Definately Incorrect

Common spelling mistake - "Definately." The word is "definitely," with two 'i's and no 'a'. It's an easy mistake to make because the word is often pronounced as if there was an 'a' in there. However, "definately" is definitely incorrect.

Capitalizing the Internet

Strictly speaking, there is only one Internet and "Internet" is its name. Therefore, like any name, it is a proper noun and should be capitalized. However, most people don't capitalize "Internet." Spelling it as "internet" is generally considered acceptable.

Anyway

"Any way" means "some way" or "a way." Is there any way I can cash a cheque on the weekend?

"Anyway" is an expression meaning "regardless." I'm scared, but I'll jump anyway.

"Anyways" is just bad English. You wouldn't say "anythings." Don't say "anyways."

Your and you're

"Your" means "belonging to you." Is that your dog?

"You're" means "you are." You're my friend. You're going to be late.

This can be confusing because there is an apostrophe after the word "you" and we associate apostrophes with possession. Here is an example of a common error: "Is that you're dog?" This example translates as, "Is that you are dog?"

Affect and Effect

“Affect” is a verb. Things affect other things. Sunshine affects flowers. Rain affects my mood.

“Effect” is a noun. Things have an effect. Sunshine has a good effect on flowers. Rain has a bad effect on my mood.

Led and Lead

Lead (pronounced "leed") is the present tense of a verb meaning to go first and bring something behind you. Lead the way, lead a horse to water, etc.

Led is the past tense of the same verb. He led the way, she led me astray, etc.

Lead (pronounced "led") is a soft, heavy grey metal. Bullets are made from lead.

Brevity

"Brevity is the soul of wit"
- William Shakespeare

"Avoid unnecessary words"
- Strunk and White, The Elements of Style

Usually, the fewer words you use to communicate something, the stronger your writing. If the extra words don't communicate anything, leave them out.

Consider this example:

"At this moment, we are now planning to leave at 6 a.m. in the morning."

6 a.m. in the morning is obviously redundant. Pick one or the other. There are some subtler problems, too.

"At this moment... now" - these two phrases say the same thing. You could choose one or the other. But do you really need either one? "We are planning to leave" is in the present tense. "We are planning to leave" says the same thing as "now we are planning to leave."

"We are planning to leave at 6 a.m." We have trimmed away most of the fat. There is room for just a little bit more improvement. "We plan to leave" is better than "we are planning to leave."

We can remove more than half of the sentence without losing any of the original meaning:

"We plan to leave at 6 a.m."

The sentence can be made just a little bit shorter, but the meaning changes slightly:

"We will leave at 6 a.m." Obviously, if you say you will leave at six, you must be planning to leave at six.

Don't make your readers hunt for something meaningful in an ocean of words. Figure out what you're trying to say, say it, and don't say anything else.

Feeling Bad(ly)

Bad is an adjective, describing a noun. I am bad. My health is bad. I feel bad.

Badly is an adverb, describing a verb. I play golf badly. I slept badly last night.

If you say, "I feel badly," it suggests that you are not very good at feeling. "I feel badly because I'm wearing thick gloves" makes sense.

If you don't feel good, you feel bad. Not badly. It would be correct to say, "I feel bad because I write badly." And you should.

Could of/Could have

This is an easy one. Always use "could have." Never use "could of." These are often confused because they sound similar. However, I can't think of a circumstance when "could of" would be correct.

Should of/Should have, Would of/Would have

As with "could have," always use "should have" and "would have." Do not ever use "should of" or "would of."

Its and It's

Normally, apostrophes can be used to show possession. The dog's ball. The cat's pyjamas.

There is one exception to that rule. In theory, the exception exists to avoid confusion, although it can cause confusion of its own. "It's" with an apostrophe always means "it is." "Its" without an apostrophe means "belonging to it."

Use "everyday" correctly every day

"Everyday" is an adjective meaning "ordinary." Use "everyday" to describe a thing: brushing your teeth is an everyday experience. Brushing your teeth is ordinary, commonplace.

