Grammar Goofs Can Be Big Gotchas in Job Interviews, Sales, and Social Circles

I went to college with a guy named Tim, who spoke 7 languages. I don’t know if he ever achieved his goal to work for the United Nations, but certainly language skills should have given him the edge. Anyone with that language capacity has my utmost admiration.

But for first-language English speakers, continuing to make mistakes on the basics of the English language can cause major embarrassment—not to mention costing you the job interview, the hot date, or the sale.

Dropping the –ly: These...