Blog Minx

Have you read Shoemoney’s blog? His writing is full of mistakes: typos, grammatical errors, spelling mistakes. Yet he is unrepentant: he reckons the errors just earn him more readers.

Really, Shoemoney?

But he is probably right, in that a lot of people will visit his site to learn how to earn that elusive Google AdSense $133,000 paycheck. I know I do. So I grit my teeth over his fancy-free attitude to the English language and just read for the tips.

Stop: Grammar Time

But there are bloggers who write that they really want to improve their writing and grammar, whether they’re native English speakers or not, and so below are a few common mistakes and tips.

This is my former English Teacher schoolmarmish persona coming out for a bit. Hope the tips help someone, no one in particular. I know other bloggers have covered this topic. Don’t care. It bears repeating.

1. It’s and Its (there is no its’)
It’s = a contraction of it is, or occasionally it has.
Its = a possession of ‘it’. It is a thing, like a sofa or a car. This trips many people up because you say ‘the car’s wheel’ but ‘its wheel’. It is a mean grammar rule. At school I was taught to imagine that an ‘it’ doesn’t deserve an apostrophe.

2. Their and They’re and There
Their = a possession that belongs to them. Their house is on fire.
They’re = a contraction of they are. They’re pretty cool people.
There = where something is. The keys are over there.

3. Weather and whether
Weather = sunny, cloudy, foggy.
Whether = like if. I don’t know whether he loves me or not.

4. Your and You’re
Your = a possession you have. Your blog.
You’re = contraction of you are. You’re awesome.

5. Literally
This isn’t just in writing. I hear it on the news all the time. Literally means it actually happened, it’s not just for emphasis. So ‘I am literally sitting on a fortune’ or ‘I literally lost my head’ are not correct. Well, unlikely anyway. If unsure, leave it out.

6. Increase
I see ‘Increse your traffic’ everywhere. It’s increase.

7. Fewer and Less
Fewer = generally used for individual items you can count. My blog has fewer visitors than John Chow’s.
Less = used for more generic words that you can’t count. My blog has less traffic than John Chow’s.
Ask yourself: does the noun have a plural? If not, use less.

8. Good and Well
Good = good is an adjective which is used to describe a noun. He wrote a good post about spam. (Good describes the post.)
Well = well is an adverb which is used to describe a verb. He writes well. (Well describes the writing.)

9. Should Have, Would Have, Could Have (Would’ve, Should’ve, Could’ve)
Not should of, would of, or could of.

10. Lose vs Loose
Lose = the opposite of win.
Loose = the opposite of tight.

Bonus 11. Share, Shear, Sheer
Share = When you give some of what you have to another person. To share advice.
Shear = What you do to a sheep when it’s too woolly.
Sheer = Thin or unqualified. Sheer stockings. Sheer nonsense.
Cher = A pop diva.

We all make mistakes, but how do you feel about frequent grammar and spelling mistakes on blogs? Does it influence whether you continue reading? Does the writer’s attitude to it count?