"Every day" means "every single day." Use "every day" if you could say "each day" or "every single day." If you have no idea, use "every day."

"I will phone you every day until I get back. They will be ordinary, everyday phone calls, but every day that we are apart I'll miss you."

Common error - "alot"

There is no such word as "alot", although it is a common mistake. It is two words. "A lot", like "a bird" or "a snack". You would never say, "I saw abird fly by."

"Who" and "Whom"

If you could use the word "He", use "Who". If you could use the word "Him", use "Whom".

WHO:
He is there. Who is there?

He did it. Who did it?

Notice that "Who" is followed by a verb. Who is, who does, etc.

WHOM:
I gave it to him. You gave it to whom?

I love him. Whom do you love?

Notice that the verb is either before "whom", or else there are other words in the way. The person referred to as "whom" is not doing anything.

Suppose one person punches another person. The person doing something (punching) is "who". The person getting punched is "whom". You might ask, "Who hit whom?"

"Reek" and "Wreak"

"Reek" refers to a terrible smell. It can be a verb or a noun. "Your socks reek! I can't stand the reek of your socks."

"Wreak" is usually used with the word "havoc", and refers to damage. It is a verb. "If the cat gets into the cupboard, he will wreak havoc with the china."

When to Use Quotation Marks

Use quotation marks around quotations, like this:

Joe said, "Hello."

"Do, or do not. There is no try."
- Yoda

You can also use quotation marks to indicate irony. You see your brother with his new girlfriend. They are pretending to be just friends. You could describe them like this:

This is Joe and his "friend", Maria.

Using hyphens correctly - "Sign-in"

Hyphens can be used to combine two words when they mean one thing, together, as an adjective (describing a noun). For instance, a sign-in sheet. If you have a big red apple, that is two adjectives. It is a big apple. It is also a red apple. The sign-in sheet, however, is only one kind of sheet. It is not a "sign sheet", or an "in sheet". It is just a sign-in sheet. The words are combined because it is just one concept.

The problem people encounter is that they misunderstand the rule. Someone reads the phrase "sign-in sheet" and thinks that "sign in" always needs a hyphen. It does not. Only use the hyphen if the two words together make one adjective.

"Please sign-in at the front" - WRONG

"Please sign in on the sign-in sheet" - RIGHT

The Smith is... a moron, or, how not to use apostrophes

Here's a good rule of thumb for using apostrophes: if you're not sure why you're putting in an apostrophe, you should probably leave it out.

Contrary to popular opinion, the apostrophe is not just part of the letter "s" whenever it comes at the end of a word. Describing more than one egg? That would be "eggs", not "egg's".

There are many reasons to use an apostrophe, but most of the time you only need to remember two. Use apostrophes for contractions ("the egg is broken" becomes "the egg's broken") and to show possession ("the shirt belongs to Joe" becomes "Joe's shirt"). If it's not a contraction and it's not possession, you probably shouldn't have an apostrophe.

Here's an example you see all the time. A sign in someone's front yard proudly proclaims, "The Smith’s". This means either "The Smith is" (The Smiths is what?) or "belonging to The Smith" (which person gets to be "The Smith?"). To me, that sign proudly declares, "a moron lives here, and his name is Smith."

More than nine out of 10 apostrophe mistakes are an apostrophe put in where it doesn't belong. Missing apostrophes are much more rare. When in doubt, leave the apostrophe out.

"Then" or "Than"?

When do you use "then" versus "than"? The easiest way to remember is this: use "than" for any sort of comparison. "I am taller than you." "Eggs are more expensive than cheese."

"Then" indicates time ("I went to the store, and this then I went home."), or a cause-effect relationship ("If you are late, then you will lose five marks."). Be careful, though. If you are comparing times, you should still use "than". "He arrived earlier than I did."

If you are not sure which to use, try this simple test. Only use "then" if you could just as easily say "and then", or if you used the word "if" before "then".