WEBVTT 00:00:16.039 --> 00:00:18.140 Good evening, everybody. It is 6 o 'clock. How 00:00:18.140 --> 00:00:22.719 are you guys doing? Before we begin with this 00:00:22.719 --> 00:00:25.120 typical podcast, I'm going to go ahead and let 00:00:25.120 --> 00:00:27.179 you guys know that we're going to go ahead and 00:00:27.179 --> 00:00:30.420 move on to something new. Before I continue on 00:00:30.420 --> 00:00:34.359 with another writing skill, this is still food 00:00:34.359 --> 00:00:36.259 for thought, Thoughts That Fit With You by Neogentrics, 00:00:36.320 --> 00:00:39.380 but I'm going to be also putting my podcast up 00:00:39.380 --> 00:00:42.439 available on YouTube real soon, so y 'all can 00:00:42.439 --> 00:00:47.609 look forward to that. And They will be available 00:00:47.609 --> 00:00:50.229 also on my Facebook page. I will definitely be 00:00:50.229 --> 00:00:53.210 making that available as well. Along with that, 00:00:53.289 --> 00:00:56.490 my book that I wrote, I am currently working 00:00:56.490 --> 00:01:01.210 on a short story series. That is already available 00:01:01.210 --> 00:01:05.390 now in audio printed and e -book format through 00:01:05.390 --> 00:01:09.609 Amazon. Coming up in the future, I will play 00:01:09.609 --> 00:01:12.750 a piece of it. For those who are interested in 00:01:12.750 --> 00:01:16.670 hearing the rest of it. just so you know where 00:01:16.670 --> 00:01:19.730 the book is available at. I will probably go 00:01:19.730 --> 00:01:22.769 through the entire book and put it on here for 00:01:22.769 --> 00:01:25.469 you to listen to in my podcast in the upcoming 00:01:25.469 --> 00:01:28.230 in the future. So there's something to look forward 00:01:28.230 --> 00:01:32.290 to. Now, to get back on topic, like I said before, 00:01:32.430 --> 00:01:33.969 this is Food for Thought, Thoughts That Fit With 00:01:33.969 --> 00:01:39.609 You by Neogentrix. And last time we covered just 00:01:39.609 --> 00:01:43.959 basic writing skill essentials. Today, we're 00:01:43.959 --> 00:01:46.319 going to move on to the next thing, common mistakes 00:01:46.319 --> 00:01:50.939 in writing. Okay? Some writing mistakes are very 00:01:50.939 --> 00:01:54.299 common and frequently seen in both printed materials 00:01:54.299 --> 00:01:57.659 and online, you know. And by learning to recognize 00:01:57.659 --> 00:02:00.439 such errors, you can improve your writing skills 00:02:00.439 --> 00:02:02.599 and avoid common writing mistakes in the future. 00:02:02.780 --> 00:02:07.519 Okay? Remember, mistakes in writing can be embarrassing 00:02:07.519 --> 00:02:10.240 and costly. I mean, would you buy from a company 00:02:10.240 --> 00:02:12.539 whose marketing materials are prep? I'm sorry, 00:02:12.599 --> 00:02:15.039 are peppered with common mistakes that could 00:02:15.039 --> 00:02:17.719 have easily been avoided. Think about that for 00:02:17.719 --> 00:02:22.840 a minute. And then, you know, take some time 00:02:22.840 --> 00:02:25.500 to familiarize yourself with certain mistakes 00:02:25.500 --> 00:02:30.879 listed on select websites, pages, grammar, textbooks, 00:02:31.039 --> 00:02:35.710 and so on. To help you remember to always get 00:02:35.710 --> 00:02:37.849 somebody else to check your writing before it 00:02:37.849 --> 00:02:40.310 is published, okay? Even the most confident writers 00:02:40.310 --> 00:02:44.229 make mistakes sometimes, okay? Like one of the 00:02:44.229 --> 00:02:48.129 most common ones, affect and affect. Affect with 00:02:48.129 --> 00:02:51.210 an A is a verb. For example, sometimes the weather 00:02:51.210 --> 00:02:54.469 affects my mood. The other is effect with an 00:02:54.469 --> 00:02:58.409 E. It's a noun. The example for this would be 00:02:58.409 --> 00:03:01.509 the effect of weather on ice cream sales is well 00:03:01.509 --> 00:03:04.569 documented. By thinking in terms of the effect, 00:03:04.949 --> 00:03:08.490 you are usually