Did you spot the deliberate mistakes? If so, read no further, you're off the hook!
I am often asked how 'perfect' a submission needs to be, in terms of its grammar and spelling. Spelling should be spell-checked, preferably by a person rather than a machine, and grammar shouldn't stand out as wrong. I don't make a point of trying to find the mistakes but when something affects the sense of a sentence or a passage then that raises a red flag.
What drives me absolutely crazy (and pretty much every editor I have ever met), is the common confusion writers have with 'your' and 'you're', 'their, they're, there'', and problems with apostrophes. This is my cut out and keep guide if this applies to you:
Your = belonging to you - such as 'your cat is sick'. Not to be confused with:
You're = a contraction of 'you are' - such as 'you're sick and your cat is also sick'.
They're = a contraction of 'they are' - such as 'they're sick of hearing about your cat'.
There = a place - such as 'There is your sick cat'.
Their = belonging to them - such as 'their sick cat is over there, whereas your sick cat is over there.'
Now - apostrophes. There are whole websites devoted to the correct use of apostrophes, so feel free to search out different advice, if mine doesn't clarify the issue for you.
An apostrophe is used when you have a gap because you are using a contraction - so turning two words into a loosely connected word, such as 'you are' turning into 'you're' - the apostrophe here acts as the missing 'a'.
It also is used for possession. 'Mary's cat' - so the cat belonging to Mary.
It is not used to indicate a plural. 'Mary has cats'. If you have a plural that ends in 's' and you wish to indicate possession - then there are two acceptable alternatives. 'Mary's cats' beds are pink'. or 'Mary's cats's beds are pink'. Note in these examples, the cats belong to Mary (first apostrophe), and the beds belong to the cats (second apostrophe).
The exception is its/it's. 'It is' contracts to 'it's'. 'It has' contracts to 'it's'. The item belonging to it doesn't get an apostrophe - so 'The cat licked its paws'.
That's it! (That is it). Go forth and use your apostrophes wisely! (note no apostrophe at the end of apostrophes as it's a simple plural (it is a simple plural)).
I'm going to stop now (I am going ...). Make this another of your New Year's resolutions, and the collective blood pressure of editors all over the country will drop accordingly!
(Editorial Consultant)
PS the sharp-eyed amongst you may have noticed a lot of cats in this post. Apologies but my actual cat was trying to get onto the laptop so was figuring in my imagination somewhat!
Good post. Keep them coming.
My grammar is average at best. I use a fully qualified literary editor to correct my work. The strictest use of grammar can ruin the flow of a sentence. Most errors I make regarding punctuation, spelling or the wrong use of same sounding words, is due to tiredness. Another mistake I make is missing out capital letters. I find it both amusing and annoying, when my editor points out basic errors. I read ‘Eats, Shoots and Leaves’ by Lynne Truss. I found it useful but dated. I would be interested to hear your opinion on books of grammar, Cressida.
Good post! I bought 'Eats, Shoots and Leaves' by Lynne Truss last year, and it really helped me with my apostrophes. I had no idea an apostrophe could be used for so many things until I read this book-- typical example: I always used to write 'two weeks time' when it should have been 'two weeks' time' with the apostrophe at the end. Now for some reason, I keep spotting the mistake in published books! I never used to notice this before it was pointed out to me and it can be really grating!
Most elementary Cressida. I did spot the mistakes but you don’t mind if I read it anyway, do you? I figured all successful writers had to know their grammar well, yet I suppose one can be a writer and not be good with grammar. It might be more difficult to publish though. How do I fare among the many writers you’ve seen? Is my grammar mediocre, or just about average?
Xean
1/13/2011
PS- If I may ask, what breed is your cat?