Common Grammar Mistakes to Avoid in Professional Writing

Even the most skilled writers occasionally make grammar mistakes. In professional contexts, however, these errors can undermine your credibility and distract from your message. This guide highlights common grammar pitfalls and provides straightforward solutions to help you produce polished, error-free writing.

Why Grammar Matters in Professional Settings

Grammar serves as the foundation of clear communication. When you make grammar mistakes in professional writing:

• Readers may question your attention to detail
• Your message can become ambiguous or confusing
• The perceived quality of your ideas may diminish
• You might appear less competent in your field

As one study found, 74% of hiring managers reported that grammar errors in resumes and cover letters significantly decreased a candidate's chances of being hired.

Top Grammar Mistakes to Watch For

1. Subject-Verb Agreement Errors

The subject and verb in a sentence must agree in number (singular or plural).

❌ Incorrect: "The collection of reports have been submitted."
✅ Correct: "The collection of reports has been submitted."

The subject is "collection" (singular), not "reports," so it requires a singular verb.

2. Comma Splices

A comma splice occurs when you join two independent clauses with only a comma.

❌ Incorrect: "The meeting starts at 3 PM, please arrive early."
✅ Correct: "The meeting starts at 3 PM. Please arrive early."
✅ Also correct: "The meeting starts at 3 PM; please arrive early."
✅ Also correct: "The meeting starts at 3 PM, so please arrive early."

3. Dangling Modifiers

These occur when a descriptive phrase doesn't clearly connect to what it's supposed to modify.

❌ Incorrect: "Walking into the office, the report was on the desk."
✅ Correct: "Walking into the office, I saw the report on the desk."

The original sentence suggests the report was walking into the office!

4. Pronoun-Antecedent Disagreement

Pronouns must agree with their antecedents in number and gender.

❌ Incorrect: "Each employee should submit their report by Friday."
✅ Traditionally correct: "Each employee should submit his or her report by Friday."
✅ Modern acceptable usage: "All employees should submit their reports by Friday."
✅ Also acceptable: "Each employee should submit their report by Friday." (singular "they" is increasingly accepted)

5. Misplaced Apostrophes

Apostrophes indicate possession or contraction, not plurality.

❌ Incorrect: "The company needs to track it's expenses."
✅ Correct: "The company needs to track its expenses." ("its" is possessive)

❌ Incorrect: "We hired five new CEO's this year."
✅ Correct: "We hired five new CEOs this year." (simple plural)

6. Passive Voice Overuse

While not grammatically incorrect, excessive passive voice can make writing weak and unclear.

❌ Passive: "The deadline was missed by the team."
✅ Active: "The team missed the deadline."

Homophone Confusion

Homophones are words that sound alike but have different meanings and spellings. Common confusions include:

Practical Tips for Error-Free Writing

1. Read your writing aloud - This helps catch awkward phrasing and errors
2. Use grammar checking tools - Plagly's Grammar Checker can identify many common errors
3. Create a personal error list - Track mistakes you frequently make
4. Take a break before proofreading - Fresh eyes catch more errors
5. Learn one rule at a time - Focus on improving specific issues

"Good grammar is like personal hygiene—you may not notice it when it's present, but you definitely notice when it's missing." — William Zinsser

Grammar Rules That Are Changing

Language evolves, and some traditional grammar rules are becoming more flexible:

• Split infinitives are now generally acceptable ("to boldly go")
• Ending sentences with prepositions is often fine in modern writing
• Starting sentences with conjunctions (And, But, Or) is increasingly common
• Singular "they" is gaining widespread acceptance

It's important to know your audience—more traditional settings may still prefer adherence to conventional rules.

Conclusion

Strong grammar skills are an investment in your professional reputation. By learning to identify and correct these common mistakes, you'll communicate more clearly and project greater competence in all your professional writing.

Consider using Plagly's Grammar Checker as part of your editing process to catch these and other common errors before they undermine your credibility.

This article is part of our professional writing series. Look for our upcoming post on effective business email communication.