determined whether to use affect 00:03:08.490 --> 00:03:12.550 or effect since the will not work in front of 00:03:12.550 --> 00:03:15.210 a verb. You can't do that. And if you did, it 00:03:15.210 --> 00:03:17.770 wouldn't make any sense. And to add to the confusion, 00:03:18.009 --> 00:03:21.409 bear in mind that some people may also use effect 00:03:21.409 --> 00:03:25.870 as a verb. For example, contractors seek to effect 00:03:25.870 --> 00:03:30.409 a settlement with strikers. But this usage is 00:03:30.409 --> 00:03:34.259 slightly... archaic, and most often used in legal 00:03:34.259 --> 00:03:36.219 writings. So you don't really have to worry about 00:03:36.219 --> 00:03:48.039 that too much. Let's move on to the next thing. 00:03:49.280 --> 00:03:51.979 Apostrophes. Continuing in the list of common 00:03:51.979 --> 00:03:54.800 mistakes. Apostrophes strike fear into the heart 00:03:54.800 --> 00:03:58.900 of many. However, you know, learning... A few 00:03:58.900 --> 00:04:01.300 simple rules and inevitable exceptions should 00:04:01.300 --> 00:04:03.819 help you use apostrophes with ease with no problem. 00:04:04.080 --> 00:04:06.939 The apostrophe is used for a purpose, either 00:04:06.939 --> 00:04:09.219 to indicate a possession, implying ownership 00:04:09.219 --> 00:04:13.419 or a contraction, in place of other letters. 00:04:13.819 --> 00:04:16.120 Since it's used to indicate a contraction is 00:04:16.120 --> 00:04:17.860 the easiest, we'll deal with this one first. 00:04:19.019 --> 00:04:22.759 Using apostrophes to indicate contractions, where 00:04:22.759 --> 00:04:25.139 one or more letters have been dropped, an apostrophe 00:04:25.139 --> 00:04:32.029 is used as a replacement. Like it is is it. Or 00:04:32.029 --> 00:04:37.449 we are equaling we're. Does not equaling doesn't. 00:04:37.730 --> 00:04:42.889 Or of the clock equaling o 'clock. As a simplified 00:04:42.889 --> 00:04:46.730 form. When you use it to represent possession. 00:04:47.949 --> 00:04:50.870 It can be used in terms of, like, Matthew's car. 00:04:51.050 --> 00:04:53.149 The word Matthew followed by an S, but put an 00:04:53.149 --> 00:04:56.689 apostrophe there, showing ownership. Or the farmer's 00:04:56.689 --> 00:05:01.189 field. One's field owned by one farmer. You know, 00:05:01.230 --> 00:05:04.949 if the subject, the farmer, or Matthew, has a 00:05:04.949 --> 00:05:08.089 name ending with an S, then there's a choice 00:05:08.089 --> 00:05:12.060 to either follow the formal rule and... You know, 00:05:12.060 --> 00:05:14.560 leave it like, you know, the Jones's house and 00:05:14.560 --> 00:05:18.019 add another apostrophe S or drop the final S. 00:05:18.180 --> 00:05:21.639 Hence the Jones's house as the as an example 00:05:21.639 --> 00:05:26.100 with one S that was originally there. The choice 00:05:26.100 --> 00:05:28.199 is a matter of style, but the importance, the 00:05:28.199 --> 00:05:30.160 important thing about it is to be consistent 00:05:30.160 --> 00:05:33.480 throughout the entire paper. OK, if the subject 00:05:33.480 --> 00:05:35.899 is plural, the apostrophe is placed after the 00:05:35.899 --> 00:05:40.120 S by default. OK, examples of this would be teacher 00:05:40.120 --> 00:05:45.519 staff. The farmer's field. And on that note, 00:05:45.759 --> 00:05:48.839 you know, note that if the word is already plural, 00:05:49.040 --> 00:05:52.379 for example, children or people, then you just 00:05:52.379 --> 00:05:56.319 write children's or people's. All right. Although 00:05:56.319 --> 00:06:00.910 it doesn't quite sound right. With that being 00:06:00.910 --> 00:06:03.449 said, there are times not to use an apostrophe. 00:06:03.569 --> 00:06:06.029 If the word is plural, then don't use an apostrophe. 