There are three common grammatical mistakes that the vast majority of Americans make.
Bypass these errors to stand out from the rest.
You’ll sound like a pro if you remember the following:
- The gerund takes the possessive
- None is singular
- Retire the word ‘myself’
- The gerund takes the possessive:
This one will sound all wrong to you. You’ll think you sound wacky saying this. But those who know this rule will be impressed.
A gerund is any verb ending in ‘-ing.’
Use possessive nouns when using gerunds.
Here’s how.
Instead of saying “George is upset about Anna going to the meeting,” say, “George is upset about Anna’s going to the meeting.”
I know it sounds wrong, but it’s not. Here are a few more, just to get you used to it:
“Mike is excited about our playing tennis together.”
“We can’t wait to see their dancing at the picnic.”
“You need to talk to Peter about his slamming the door.”
2. None is singular
Now that you’re used to sounding funny, get ready to sound even weirder.
None is singular. It’s a word that means ‘not one.’
That means you say:
“None of us is going to the fair.”
“None of the attendees is saying a word about that.”
“None of the patients is able to take the drug.”
You might be feeling pretty uncomfortable by now. You’re probably Googling this to see if I’m wrong. You’re pretty sure I’m wrong.
I’m not.
I’ve got one more:
3. Retire the word “myself”
You probably don’t ever need to use it.
If you’re tempted to say something like “Myself and Angela are working on this together,” say, “Angela and I are working on this together.”
If you’d like to say, “Myself, I disagree with that,” you can just say, “I disagree with that.”
And if you wanted to say “Betsy was in the meeting with the President and myself,” you can say, “Betsy was in the meeting with the President and me.”
‘Myself’ comes off as pompous, and it’s extraneous. Cut the fat from your speech to keep your point clear.
I hope these simple tips will help to distinguish you from the crowd.
None of your peers is going to know what to do with you.
