So you’ve decided to market yourself via the Internet with a new blog, or you’re going to submit an article to a trade publication to promote your business. You know what you want to say and you’re confident that you are more than capable of writing a short piece on your business – after all, who knows your message better than you? And you didn’t sleep through every English class with Miss Higgenbottom. How hard could it be?
Ok then. Let’s start with a short quiz! Fill in the blanks using either there, their or they’re.
_____ going over ______ in _____ little red Corvette.
How’d you do? If you put They’re going over there in their little red Corvette, A+! Everyone else? An E for effort and please see me in my office, located in the paragraph below.
Deciding what message you want to send is only one, surprisingly small step, in getting your point across to readers. Certainly most people would know what you meant if you had written, “Their going over they’re in there little red Corvette,” but would they hire you? Probably not. Attention to detail is something that most clients are looking for when they hire someone – no matter what the industry or the assignment. Plus, if you are taking the time and effort to send your message out in written form, don’t you want to take every step to ensure that it’s as perfect as the cogs and whistles that are shipped from your warehouse?
Making a mistake with grammar or spelling, especially one that you should have mastered in third grade, doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. Not to mention that coming across a mistake like, “We’re so glad to have you’re business!” can be distracting and leave your reader thinking about your lack of grammar skills rather than focusing on the integrity and value of your product.
For those of you who are forever at a loss over the correct usage of those funny words that sound the same, but have different meanings, (BTW, they are called homophones), here is a list of some of the most common culprits, starting with the aforementioned there, their and they’re:
There [A place] “Let’s go over there.”
Their [A possessive pronoun] “That is their house.”
They’re [A contraction of “they are”] “They’re having a great time!”
It’s [A contraction of “it is”] “It’s time for, ‘So You Think You Can Dance’.”
Its [A possessive pronoun] “The dog scratches its ear.”
To [Toward] “We are going to New Jersey this weekend.”
Too [Also] “We are going to New Jersey too.”
Except [Excluding] “I eat all fruit except strawberries.”
Accept [To take or receive] “I accept your bid of $6 million.”
Affect [To act on or to produce a change in] “The bad grammar in the text affected the customer’s desire to buy the product.”
Effect [A result or consequence] “Bringing in more business is exactly the effect we wanted from our press release.”