Thanks for the great comments!
As for Pam's affect - effect problem I've found that most people here in the U.S. who have a hard time using them correctly pronounce them the same say.
The verb "affects" is usually pronounced with a short "a" like in the word "astonish."
The noun "effects" is pronounced the same by many however if you pronounce it with a long "e" (like in the word easy) instead of a short "a" it makes it easier to remember which is which.
I don't know if pronouncing "effects" with a long "e" is correct however it is acceptable and it's the method I use.
Susan
I have a severe mental block with the words effect and affect. I've tried to learn, but I'm still never sure which one to use.
Susan,
Very nicely done. Of course, I would think that, since you hit most of the misuses that bug me .
One that you didn't cover is the misuse of singular/plural, e.g., "I has," or "They is." There is some leeway here, as the UK folk tend to treat an entity as a group (somesite.com are ...) while US folk tend to treat an entity as an individual (somesite.com is ...).
My base rule - if anyone is interested - is gauging whether the content is contextually confusing. If it is, I'm unlikely to buy: any info-product will likely have the same cast.
When I worked in the corporate world I had a boss who was a stickler in proof reading everyone's work which made me more aware of the mistakes you can make without really knowing it. I picked up the habit. Which I think it
’s a good thing. But of course we can make an occasional mistake it happens to us all.
What I do when composing (an email, personal letter, etc.) is get my thoughts down first in a word document then go over what I wrote using the strikeout feature in word changing the color of the strike out when I
’m correcting what I just wrote. And re-read correcting and changing as I go.
With your online writing, if you outsource, you should always read the writers work for a number of reasons - you
’re getting what you paid for, you’re checking for any duplication in content, your checking grammar/punctuation and if the writer wrote an informative fully enriched article. It’s important to take these steps if your outsourced project needs to go back to your writer for any tweaks or re-writes. It also helps to know your business inside and out.
Any content that
’s added to your Site’s page is also a reflection of your business.
I'm so glad when someone else besides me draws attention to the deterioration
in both our written and spoken word!
I would never buy from a website full of spelling or grammatical errors as I feel it shows an uncaring attitude which may spill over into their after-sales support.
Of course everyone makes the odd mistake which is excusable, but more than a couple on a page is too many.
What can I say except this is an excellent article. I am the world's worse user of the very same words and their usage. If it doesn't show up with a little squiggly line under it I dont' know that the word is wrong or if it's used wrong.
Contrary to my partnership in a website for writers I am not a writer nor profess to be one. (That's a little disclaimer)
So if you have mispelled and misused words on your website, I for one will never notice because it will look normal to me. I guess I should have paid more attention in English classes in grade school. Some of us remember how to diagram a sentence. Do they still teach that anymore?
Dan
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