At AVC, we love National Grammar Day. We get excited about the chance to tell you why grammar still matters in the digital age. We take the opportunity to share our favorite grammar resources. We celebrate in true, word-nerd fashion.
This year, we’re celebrating the big day by answering the grammar questions we get asked most. Welcome to Grammar Day Q&A!
Q. What are some of the most common mistakes you see in the content you edit?
Honestly, it’s all over the board — mistakes can happen anywhere! But one of the most frequent mistakes we see is a lack of subject-verb agreement. Plural nouns require plural verbs, and singular nouns require singular verbs. While it is a very straightforward grammar rule, in practice, it can be quite tricky, especially when a prepositional phrase is in the mix. Here’s an example:
Incorrect: The team of ball players consistently earn good marks.
This is incorrect because the subject is actually team, not ball players.
Correct: The team of ball players consistently earns good marks.
Other common mistakes we see are style inconsistencies, punctuation in the wrong places (hint: commas and periods always go inside quotation marks) and lack of parallelism, which leads us to …
Q. What do you mean when you talk about parallelism?
Parallelism is less a rule and more an art. In general, it helps readers understand you better and helps your copy sound better.
When you have any sort of list or grouping, all of the elements should be written in the same format as one another. When describing something, it’s tempting to mix and match adjectives, adverbs and phrases. But in a series, it’s less confusing for the reader if you can make each element parallel. Here are a couple of examples:
Incorrect: Our hospital’s new surgical robot is small, quiet and is easy to move from room to room.
Correct: Our hospital’s new surgical robot is small, quiet and portable.
Incorrect: Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day, but if you teach a man to fish, he could eat for the rest of his life.
Correct: “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.”
Q. What is the deal with the Oxford comma?
The Oxford comma is simply the punctuation mark you see before the “and” or other conjunction in a series. (Think: red, white, and blue.)
Why is it a big deal? After all, we were all taught in elementary school to use that comma, right? But then some of us went to journalism school and learned Associated Press style, which advises using the Oxford comma only when necessary for clarity. Some style guides, however, including the Chicago Manual of Style, dictate always using the Oxford comma. And among our own client base, we are noticing more and more organizations choosing to use the added comma. They argue that it is clearer for readers.
For our internal projects, we will continue with AP style for the sake of consistency, but we have nothing personal against the Oxford comma. We are merely pro consistency in whatever you choose.
Q. Can you end a sentence with a preposition?
Sure can! Next question.
Just kidding.
A couple of our own proofreaders hate when we do this. But here’s the thing: Ending a sentence with a preposition isn’t technically wrong. And it can make copy sound more conversational and less formal.
Bottom line: If ending a sentence with a preposition is something that will bother your readers, then don’t do it. Otherwise, go for it. We see nothing wrong with it. And we’re not alone.
Q. What do you think about grammar checkers like Grammarly?
We have a subscription to Grammarly, and it’s actually quite good at pointing out problems with copy. Its recommendations, however — particularly if you’re dealing with a complex sentence structure — don’t always hit the mark. So take its suggestions with a grain of salt. Still, it’s better than nothing if you cannot run something by a human editor.
Q. Can you explain, once and for all, what the heck a semicolon should be used for?
OMG, we’ve been waiting for you to ask! There are a couple of different uses for the good ol’ semicolon. The first one, which you may already be familiar with, is when you have a series within a series.
For example: To get a better night’s sleep, exercise in the morning; avoid caffeine after lunch; and keep your bedroom cool, dark and quiet.
The other most common, yet less understood, use of a semicolon is when you wish to separate two complete thoughts or sentences but don’t want them so separate as to be their own sentences.
For example: Never run after a robbery suspect; it’s not worth risking your life.
Whew, that was a lot. How about one final tip for the road?
Why certainly! Our final tip (well, for today) is simply to keep learning and asking questions. The best way to hone your grammar skills is to be edited by skilled and knowledgeable editors over the course of a career. Our whole team has benefited from this experience. We continue to learn and grow by editing one another. If you aren’t lucky enough to be part of a team of strong editors, consider outsourcing to an experienced copyeditor who is open to providing explanations alongside their edits (most of them are).
If that’s not in the budget, here are a few cost-effective resources to try: First, did you know AVC publishes a new proofreading tip each month? Find them in our e-newsletter or scan our previous tips. There are also a couple of books that are handy to have on your desk. Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style is notable. And it’s short enough to read in an evening and take in quite a bit. The Associated Press Stylebook has a punctuation and grammar section in the back that’s worth referencing, too. And, lastly, be sure to check out this blog post where we share some other resources to help you up your grammar game.
Happy National Grammar Day from all of us at Active Voice Communications!