Grammar refresher #2

Here are some more grammar tips. I find myself thinking twice about the use of me, myself and I all the time.

Your vs. You're. This one is an extremely common mistake. All it takes to avoid this error is to take a second and think about what you're trying to say. "Your" is a possessive pronoun, as in "your bike" or "your blog." "You're" is a contraction for "you are," as in "you're screwing up your writing by using your when you really mean you are."

It's vs. Its. This is another common mistake. It's also easily avoided by thinking through what you're trying to say. "It's" is a contraction of "it is" or "it has." "Its" is a possessive pronoun, as in "this blog has lost its mojo." Here's an easy rule of thumb—repeat your sentence out loud using "it is" instead. If that sounds goofy, "its" is likely the correct choice.

There vs. Their. This one seems to trip up everyone occasionally. "There" is used many ways, including as a reference to a place ("let's go there") or as a pronoun ("there is no hope"). "Their" is a plural possessive pronoun, as in "their bikes" or "their opinions." Always do the "that's ours!" test — are you talking about more than one person and something that they possess? If so, "their" will get you there.

Affect vs. Effect. To this day I have to pause and mentally sort this one out in order to get it right. "Affect" is a verb, as in "Your ability to train regularly clearly will affect your race results." "Effect" is a noun, as in "The effect of food and hydration on performance is well documented." By thinking in terms of "the effect," you can usually sort out which is which, because you can't stick a "the" in front of a verb.

Different than vs. Different from. This one slips under the radar a lot, and I am sure I've screwed it up countless times. It boils down to the fact that things are logically different from one another, and using the word "than" after different is a grammatical blunder. This bike is different from the one I have, but I like it better than this one.

Me, Myself, and I. One of the most common causes of grammatical pain is the choice between "me" and "I." Too often people use "I" when they should use "me," because since "I" sounds stilted and proper, it must be right, right? Nope. The easy way to get this one right is to simply remove the other person from the sentence and then do what sounds correct. You would never say "Give I a call," so you also wouldn't say "Give Shannon and I a call." Don't be afraid of me. And whatever you do, don't say "myself" because you're not sure whether "me" or "I" is the correct choice.