• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

College Magazine

College Life, Dating, Career & Campus Advice

  • Colleges
    • College Guides
    • College Rankings
    • Campus Life
      • Academics
      • Dating
      • Freshman Year
      • Health
      • Social Change
      • Party
  • Majors
    • All Majors
    • Most Popular Majors
    • Choosing a Major
  • Intern
    • Internship Directory
    • How to Get an Internship
    • How to Write a Resume
    • How to Write a Cover Letter
    • How to Interview
    • How to Network
    • Career 101
    • Find Your Passion Career
  • Money
    • How to Make Money
    • How to Save Money
    • How to Get a Job
    • Credit Cards 101
    • FAFSA
    • Ramen Project
  • Travel
    • Study Abroad
    • College Spring Break
    • How to Travel Cheap
    • Things to Do
  • Shop
    • Writer Course
    • College Magazine Shop
    • Gift Guides
    • College Packing List
  • Find your college or university
  • Colleges
    • College Guides
    • College Rankings
    • Campus Life
      • Academics
      • Dating
      • Freshman Year
      • Health
      • Social Change
      • Party
  • Majors
    • All Majors
    • Most Popular Majors
    • Choosing a Major
  • Intern
    • Internship Directory
    • How to Get an Internship
    • How to Write a Resume
    • How to Write a Cover Letter
    • How to Interview
    • How to Network
    • Career 101
    • Find Your Passion Career
  • Money
    • How to Make Money
    • How to Save Money
    • How to Get a Job
    • Credit Cards 101
    • FAFSA
    • Ramen Project
  • Travel
    • Study Abroad
    • College Spring Break
    • How to Travel Cheap
    • Things to Do
  • Shop
    • Writer Course
    • College Magazine Shop
    • Gift Guides
    • College Packing List
  • Find your college or university
  • About Us
  • Team
  • Write
  • Apply
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sign Up
  • Advertise
  • My Account
  • Cart

You are here: Home / Life / Academics / 19 Grammar Mistakes to Piss Off English Majors

19 Grammar Mistakes to Piss Off English Majors

July 10, 2015 //  by Lisamarie DiOrio

Shares111FacebookTweet

Picture it: You stay up all night writing the perfect paper. You’re sure it’s going to get you an “A” and kick your average up a couple points. You zombie sleepwalk to your professor’s office to hand it sans proofreading because ain’t nobody got time for that before Starbucks. When you’re finally awake, you realize: You’ve done the one thing that could take your paper from hero to zero. You used “your” when you should’ve used “you’re.”

Here are 19 other grammar sins that will have your professors sending you to confession.

1. Their, They’re and There

tumblr.com
tumblr.com

Their is possessive. They’re means they are. There is a location.

2. Me versus I

tumblr.com
tumblr.com

Me and my friends went to dinner. Right? Nope. Take out the ‘and my friends.’ Me went to dinner? Try again, caveman.

3. Should/Would/Could of

keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk
keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk

It’s have. Not of.

4. Lie versus Lay

mightyredpen.wordpress.com
mightyredpen.wordpress.com

Lay needs an object. You can’t lay down, you have to lay something down.

5. Much versus Many

memegen.com
memegen.com

Things that are many can be counted (stairs, babies, shirts, etc.). Things that are much can’t (peace, knowledge, violence, etc.).

6. Then versus Than

tumblr.com
tumblr.com

Then is a sequential word, than is a comparative. You eat a cupcake and then you eat another (you animal). You like Ice T more than you like Matthew McConaughey (ANIMAL).

7. Affect versus Effect

tumblr.com
tumblr.com

Affect is a verb, effect is a noun. Cute little trick: Think of the word raven. AV (affect, verb) and EN (effect, noun).

8. Irregardless

giphy.com
giphy.com

Irregardless is not a word. See that red squiggly line under it? That means it’s bad and dumb.

9. Apostrophes

flickr.com
flickr.com

Please don’t make it rain apostrophes. They have two uses: possessives and contractions. That’s it. They’re not used in plurals. You passed out the papers, not the paper’s.

10. Commas

tumblr.com
tumblr.com

Chill with the commas y’all. Please, don’t, put, them, after, every, word. Doesn’t it stress out the voice in your head to read like that?

11. Except versus Accept

Justin Solle
Justin Solle

Accept is an inclusive term: We’re accepting applications. Except is exclusive: We’ll take all applications, except yours.

12. Good versus Well

tumblr.com
tumblr.com

Good is an adjective, meaning it modifies nouns: That was a good GOT finale. Well is an adverb, meaning it modifies verbs: You stabbed that character well.

13. Quote Punctuation

grammar-quizzes.com
grammar-quizzes.com

When you’re quoting something, you put your punctuation inside the quotation marks. “How are you?” See how the question mark is inside the quotation? That’s what it should look like all the time.

