10 Common grammar mistakes
Do you know your stationery from your stationary? How many are you guilty of?
Are you one of these people who gets annoyed when someone uses the wrong type of 'your'?
We've gathered together some of the most common grammar mistakes in the English language.
How many are you guilty of?
1. Aisle v Isle
Aisle: Supermarket aisle or church aisle. Isle: Small island, like the beautiful isle above in the Maldives. Using the wrong word brings a whole new meaning to supermarket shopping!
2. Affect v Effect Affect: To have an impact on. This bad weather affects the trains. Effect: The result of an action. This new paint has a dramatic effect on the bedroom.
3. Complementary v Complimentary
* Complementary: Enhancing the qualities of each other, such as complementary colours. Complimentary: Free of charge, like getting your name on a guest list or getting complimentary* toiletries in a hotel.
4. Your v You're Mixing up these two words is incredibly common especially on social media. Your: Your friend is called Claire. You're: You are 18 years old.
5. Lose v Loose
* Lose: You can lose at a game of cards or lose your car keys, but never 'loose' them. Loose: Clothes can be loose, or something can be loose* if it isn't very well attached.
6. To v Too v Two To: Going to a place. Too: I've eaten too much. Two: The number two.
7. Stationery v Stationary
These words are commonly mixed up, remember 'e' for pens. Stationery: Pens, pencils, rulers are all stationery. Stationary*: It doesn't move, all the cars in a traffic jam are stationary*.
8. It's v Its One little apostrophe can change the whole meaning of a sentence. It's: It is raining men! Its: The cat licked its paws.
9. Poor v Pore v Pour
Three words that mean completely different things, best not to get them mixed up. Poor: The poor don't have a lot of money. Pore: A pore is part of your skin. Pour: I can pour a glass of wine.
10. They're v their v there
They all sound the same, but have very different meanings and it doesn't help when autocorrect sometimes corrects to the wrong type. They're: They are One Direction fans. Their: Their school is over the road. There*: There* is a cat in the garden.