As an inbound marketing agency, we deal with a lot of content on a daily basis, whether we’re creating it, editing it, or reading our emails. But sometimes, we run into repetitive trends—both good and bad—and it helps to refine our grammar and reel in our loose practices to ensure we’re getting our point across.
Let’s take a look at some of the most common misused words and grammatical mistakes we run into on a daily basis.
Ultimate:
Here’s one we know we’re guilty of from time to time. Too often, we associate “ultimate” with being the best, but it really refers to the last item in a list… the end-all-be-all of [insert here], and sometimes that meaning can be interchangeable. But generally, they use it like an exclamation point… entirely too often.
Bimonthly:
This term is an example of something that’s used with multiple meanings, and you can argue either point. Does bimonthly refer to “every two weeks,” or “every two months?” Make sure you clarify because when you’re planning a meeting or a recurring call, an ambiguous date never helps.
Affect and Effect:
The first differentiator between the two? Affect is a verb and effect is a noun. Remembering this can help. Affect refers to influence, while effect refers to the result. Think of the context of your sentence, and you should be able to easily discern between the two.
Definitely:
Most of the misuses of “definitely” are due to the way it’s pronounced. One of the most common mistakes we see is spelling it “definately.” Yes, that’s how the word sounds but it’s not how it’s spelled. Think of the root "finite" to remind yourself of the correct spelling.
Disinterested:
No, “disinterested” cannot be used interchangeably with “uninterested.” Disinterested refers to something or someone who is independent, someone who doesn’t have a dog in the fight. Uninterested means just that—they don’t care. They aren’t interested. The point you’re trying to get across could change substantially with the wrong choice.
Compliment and Complement:
Here’s another spelling mistake we run into with clients and articles online. If you want to make a nice remark on your coworkers new desk bobble head? Compliment him. Or you could give him a new bobble head to complement the one he already has. The latter refers to enhancing or improving the original group.
Irregardless:
This one’s a pet peeve of all of us at Stratus Interactive. Irregardless. Irregardless? What does that even mean? The word is regardless people. The fact that it’s even listed as a word on Google is concerning. Or is it disconcerning? We’re not even sure anymore. It’s worth mentioning that it wouldn’t be such a pet peeve of ours if we didn’t see it misused constantly.
Farther and Further:
This is one I struggle with sometimes. In fact, it was something I had to look up three days ago for a project I was working on. The easiest way to know whether you’re using the correct word? Think of it like this: farther is an actual, physical distance… something you can measure. Further refers to quantity, or more. I’m sure it won’t be the last time I look it up, either.
The Major Players – Its, It’s, Their, There, They’re, Your, You’re:
I’m not going to dive too deep into these, mostly because if you don’t know by now, I’m not sure this blog post is the place to start. It all comes down to context and an understanding of the rules. Maybe start here and work your way up. Most of these errors could be avoided with a little dose of proof-reading. After all, nothing’s more embarrassing than having an ad or page on a site with one of these mistakes.