00:06:06.149 --> 00:06:09.449 For example, kittens or apostrophes, you don't 00:06:09.449 --> 00:06:11.750 add an apostrophe to those words. Placing an 00:06:11.750 --> 00:06:14.790 apostrophe before the final S is universally 00:06:14.790 --> 00:06:18.470 considered incorrect and commonly referred to 00:06:18.470 --> 00:06:24.910 as the green grocer's apostrophe or green grocer's 00:06:24.910 --> 00:06:30.490 apostrophe. You know, with or without. The S 00:06:30.490 --> 00:06:33.569 there. The apostrophe either goes before or after 00:06:33.569 --> 00:06:38.269 the S. It's already at the end of the word. You 00:06:38.269 --> 00:06:41.149 know. But doing that refers to either more than 00:06:41.149 --> 00:06:47.629 one. Not just one. Okay. To write. There is two 00:06:47.629 --> 00:06:52.470 T's in Matthew. May confuse the reader. Even 00:06:52.470 --> 00:06:54.529 though it's grammatically correct. Alternatively. 00:06:55.129 --> 00:06:58.269 You could rephrase this as. There are two T's. 00:06:59.019 --> 00:07:02.540 Spelling it out, there are two, T -W -O, T's, 00:07:02.660 --> 00:07:09.180 T in quotation marks, S in Matthew. However, 00:07:09.459 --> 00:07:12.339 the modern convention is to avoid using apostrophe 00:07:12.339 --> 00:07:15.519 and plurals wherever possible, even in the plural 00:07:15.519 --> 00:07:18.439 of numbers and abbreviations and letters. For 00:07:18.439 --> 00:07:22.740 example, I keep buying DVDs. You don't use an 00:07:22.740 --> 00:07:26.800 apostrophe for the word DVDs. Or, he loves 80s 00:07:26.800 --> 00:07:30.779 music. you know use an apostrophe for 80s it's 00:07:30.779 --> 00:07:33.759 preferable to just adding an apostrophe if you 00:07:33.759 --> 00:07:57.680 just leave it like that on to the next thing 00:07:57.680 --> 00:08:01.300 could have should have would have even though 00:08:01.300 --> 00:08:04.759 we might pronounce could have as could have a 00:08:04.759 --> 00:08:10.079 contraction of that word or rather saying could 00:08:10.079 --> 00:08:14.339 of is incorrect even writing it wouldn't be correct 00:08:14.339 --> 00:08:19.759 at all always use have should have or would have 00:08:19.759 --> 00:08:25.029 it's actually more useful to use these words 00:08:25.029 --> 00:08:27.449 in their broken -up form than to try to use their 00:08:27.449 --> 00:08:32.669 contracted counterparts. However, these two upcoming 00:08:32.669 --> 00:08:35.110 words I'm going to mention, its and its, are 00:08:35.110 --> 00:08:39.830 the two most confusing words in the English language. 00:08:39.929 --> 00:08:42.169 There are two of them. There are many others, 00:08:42.250 --> 00:08:45.470 but these are one of the top ones. The confusion 00:08:45.470 --> 00:08:48.129 between its and its occurs because on virtually 00:08:48.129 --> 00:08:52.210 every other word, it's an apostrophe s. you know, 00:08:52.210 --> 00:08:54.669 apostrophe plus S indicates, you know, possession. 00:08:54.950 --> 00:08:57.669 So English speakers naturally want to use its 00:08:57.669 --> 00:09:01.250 apostrophe S to mean something belongs to it. 00:09:01.429 --> 00:09:05.549 But that is actually wrong. It's with the apostrophe 00:09:05.549 --> 00:09:08.490 is a contraction of two words. It is or it has. 00:09:09.429 --> 00:09:12.070 It's with no apostrophe is its possessive form 00:09:12.070 --> 00:09:17.070 like hers, his or whose. But, you know, like 00:09:17.070 --> 00:09:19.879 I said before. If you have doubt as to which 00:09:19.879 --> 00:09:22.080 version to use, try replacing the word with it 00:09:22.080 --> 00:09:25.700 is or it has. If it still scans correctly, then 00:09:25.700 --> 00:09:28.759 you can use the apostrophe. Otherwise, don't 00:09:28.759 --> 00:09:32.940 use it. I'm not going to go over this one too, 00:09:32.960 --> 00:09:37.019 too much. But the words there, there, and there, 00:09:37.220 --> 00:09:41.759 referring to their, T -H -E -R -E, their, T -H 00:09:41.759 --> 00:09:45.360 -E -I -R, and their, T -H -E -Y -R -E. There 00:09:45.360 --> 00:09:48.720 is a difference between them. Their, what T -H 00:09:48.720 --> 00:09:51.759 -E -R -E, refers to a place or an idea. Whereas 00:09:51.759 --> 00:09:54.399 their, T -H -E -I -R, is possessive in meaning. 