6 mistakes that’ll drive your co-workers insane
February 5, 2009 by Shane BorerPosted in: "Would you want this person in Finance?", Special report
It doesn’t matter if there’s a spelling blunder in a memo, an e-mail or on a birthday card: If people are guilty of these grammar gaffes, people are going to tear them to pieces.
With more people juggling projects and rushing to complete tasks, company keyboards — and grammar knowledge from the 4th grade — are getting more of a workout than ever. Usually, co-workers would be willing to let spelling mistakes or other snafus slide, but psychologists are noting the more economically dire a work environment is, the more likely people are to jump on those kinds of errors.
The reason: Massive layoffs, rising debt and countless home foreclosures have people scrambling to seize control of something, even if it’s over something as simple as a misplaced quotation mark.
Questions like “How can I make sure I keep my job?” and “Can I ever pay off my mortgage?” may be difficult to answer, but deciding whether a sentence needs a comma or a semicolon is something with a concrete answer.
If you want to give people the chance to jump on grammatical mistakes, be sure to ignore these lessons:
#1 — Effect vs. affect
- No: The upgrade shouldn’t effect our computers.
- Yes: The upgrade shouldn’t affect our computers.
- Yes: The upgrade shouldn’t have an effect on our computers.
#2 — Lay vs. lie
- No: You should go lay down.
- Yes: You should go lie down.
#3 — Different from vs. different than
- No: Our cubicles are different than their cubicles.
- Yes: Our cubicles are different from their cubicles.
- Yes: Our cubicles are better than their cubicles.
#4 — Then vs. than
- No: This week’s check run was bigger then last week’s.
- Yes: This week’s check run was bigger than last week’s.
- Note: When a sentence begins with “If,” there’s no need for a “then.”
- No: If the snow doesn’t stop soon, then we’ll need to leave.
- Yes: If the snow doesn’t stop soon, we’ll need to leave.
#5 — Could of, would of vs. could have, would have
- No: I could of canceled the meeting, but I decided not to.
- Yes: I could have canceled the meeting, but I decided not to.
#6 — Loose vs. lose
- No: I always loose my meeting notes.
- Yes: I always lose my meeting notes.
When it comes to pointing out any of these errors, psychologists and writing professionals alike agree you should focus on the misused word rather than the person’s lack of spelling or grammar skills.
What do you think is the best method? Are there any other grammatical mistakes you see too often? Share your comments below.
Popularity: 4% [?]
February 6th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
Gee, and I thought you should focus upon the fact that whatever they wrote didn’t actually mean anything or answer your questions!
In an age when the vast majority of new college students write in txtspk and are incapable of expressing a coherent thought longer than two sentences, it would seem to be more damaging to the company to correct such things than to ignore them.
Every one of these examples is so common and has meanings so easily understood that no one I’ve ever seen had trouble understanding the thought.
As a manger, if any of my people ever spent much time & or fuss over such errors in internal memos, I would have to stop it. They get little enough done as is, without breeding discontent.
In these dire times…. What, the past 3 years economic recession were somehow wonderful?
Bah, this is just a result of uncertainty and fear taking things out in odd directions.
But I know that if you’re thinking about the grammar of a message I send, and not thinking and acting on the contents, it’s a great way to find another position.
February 6th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
Then/than drives me crazy. My stepdaughter wants to be an elementary teacher and can’t get those straight.
February 6th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
Well… IRREGARDLESS of having been told, my boss always uses IRREGARDLESS. I was in a terrible mood one day and he (he’s actually a nice guy – an very smart) again said IRREGARDLESS, and I interrupted and said “REGARDLESS, it’s without regard for the issue, not Un- without regard”. He looked at me and moved along. But he still uses it. It does drive me a little crazy. but regardless, he’s one of the best people I’ve ever worked for.
February 6th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
I agree with Charles when it relates to internal communications. However, when mistakes such as the ones identified above are in external communications, such as to customers, prospects, or colleagues, they reflect poorly on the reputation and quality of the organization.
February 6th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
Ironic note to the “manger” above that his/her title is actually manager. LOL
February 6th, 2009 at 2:50 pm
If errors in internal communications are not corrected, there is greater chance that the mistakes will find their way into external communications. Then, everyone at the company has a red face.
February 6th, 2009 at 2:54 pm
Bring vs take:
Yes: Please bring the documents to our meeting.
No: I will bring the documents to the meeting.
Yes: I will take the documents to the meeting
You’re and your.
Yes: Your work was great.
No: Your great.
February 6th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
I get Charles’s point but I agree with John. I’m hoping that the US is going to return to “traditional” quality in products, and likewise more “traditional” quality in their communications as well, such as spelling, punctuation, and grammar! But I also agree with John about internal or between friends or chats or messaging, it’s different. BTW “its” and “it’s” is another one that gets me.
