Grammar Goofs That Really Hurt

Sometimes it's really easy to commit an embarrassing goof when we type out an important paper, email, or other document. Somehow the reader spots them much more easily that the writer, and that can be costly if the reader is grading you!

These word mistakes are quite common, but they are quite damaging to your reputation and your grade if you get them wrong:

• Your and You're
• Its and It's
• There, They're, and Their

One thing that these word groups have in common is that one word in each group is a contraction. It's a good idea, when proofreading, to stop on every word that contains an apostrophe to see if the word--whether it's a contraction or it's a possessive word--is used correctly.