I don’t bother with some of the grammar or spelling rules that no-one cares about. If I write your or you’re, or to or too, or their or there, or let’s or lets, or it’s or its – who cares? People know what I mean, right? My supervisor said I need to take a class but I don’t think anyone cares about rules any more, do you?
Thanks,
Happy to be Wrong
Want to be a professional
Unfortunately, the people who read what you write are counting on the rules of grammar and spelling to guide them as to your meaning. If they have to pause and decipher what you’ve written, they might lose interest and stop reading. Also, if they think you disregard written rules they may wonder what other rules you disregard. You probably don’t want either of these things to happen. Ignoring rules of language may not be the place where you want to stake your independence.
Good luck,
Jane
If something is untrue and not likely to ever be true, use Were.
- If I Were queen of the world, every Friday would be a holiday.
If something is not true, but it could be, use Was.
- If I Was in charge of our team, we’d order pizza every Friday.
Spotlight: Something as small as an apostrophe can cause changes in meaning. Knowing a few rules will help avoid trouble.
Apostrophe-
Use it even if the noun ends in ‘s’: Doris’s turn.
And even if the noun is plural: The children’s playground.
And even if the noun is plural AND ends in ‘s’: the Smiths’ house.
They have= they’ve; you are= you’re; can not=can’t.
Here are places where we do NOT use an apostrophe:
You can do this. Call us at 202-298-7700 for help.