February 6th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
What REALLY gets me are the spelling and grammar errors in the SCHOOL newsletters, from Primary through High School! It’s sick and not in the good way!
February 6th, 2009 at 2:58 pm
I always laugh when I see this sign posted in establishments:
“personal check not excepted”
It means exactly the opposite of what they intended to say.
February 6th, 2009 at 3:08 pm
Corey, Check out the English Language Unabridged (1961, repr. 2002),[4] for IRREGARDLESS. It is an ironic form of regardless and is conisdered acceptable use now. Many people still don’t like it, but time marches on. I agree with Suzanne and John that it matters a great deal whether it is formal or informal communication. One more: I work in retail and ring and rang are used incorrectly all the time, but only in written communication. Go figure! Like that one, I was being ironic.
February 6th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
I know two people who say “Reimverse me” instead of “Reimburse me”. That drives me crazy! I also hate the “irregardless” people. I drove by a bank and a storage facility that both had signs up with big errors on them. I had to drive past them both a couple of times a day and it drove me nuts. Every day I wanted so bad to call them and ask them to correct their signs but I thought that would be a little petty so I left it alone. It took almost two months for them to each change the message on their business signs. That was a very long two months!
February 6th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
We have a local business that has a sign which says “service by appointment only” and the under that is “walkins welcome”.
February 6th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
What gets my panties in a bind is when someone can’t hold the shift key for a second and type i.
I try to be grammatically correct but if you’re speaking what you’re typing at the same time, it gets jumbled along the way.I guess like “manger” up above.
February 6th, 2009 at 3:23 pm
“KT Says:
February 6th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
Ironic note to the “manger” above that his/her title is actually manager. LOL”
I did miss it, but that’s due to a tremor in my hands and bad eyesight.
Since I run the joint, if I say I’m the ‘manger’ than that’s what I am!
The who trouble is this modern idea of the past couple hundred years, that there are right and wrong ways to spell and use words. It’s just too foreign to what people do on a day-to-day.
80% of communication is non-verbal. Is it any wonder that the vast majority have trouble with the language? Much of what they say to each other is basically grunts of recognition.
Trouble is, to actually accomplish anything new, you have to be able to communicate through a shared and _defined_ language. That’s why the military are so fussy about how everything is worded. In that world, misunderstandings all to often kill–and at least in the US, the amount of shared background (which is how people define their language use,) is highly variable and may have totally opposite meanings.
It’s the same with any jargon. Technical tongues exist because the degree of precision required to accomplish the task is very high.
Business has an over-all jargon, and each industry has it’s own too.
(I buy lots of wierd stuff–or at least things from industries I’ve never been part of, and not knowing what things are called is major roadblock. Before this I consulted in IT for clients from foundries to agriculture. Until you know the language, it’s hard to even ask the right questions.”
There is, however, no reason that people cannot learn multiple language subsets–few talk in church the same language as at the pub.
It’s when that loss of distinction happens that there are problems. In an office, “Call so&so for me and tell them the meeting is changed to Monday.” Is a very specific task assignment, and unlikely to be mistaken unless the hearer is thinking in ‘home’ mode where it is take as a request.
We’re lucky we ever understand anything anyone else says–and often, we don’t. Or at least not in the same way as the speaker.
February 6th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
Stacy,
Just call them. Then at least you aren’t contributing to the problem….
And you can let yourself off the hook.
Now why aren’t you all back a t work?
February 6th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
What about the overuse of the word “myself”?
“Please bring this to the attention of myself or some other member of management before calling outside the office for help.”
“See John, Sue, Bill or myself.”
It’s OKAY to say the word “ME” people! It really is. Google it. Learn it. Accept it.
Oh my goodness!!! It makes me want to SCREAM!!!
February 6th, 2009 at 3:33 pm
My biggest gripes when it comes to English:
No: Your welcome!
Yes: You’re welcome!
No: We snuck into the library.
Yes: We sneaked into the library. (Check your dictionary. The past participle of sneak is sneaked. There is no such word as snuck.)
There is no question that our business world is becoming more and more casual, not only in communication, but in all respects, e.g., dress codes, table manners at business functions, etc. It is important to keep in mind that e-mails are replacements to the formal business letters and memos of the past, and should hold the same formality as their predecessors.
Unfortunately we are living in a day and age where the teachers that are educating our youth aren’t adept at our native language. Furthermore, the manners and poise expected in public has slipped to the wayside.
If you want to stand out in your organization, brush up on your English, check your manners and dress appropriately.
