Should You Worry about These Errors? Part 4

Instant Quiz

Can you correct the error in the sentence below? Scroll to the bottom of today’s post for the answer.  

After the roads were fixed, many peoples’ cars needed fewer repairs.

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This is my last discussion of a provocative article by Bill Murphy, Jr., about writing mistakes. 

16. Double negatives
Murphy reminds us that people often use double negatives jokingly: “I don’t got none.” I wouldn’t have included this reminder in the list. Almost everyone I know has a sense of humor and can spot a joke when they hear one.

17. Confusing habits with rules
I would have reworded this one. Here’s my version: “Don’t be taken in by urban legends about English.” There are lots of nonsensical rules: Don’t start a sentence with but. Don’t split infinitives. Don’t end a sentence with a preposition.

You won’t find any of these stupid rules in reputable grammar books. Professional writers ignore them, and you should too.

One More Thing!
I think Murphy’s title is a mistake: “17 Grammar Mistakes You Need to Stop Correcting, Like Now.”

A strict grammarian would say that two things are wrong here: You should spell out a number (Seventeen instead of 17) at the beginning of a title or a sentence. And “Like Now” is too folksy for an article about – of all things – correct grammar.

I’m not a strict grammarian. My response is…pish-posh. I like to see writers run a red light once in a while!

My problem is the @#%&! word grammar. Grammar should be reserved for rules that explain how to put a sentence together. (A close synonym would be syntax.) Far too many people believe that if you master the rules of grammar, you’ll be a great writer. That’s not true.

Many important issues lie outside of grammar: word choice, capital letters, and many punctuation rules, for starters.

Most of Murphy’s rules fall into the category of usage – writing practices that 1) are subject to change over time and 2) don’t alter the structure of a sentence.

Don’t waste your precious time learning how to diagram sentences and label parts of speech! Be careful with usage, and you’ll see a big improvement in your writing.

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Instant Quiz ANSWER

A possessive apostrophe always goes after the last letter of the word. 

People ends with an “e,” right? Put the apostrophe after that “e”: people‘s.

After the roads were fixed, many people’s cars needed fewer repairs.  CORRECT

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