00:09:54.759 --> 00:09:58.159 And their, T -H -E -Y apostrophe R -E, is a contraction 00:09:58.159 --> 00:10:01.039 of they are. I shouldn't have to really express 00:10:01.039 --> 00:10:03.600 what they really mean with any examples because 00:10:03.600 --> 00:10:06.960 it's kind of self -explanatory. But then there's 00:10:06.960 --> 00:10:10.220 theirs and theirs. Theirs spelled T -H -E -R 00:10:10.220 --> 00:10:13.440 -E apostrophe S and theirs T -H -E -I -R -S. 00:10:14.730 --> 00:10:17.330 I shouldn't have to really express this one too, 00:10:17.350 --> 00:10:20.730 too much. That there's with the apostrophe is 00:10:20.730 --> 00:10:23.309 a contraction of there is, whereas there's T 00:10:23.309 --> 00:10:26.649 -H -E -I -R -S is still possessive as a pronoun, 00:10:27.350 --> 00:10:30.169 but it's the plural form and usually used in 00:10:30.169 --> 00:10:32.730 third person writings. So it's a word you can 00:10:32.730 --> 00:10:34.730 technically use when you're writing papers in 00:10:34.730 --> 00:10:45.990 English class. Oh, thank you. Next are the two, 00:10:46.009 --> 00:10:49.129 two, two. As you already know, there are three 00:10:49.129 --> 00:10:53.889 kinds of two. Two, T -O, has two functions. First 00:10:53.889 --> 00:10:57.049 is the preposition that always precedes a noun, 00:10:57.269 --> 00:11:00.730 hence, I am going to the shops, or this belongs 00:11:00.730 --> 00:11:05.929 to Mary. Second, two, T -O, indicates an infinitive 00:11:05.929 --> 00:11:11.980 when it's preceded by a verb. It's kind of hard 00:11:11.980 --> 00:11:13.759 to talk today when I can barely breathe out of 00:11:13.759 --> 00:11:17.659 my nose. I'm sorry. I need to sleep. He wants 00:11:17.659 --> 00:11:23.340 to go for a walk. Thus, it's in a way more being 00:11:23.340 --> 00:11:27.039 of a possessive nature in the state that it's 00:11:27.039 --> 00:11:31.000 saying something that needs to be done. Next 00:11:31.000 --> 00:11:34.480 is to, T -O -O. It also has two uses. The first 00:11:34.480 --> 00:11:38.059 is as a synonym for also. Like, can I come to? 00:11:38.860 --> 00:11:42.450 I think that belongs. I think that's his bag, 00:11:42.529 --> 00:11:44.690 too. It can also be replaced with the word also. 00:11:44.970 --> 00:11:48.889 I think that's his bag also. Or can I come also? 00:11:49.250 --> 00:11:52.190 If you can replace the word T -O -O with the 00:11:52.190 --> 00:11:55.090 word also, then that word fits there. However, 00:11:55.309 --> 00:12:01.809 the second one means excessively when it's preceded 00:12:01.809 --> 00:12:06.730 by an adjective or an advert. Like, I'm too tired 00:12:06.730 --> 00:12:10.070 to go out. Or you're too generous. In these cases, 00:12:10.110 --> 00:12:12.509 using the word also to replace the word to, T 00:12:12.509 --> 00:12:16.509 -W -T -O -O, is incorrect because it wouldn't 00:12:16.509 --> 00:12:20.029 make any sense. And then the last two, T -W -O 00:12:20.029 --> 00:12:24.330 is a number. Therefore, it is less confusing 00:12:24.330 --> 00:12:27.529 to use. However, keep this in mind that while 00:12:27.529 --> 00:12:30.289 this one may be the least confusing of the three, 00:12:30.450 --> 00:12:33.309 the most common confusion is between T -O and 00:12:33.309 --> 00:12:36.470 T -O -O. And with that, like I said, try replacing 00:12:36.470 --> 00:12:40.299 the word with also or as well. And if the phrase 00:12:40.299 --> 00:12:43.960 makes sense, then use T -O -O. Okay? Otherwise, 00:12:44.379 --> 00:12:48.700 it's probably just T -O. Because obviously it 00:12:48.700 --> 00:12:52.580 won't be a number. And then there's other words, 00:12:52.639 --> 00:12:55.419 too, that are just frequently misused. We're 00:12:55.419 --> 00:13:11.220 going to cover those in a second. Alright, so 00:13:11.220 --> 00:13:14.320 the frequently misused words are... First one 00:13:14.320 --> 00:13:18.379 is decimate. Strictly enough, decimate means 00:13:18.379 --> 00:13:21.940 to reduce by one -tenth and not to reduce to 00:13:21.940 --> 00:13:25.179 one -tenth. However, this usage is now increasingly 00:13:25.179 --> 00:13:29.100 common and seems likely to become accepted. We 00:13:29.100 --> 00:13:31.840 don't want this to happen. Next is literally. 