February 6th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
I strongly agree with Phil’s post. The improper use of bring vs take drives me insane. It seems that it had become acceptable. They even say it incorrectly in television shows.
As for your and you’re, maybe this is a little over the top, but people who can’t figure out the difference between those 2 are just stupid.
By the time I retire, our president probably won’t even be able to spell president.
February 6th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
Snuck vs sneaked
A I thought, you’re too late!
Meriam & Webster online disagree.
”
snuck
2 entries found.
1. snuck
2. 1sneak (verb)
Main Entry:
snuck
past and past participle of sneak
“
February 6th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
My children, ages 4, 7 and 17, are bilingual and we try to speak to them, and are trying to teach them to read and write correctly in two languages. Beyond what they learn in school. If we have complaints about how this generation communicates – imagine what our kids emails will look like in 20 years! “Hey FYI i’m gona c that new client 2mrw. did u want me 2 give him the sprdsht on the sales figrs?” Again, we can go back to internal vs, external communiactions, but what about those that might be need to be forwarded at some point? As far as our kids go – we need to take responsibility as parents, not just for their language. Listen to their music, spend time with them, read with them. It is not the responsibility of our teachers or ‘The Cartoon Network’ to raise our kids. And, yes, it might seem nit-picky to correct someone else’s grammar (other than your childrens) but English is HARD. I appreciated it when I had only been here about a year and someone told me “Your email said ‘It’s no ready yet’” and explained that spoken it may SOUND that way, but it’s NOT ready yet, is correct.
February 6th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
This kind of background is no longer taught, any more than kids learn that myself is reflexive (only)–something I do to myself. You, as another person, can’t do something to myself. You have to do something to me ( not I, not myself).
February 6th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
Our communications reflect our life, which has become so busy that one can hardly stop to breathe some days. Some of these cases are just typing errors (manger); most likely it was not proof-read before sending. Others may be because we are no longer teaching grammar in grade school. The end result is that, as a society, we are sounding more and more uneducated. That is not a good image to put out to the rest of the world.
February 6th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
“Could of” and “would of” are not English. The actual words are could’ve and would’ve. They sound like “could of” and “would of” but they are actually contractions of the, more correct, could have and would have.
February 6th, 2009 at 4:51 pm
Ok, here’s one that just happened…
Cheryl and Stacy, are you guys free at 2p on Wednesday?
Cheryl and I are women, we are not “guys”.
February 6th, 2009 at 4:52 pm
I agrre with Leslie 100% about the “bring” vs. “take” issue. I ALWAYS try to correct colleagues and friends and they look at me like I landed from Mars. It’s easy to remember, you “bring” something back, and “take” something with…I’m originally from another country (Bahamas) where we are taught proper english and while the spelling of certain words may be different (such as color vs colour) the meaning is still the same.
February 6th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
I agree with Corey.
The other day I heard on the news – some universities no longer believe kids need to learn “writing” in school, since they send emails or text messages writing is not important. I couldn’t believe it.
February 6th, 2009 at 6:23 pm
JC. I think you have another advantage on the bring/take issue. In America, when order food to be eaten elsewhere, we call it To-Go. I believe it is called Take-Away in England.
A useful everyday proper use of the term.
Corey, irregardless is becoming a new, equally acceptable, word.
It is kind of like flammable and inflammable. They both mean the same thing. It is not necessarily right, but it is happening.
February 6th, 2009 at 6:33 pm
How about the folks who should just never put pen to paper ot finger to keyboard? They butcher the language and make your mind hit a speeed bump and have to start all over at the beginning of a sentence because of what they wrote. I am OK with a grammatical error that doesn’t distort the meaning of the communication – those happen and in most cases could be caught with simple spell check. But let’s face it – there are some peopel who simply cannot write.
“I disagree with it this decision as there was an companying letter that was very clear in that they only had 30 days to complete the payment or they forfeit their option for payment. We cannot be going back and making more exceptions for this people as we have turned away others who could have be allowed to pay.”
As xxxand I were discussing her case on how to proceed with the case Ms. xxxxx show up at our office. I inform her of the situation with the 20% billing, and explain the calculation and give her a copy of the paper work and the law. I did inform Ms. xxxxx that were going to attempt to bill xxx for the 20% billing but should they denied payment of the portion of the bill created from the year of the settlement, she would be responsible
February 6th, 2009 at 9:10 pm
Criticism of Charles makes the point that if co-workers eagerly criticize internal email mistakes in small groups behind each other’s backs, then there are more problems than grammar.
I agree completely that external communication should be composed properly. Incorrect grammar demeans a company to a reader who cares about such things. Grammar, tone and content should all be appropriate. I have seen grammatically correct emails that were abusive and inflammatory in tone and content.