14. To, Too and Two

tumblr.com
tumblr.com

I gave his gift to him. I bombed the game today. The chem test, too (also). There were two (2) pieces of pizza left. Different words, different meanings, people.

15. A Lot

tumblr.com
tumblr.com

Two words. Not one.

16. “I Could Care Less.”

thefrustratedoptimist.wordpress.com
thefrustratedoptimist.wordpress.com

That actually means the exact opposite of what you want it to mean. That means you care a lot. You should be saying that you couldn’t care less, meaning there is no more care for you to give.

17. Loose versus Lose

tumblr.com
tumblr.com

You lose a penny or your boyfriend. Your clothes are too loose (same with your morals).

18. Literally

giphy.com
giphy.com

I know basic girls everywhere won’t be pleased, but the colloquial usage of literally has completely warped its real meaning. You’re not “literally going to die of embarrassment.” That “actually” can’t happen.

19. I.e. versus E.g.

lsned.com
lsned.com

This one’s pretty nit-picky, but hey, grant me a bit of leeway with this. I.e. means in other words, so you use it when you want to phrase something in another way. E.g. means for example, so you use it to list options.

I just saved your GPA. I’ll accept gratitude in the form of cash and “AMEN!” comments.

 

Rep your Favorite Classics with our Literary Dorm Decor

 

Shares111FacebookTweet

Filed Under: Academics Life Writers

About Lisamarie DiOrio

Senior at Boston College. Future high school English teacher. I laugh, eat, and talk too much. My main loves include the Boston College Marching Band, peanut butter, pandas, country music, and Breaking Bad.

You May Also Like

Woman sitting in a chair with a mug

Take a Break and Breathe: 10 Resources to Destress This Semester

Laptop on table

35 Zoom Backgrounds to Use to Become the Life of the Virtual World

cover photo sju si

Top 10 Best Resources Offered at St. John’s University-Staten Island

What Your Favorite Pixar Movie Says About You: College Edition

CM’s Guide to St. John’s University-Staten Island Campus

pensive

Tackling the Beast After 2020: Applying to Graduate School

CM’s Top 10 Best Pharmacy Schools in the Nation

10 Insanely Hard Classes to Avoid at Penn State

It’s Okay If Your Grades Fall Behind During a Pandemic

student typing on laptop

The Key to Surviving an Online Math Class in 2020

guy online

The Transition to Online Classes: A New Struggle or a Desirable Change? 

College Magazine’s Guide to the Engineering Major

smiling graduate

Redefining Success as a Freshman in College

Top 10 Hermione Granger Approved Colleges for Bookworms

20 Notable UConn Alumni Who Changed the World

10 Most-Loved Professors at the University of Florida

red stoplight

Reflections of a Nervous Post-Graduate

https://unsplash.com/photos/Z-ceDRi9fVU

Is There Such a Thing as Being Too Ambitious in College?

10 Invaluable Skills You Get from Learning and Working Virtually

Virtual Learning

Class Etiquette 101: The Unspoken Rules of Zoom

future teacher

CM’s Ultimate Guide to the English Education Major

How to Study for a Test When Your Roommates are Pregaming

online acting classes

The Show Must Go On: 10 Tips for Success in Online Acting Classes

aesthetic books

15 School Supplies English Majors Literature-lly Need This Fall 

Previous Post: « Being the Best at Not Being the Best
Next Post: How to Keep a Clean Apartment When Your Friends are Animals »

Primary Sidebar



Trending Posts

internship finder
181

The 10 Best Websites for Internships

dancing dreams
84

Saying Goodbye to My Dreams of Dancing

ucla royce
22

10 Resources All Student Artists at UCLA Should Know About

bookstack
12

Adding Diverse Stories to Your Shelves: 10 Books by BIPOC Authors

10

Top 10 Covid-19 Safe Spots to Explore Near UCLA

Featured Chapter: St. John’s University

Footer

logo

College Magazine is the national daily guide to campus life. Our articles for college students feature university rankings of U.S. colleges, college guides, academic advice, college prep, career advice, student health and collegiate dating tips.

Written by students for students, by a team of journalists from universities nationwide, we’re on the pulse of the college experience.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Colleges

  • College Guides
  • College Rankings
  • Campus life
  • Academics
  • Dating
  • Freshmen Year
  • Health
  • Party

Majors

  • All College Majors
  • Most Popular Majors
  • Choosing a Major

Intern

  • Internships Directory
  • How to Write a Resume
  • How to Write a Cover Letter
  • How to Interview
  • How to Get an Internship
  • How to Network

Money

  • How to Make Money
  • How to Save Money
  • How to Get a Job
  • Credit Cards 101
  • College Loans

Travel

  • Study Abroad
  • College Spring Break
  • How to Travel Cheap
  • Things to Do

Shop

  • College Packing List
  • Gift Guides
  • About Us
  • Team
  • Write
  • Apply
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sign Up
  • Advertise
  • My Account
  • Cart

Copyright © 2021 College Magazine · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc.