Common Grammar Hiccups

Even if you think you're a pro writer, there are probably grammar mistakes in your work that you don't even realize you're making. If sentences like "The list of items are long" or "I didn't like the show nor the movie" seem correct to you, it might be time to brush up on your skills. Here are five basic grammar mistakes almost every writer makes.

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1. Nor vs. Or

Consider this sentence: "Henry didn't eat the cake nor the ice cream." At first read, you might think this sentence makes complete sense; after all, it just means Henry didn't eat both desserts. But the correct answer is actually "or"—"Henry didn't eat the cake or the ice cream." Even though "didn't" is a negative, you can only use "nor" when you start the clause with "neither": "Henry ate neither the cake nor the ice cream."

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2. Who vs Whom

"Who did you give the present to?" This sentence might sound right on the first read, and if you can't find anything wrong with it, you're not alone. But "who" should actually be "whom." A simple trick that might help is to think of it in this way: if you can replace it with he or she, use "who"; if you can replace it with him or her, use "whom." In our example, since you answer the question by saying, "I gave it to him," the correct format is "Whom did you give it to?"

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3. Like vs Such As

Have you ever used "like" in place of "such as," and vice versa? For example, "I usually have multiple things for breakfast, like oatmeal and yogurt," versus "I'm craving several things for lunch, such as noodles, pizza, and rice." Whereas "like" should be only used for comparisons (meaning "similar to"), "such as" should only be used for listing examples.

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4. Whether vs. If

Writers use "whether" and "if" so interchangeably, you probably don't notice that they're sometimes being used wrong. Here's a refresher: "if" is a conditional, meaning the clause that follows must be something that meets that condition (ex. "if it rains, bring an umbrella"). "Whether" can be used to introduce alternatives: "Should I go to the party, stay at home, or head to a friend's house?"

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5. Subject-Verb Disagreements

You'll see writers accidentally making subject-verb disagreements all the time in casual, non-polished pieces: "the list of items are long," "the bouquet of roses smell lovely," "the box of chocolates were delicious." Again, at first read, these sentences might seem correct, but if you have a sharp eye, you'll see that the subject and the verb in each example don't agree with each other.

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