The five most common grammar mistakes I see

First of all, a disclaimer. I’m no expert; I’m sure I make plenty of mistakes.  And don’t even get me started on correct use of em dashes and ellipses … But as a medical writer as well as an author, I can be pretty pedantic. The rules in science are very strict: we must say ‘these data show’ rather than ‘this data shows’. 

I can hear you all protesting already: why does grammar matter in fiction? The standard rules don’t apply. For one thing, we can start sentences with the word ‘but’ and ‘and’. We can use one-word sentences and probably should; they add impact. And that’s what editors are there for, aren’t they? Not according to plenty of books I’ve read; I’m amazed at how many errors slip through the net. But most importantly, getting a novel published is a ridiculously competitive business. Agents only have time to consider a tiny fraction of the submissions that land on their desks every morning. We need to make our manuscripts as polished as possible.

I’m a beta reader for several writing friends. They’re all great writers, with a good basic understanding of grammar, but I see the same mistakes over and over again. Here are five common mistakes that you can correct in your manuscript today.

Use of commas

Omitting commas is the most common mistake I see, particularly before names in dialogue.

                      'Let’s eat, John’, is correct.

                      ‘Let’s eat John,’ has a different meaning entirely!

Another place commas are often missed is after the word ‘said’.

                       ‘she said wondering what he meant,’ is incorrect

                       ‘she said, wondering what he meant,’ is correct.

In general, if you’re not sure whether you need a comma, read the sentence out loud (one of the best habits you can get into as a writer). Where your voice naturally pauses, a comma is usually needed.

Commas can change the whole meaning of a sentence. Google the words ‘Commas matter’ and you’ll get the idea. There are some funny examples out there: ‘Hobbies: cooking dogs and reading,’ is a particularly good one.

Punctuation after dialogue 

The mistake I see most frequently is a comma at the end of dialogue when it should be a full stop. A typical mistake is:

                          ‘I’ve had enough of you,’ she sighed.

The sighing is a separate action from the speech. She didn’t sigh the words; she said them.

The correct version is:

                       ‘I’ve had enough of you.’ She sighed.

                        or

                       'I’ve had enough of you,’ she said with a sigh.

Use of semi-colons

I agree that this is more tricky and I doubt an agent is going to reject your manuscript for incorrect use, but semi-colons can make a manuscript look more polished. In general, they’re used instead of a comma to break up sentences. If you’re not sure whether to replace a comma with a semi-colon, look at the sentence fragments on either side of the comma; if they could be complete sentences in their own right, use a semi-colon. The previous sentence was an example of correct semi-colon and comma use (I hope!). Having said that, it’s best not to have too many long, over-complicated sentences in your manuscript. Mix up long and short!

Use of apostrophes

After years of misuse, I think people are finally getting the hang of these, but I still see occasional mistakes, so I’ll keep it brief. Apostrophes are never used to denote plurals.

I know the Smith’s,

I was born in the 60’s,

Banana’s (a market stall classic!),

are all incorrect.

It’s is an abbreviation of 'it is.'

Its means belonging to it, as in: ‘The cat chased its tail.’

You’re is an abbreviation of 'you are.'

Your means belonging to you, as in: ‘Your cat is chasing its tail.’

Me, myself and I

Most people know that: ‘Sue and I went to lunch,’ is correct, but they then write: ‘The waitress approached Sue and I.’ It should be ‘Sue and me.’ 

The easiest to work out whether to use I or me is to take the other name out; it then becomes obvious. I went to lunch and the waitress approached me. As for the word 'myself', never use it in this way. It sounds silly.

That’s it for now. If anyone finds this useful and wants more, let me know what you find difficult. And feel free to share your favourite funny grammar mistakes.