00:13:32.139 --> 00:13:36.159 Literally means actually or without exaggeration. 00:13:36.960 --> 00:13:40.740 When you say I literally... you are describing 00:13:40.740 --> 00:13:43.220 something exactly as it happened and without 00:13:43.220 --> 00:13:46.240 exaggeration. If you were to say, I literally 00:13:46.240 --> 00:13:49.200 died of boredom, you're implying you actually 00:13:49.200 --> 00:13:53.620 died and the use of literally in that context 00:13:53.620 --> 00:13:58.100 is actually incorrect. Next is lose and loose. 00:13:58.720 --> 00:14:01.860 Lose is the opposite of win, whilst loose is 00:14:01.860 --> 00:14:06.080 the opposite of tight or contained. That's the 00:14:06.080 --> 00:14:08.690 difference between those two. Next is weather 00:14:08.690 --> 00:14:12.009 and weather. Weather with E -A -T -H -E -R and 00:14:12.009 --> 00:14:15.509 weather spelled with W -H -E -T -H -E -R. The 00:14:15.509 --> 00:14:18.909 first one, W -E -A, weather, is usually a noun 00:14:18.909 --> 00:14:21.049 referring to the atmospheric conditions as a 00:14:21.049 --> 00:14:24.269 particular point in time. You know, like, the 00:14:24.269 --> 00:14:28.490 weather outside is, it's hot, 105 degrees, and 00:14:28.490 --> 00:14:31.730 possible 50 % chance of rain. Whereas the other 00:14:31.730 --> 00:14:34.350 weather is a conjunction that introduces alternatives, 00:14:34.649 --> 00:14:38.909 for example. Whether I win or lose, or you do 00:14:38.909 --> 00:14:42.649 it whether you like it or not. Whether is similar 00:14:42.649 --> 00:14:45.830 to if, and if you can replace the word with if, 00:14:45.929 --> 00:14:48.330 then you can use the word whether. Although it 00:14:48.330 --> 00:14:52.789 might be better just to use if. In conclusion, 00:14:53.230 --> 00:14:57.250 while this is a very brief section that I cover 00:14:57.250 --> 00:14:59.570 on common mistakes found in English writing, 00:14:59.750 --> 00:15:03.370 it is still very important to look into these 00:15:03.370 --> 00:15:07.519 topics, these things, and correct it. However, 00:15:07.700 --> 00:15:10.159 as you can see, the English language is unfortunately 00:15:10.159 --> 00:15:12.879 complex and most spelling and grammar checkers 00:15:12.879 --> 00:15:15.460 will not pick up subtle distinctions between 00:15:15.460 --> 00:15:18.000 some of the often confusing words that I just 00:15:18.000 --> 00:15:21.820 mentioned. Likewise, such checkers will not pick 00:15:21.820 --> 00:15:26.480 up on mistyped words such as for instead of for 00:15:26.480 --> 00:15:30.779 or if instead of it or indeed spot all missing 00:15:30.779 --> 00:15:36.080 words. It is vital. that you in therefore do 00:15:36.080 --> 00:15:41.480 not reply rely on a spell checker or to proofread 00:15:41.480 --> 00:15:45.000 your work for you it really is hard to breathe 00:15:45.000 --> 00:15:48.379 sorry the best advice is to read your writings 00:15:48.379 --> 00:15:50.820 or better still get someone else to read it and 00:15:50.820 --> 00:15:52.860 then check it for you most people find it easier 00:15:52.860 --> 00:15:54.879 to spot errors when reading from a printed copy 00:15:54.879 --> 00:15:57.320 compared to reading it on a computer screen so 00:15:57.320 --> 00:16:00.220 just print it out and read it that way all right 00:16:00.220 --> 00:16:03.919 and that concludes this section on common mistakes 00:16:03.919 --> 00:16:06.879 in writing. Next time I'll cover formal and informal 00:16:06.879 --> 00:16:09.340 writing styles.