Grammar Hills We’ll Die On

Look, we all have our non-negotiables in life. Some people won’t date someone who doesn’t like dogs. Others refuse to watch movie sequels. Us? We have FEELINGS about grammar. Strong ones. The kind that make family dinners awkward and cause heated debates in Slack channels.

Scroll on for some grammar tips from professional copywriters. 

(ok, they’re pet peeves from word nerds, but STILL IMPORTANT.) 

The Oxford Comma: Our Ride or Die

Let’s start with the heavyweight champion of grammar debates: the Oxford comma. You know, that little comma before “and” in a list? Yeah, that’s our jam. Without it, you get sentences like:

“I love my parents, Lady Gaga and Humpty Dumpty”

Wait. Hold up. Are Lady Gaga and Humpty Dumpty your parents? (Weird flex, but okay.) Or are you listing three separate things? THIS IS WHY WE NEED THE OXFORD COMMA, PEOPLE.

“Your” vs “You’re”: The Hill We Built Our House On

Nothing makes us die inside quite like seeing “Your amazing!” No, Karen, my amazing what? This isn’t a cliffhanger Netflix show – finish the thought! 

It’s simple:

• “Your” = Belongs to you (like your coffee addiction)
• “You’re” = You are (as in “you’re making our eye twitch with that grammar”)

This is a big one we see in our content proofreading services. Your spellcheck won’t always pick this one up, so it’s one to watch!

Apostrophe Catastrophes

We see your random apostrophes in plural words, and we’re not okay. The banana’s at the grocery store aren’t having a party – they’re just hanging out in multiples. Save those apostrophes for possession and contractions, like how we’re possessed by the need to correct this everywhere we see it.

The “Reply All” of Grammar: Affect vs. Effect

This one affects us deeply. (See what we did there?) Here’s a quick guide:

• Affect = Verb (usually)
• Effect = Noun (usually)

The effect of not knowing the difference affects our mood more than running out of coffee. (And that’s saying something.)

The Em Dash: Our Punctuation Bestie

We love an em dash — it’s so flexible it could beat your yoga instructor in a pretzel lookalike contest! 

It’s more dramatic than a comma, more casual than a colon, and perfect for those “wait, let me add this thought” moments — kind of like this one.

“Literally” – We Can’t Even

If one more person says they’re “literally dying” when they’re very much alive and well, we might actually, literally lose it. Unless you’re actually turning into a puddle of goo, maybe let’s save “literally” for things that are, you know… literal?

Word to the wise

Look, we know grammar rules are like Pirates of the Caribbean movies – there are way too many of them, and some make more sense than others. But some hills are worth dying on (looking at you, Oxford comma), and we’ll defend them with the passion of a fan defending their favourite show’s controversial finale (looking at you, HIMYM).

Ready to make your content grammatically glorious? Great Scot! is here to help bring your stories to life. Holla our way for editing services or proofreading packages! 

(P.S. This blog was written with an unreasonable amount of passion about punctuation and zero apologies for it.)