". It doesn't also mean "We were".
"We're at Asda"
Were
This is the past tense of "are" or "to be".
"I thought you were at Tesco?"
Where
Refers to a place.
"Where is Tesco?"
Examples that are really WRONG:
"Were going to the shop"
"Were is the shop"
"We're are you going"
"Where off to Tesco"
Bought and Brought
Bought
If you have bought something, you have purchased it from someone or somewhere.
"I bought some oranges from Asda"
Brought
Brought refers to the past tense of bringing something somewhere.
"I brought the oranges home afterwards"
We're, Were and Where
We're
We're means "We are". It doesn't also mean "We were".
"We're at Asda"
Were
This is the past tense of "are" or "to be".
"I thought you were at Tesco?"
Where
Refers to a place.
"Where is Tesco?"
Examples that are really WRONG:
"Were going to the shop"
"Were is the shop"
"We're are you going"
"Where off to Tesco"
Alot
There is no such word as alot. It's a lot.
While there are many more clogging up my social networking sites, this is all my sanity cares to review for now. I hope you've learned something!
(Great title by Andrew)