I don’t see how use of text speak increases the ability to accurately convey the meaning of a communication. Frankly, my grandchildren’s text messages to me are often a complete mystery of symbols and abbreviations. I love them anyway.
Here is my addition to the list:
Yes: This medicinei s a preventative
No: This machine is down for preventative maintenance
Yes: This machine is down for preventive maintenance
February 7th, 2009 at 10:31 am
Although I certainly understand the feelings of those individuals who do not believe that this type of mistake is critical, it is important to understand your audience in these matters.
I can tell you from experience that using spell check, insuring that verb usage agrees with noun usage (singular versus plural), and proper use of words is critical in making a first impression. I know any number of clients who would not even consider a proposal or report if they opened it up and found grammatical errors abundant in the item they have received.
As a finance executive, the worst error that someone can make is to give me a report or analysis and have me find an error in the math right off the bat. Imagine the confidence that I have in someone who does not take the time to insure that their numbers foot both across and down, et cetera.
From a grammatical perspective, my pet peeve is words that end in “a”.
No: This criteria is acceptable.
Yes: These criteria are acceptable.
I had an economics professor in graduate school who would take off points if you made this mistake and, after many years in the business field, I realized how prevalent this error is.
My second pet peeve is the use of the words “this” or “these” with a noun to follow. This WHAT? These WHAT? We have become a society that wants to write and speak in shorthand.
BTW – I ran this response through grammar and spell check in MS Word. It took 30 seconds.
February 7th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Mr. Sarver, I believe you are mistaken. “Flammable” means apt to burn. “Inflammable,” on the other hand, means apt to burst into flame. A subtle, but quite meaningful, distinction, I am sure you will agree.
February 9th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
There are many of these “peeves” out there. Here’s some more – “greatful” vs “grateful” and the use of “prolly” instead of probably…. Oh, and how about “suppose” instead of “supposed”…?
We can laugh about these, but it’s simply indicative of the “dumbing down” process that is so prevalent in our educational system today. These errors wouldn’t be tolerated 20 or 30 years ago; now they’re so commonplace that those in a managerial capacity just let it go. God forbid you correct someone – he/she will be running to HR to complain as soon as the correction is said….
February 9th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
I recently passed over a highly qualified applicant’s resume due to spelling errors. The mistakes that drive me CRAZY…”these ones” or “those ones”. It’s “these” or “those”. I’ve also received email and internal memos asking me to “Please advice”. Well, my advice is to take a business writing and grammar course.
February 9th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
For anyone making use of the many online dating sites,
I know when I see grammatical errors I lose interest,
I can overlook an obvious typo but simple spelling errors or
your when it should be you’re and I either do not respond or
skip over the profile. Did someone make it past the sixth grade,
hard to tell….
February 9th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
Hiram Q. Pustule,
I didn’t know flammable/inflammable distinction. Thanks for the clarification!
However, my point was about flammable and inflammable (synonyms) versus considerate and inconsiderate (antonyms).
Cheers!
February 9th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
Hands down, it’s “its” and “it’s”. When I see either used correctly, I have to go back and look again to appreciate the miracle!
February 9th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
My biggest peves:
“irregardless” — I don’t care if it’s more widely accepted now, it’s just plain incorrect to use it!
“De-thaw” — again, an unnecessary negative. I suppose it could mean to freeze??
“Could care less” — if you think this one out, that would actually mean that you at least care a bit. The correct term would be “couldn’t care less” I don’t know why, but that one has always made me grit my teeth in frustration.
Incorrect use of any words that can be confused with other forms (your vs. you’re, its vs. it’s, there, their, or they’re, etc.)
I also have to share one example that makes me laugh (and want to cry a little) every time I see it; a local restaurant decided a couple of years ago to start printing all of their merchandise (cups, napkins, uniforms, etc.) with the year they were established. Unfortunately they printed Since 57′ on all of it. Years later now they still have not caught on to the fact that the apostrophe is in the wrong place. It seems so obvious to me, but apparently no one from the graphic designer, to the printers, to the employees seemed to notice.
I think that if people are in the practice of, and feel open and comfortable enough to correct mistakes on things like office memos, or other interpersonal communications, they will be more likely to catch errors and feel comfortable bringing them to attention when it really counts (like when the error is on all of your promotional materials)
February 9th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
Okay, so I just noticed some of the spelling and grammatical OOPS’s in my own post, so I’m clearly not so perfect myself!
February 10th, 2009 at 12:43 am
Restaurants that serve prime rib with au jus. “… prime rib with with jus.”
February 10th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Oh no. A lot of the errors that everyone pointed out, I did not know where incorrect.
My pet peeve is to and too. I don’t even notice the others.
February 10th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Oops, not where.
I guess there is the were and where.