I am far from perfect (ok, not THAT far from it) and I'm certain I make grammatical errors from time to time. But.... I think anyone who passed the 4th grade should be capable of at least understanding basic grammar. I am constantly seeing the misuse of common words and phrases, and it sends me into a rage. So today, I am going to offer an Idiot's Guide to Grammar on three of the most popular grammar mistakes.
*Your vs. You're:
YOUR is used when placing ownership on something. This is YOUR car. These are YOUR pants. I am YOUR friend. Are you following me so far?
YOU'RE is used in place of YOU ARE. YOU'RE my friend. YOU'RE the best. YOU'RE going to start using these words properly, or I'm going to start punching you in the neck.
If you have doubts about when to use one or the other, try this simple method. Replace the your/you're with YOU ARE, and see if the sentence still makes sense. Example: Is that you are phone? Sounds wrong, doesn't it? So you would use YOUR. You are so funny. Sounds right. So you would use YOU'RE.
*Their/There/They're:
This one is a little trickier, because you have three choices. Let me help you out.
THEIR is possessive/shows ownership. This is THEIR house. I like to use THEIR shampoo. I think we took home THEIR child by mistake.
THERE is generally referring to a location/place. The ball is over THERE. THERE you are, I've been worried! Who's THERE?
THEY'RE is used in place of THEY ARE. THEY'RE the nicest people. THEY'RE pretending to ignore you. THEY'RE right over THERE. <--- see what I did THERE?
When in doubt, ask yourself if THEY ARE sounds accurate. I left my keys in THEY ARE car. Hmm... nope. So it must be THEIR or THERE. So, how do you know which one? Here's a little trick: THEIR contains the word heir, which makes you think of a person who has ownership/possession of something. THERE contains the word here, which refers to a location. In the sentence 'I left my keys in ___ car.' you are referring to an object (the car) owned/possessed by someone else. This means you would want to use THEIR. If the sentence was 'I left my keys in the car, over ___.' you are referring to a location, so you would use THERE.
Seen and Saw:
SEEN will generally have a "helper word" in front of it, like have, has, was, or had. Example: I have SEEN the light! If she had SEEN his glasses, she would have told him. He was last SEEN at his office?
SAW follows a pronoun (I, she, he, we, etc.) Examples: I SAW your friend yesterday. She SAW him naked. We SAW that movie last week.
So if you are referring to something you witnessed with your eyes, you would say I SAW or I have SEEN. The phrase 'I SEEN' is never, ever to be used. Ever.
These are just a few examples of basic grammar that I see used incorrectly most often. While I know there are many, many more, these are the three that I felt needed addressing the worst. I'd like to point out again that I am NOT an English teacher, or perfect by any means. I'm certain that I make numerous grammatical mistakes in my posts, so please don't feel the need to point them out to me. I am simply offering this lesson out of the kindness of my heart, and for your safety, because each time I see one of these errors, I am tempted to do bodily harm to the offender. So please help keep me out of prison, and share this with your loved ones. Together, we can help make the world a happier, and smarter place.
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