Grammar Police

Do your eyes glaze over when you're trying to read something and the grammar, spelling, and punctuation are....

Wrong. Just Wrong... ?

Or does it not bother you in the least--you either think it's right, or you think it's probably wrong but also you do not care?

The written language has taken quite a beating in the last few years, especially with 'autocorrect,' which so often is completely wrong, but we are in a hurry and the right spelling and grammar just falls by the wayside. People have to read a text and almost translate what it means. While we've gotten used to it, and while sometimes it may not be a big deal, it's a big deal when writing letters (like a thank-you letter for an interview) or essays (like the one that counts for 50% of your grade) or replying to an email in a professional manner. With that in mind, here are some pet peeves of grammar police:

There, They're, Their...
You put something over there. There is a place. They're means they are. As in, They're going to Hal's house to play Go Fish. Their means they own whatever it is... Their car, their shoes, their grades, their bad grammar.

Your, You're
Your refers to something you own or have. It's possessive. You're is a contraction of You Are. And so, You're reading this with your eyes.

To, Too, Two
You send something to someone. You go to a play. You go to school. Think of it as kind of a direction, where is that going or where are you going? To somewhere. Too means an excess of something: Too much work, too much sugar (?), I was too busy.  Two, hopefully you know, is the number two. Two feet, two hands, two dollars. Oddly, that one is rarely misused.

Its or It's 
It's means It Is. or It Has. As in, it's going to snow. or it's got to stop.No other time do you need an apostrophe. 'Its' is the possessive form, just like his or hers or theirs, none of those needs an apostrophe, either.

Plurals and apostrophes
You never, never, never, never, never, never, use an apostrophe for two or more of things. It's bears, dogs, cats, clothes, papers, houses. No apostrophe. Period.

But what about names?  Same deal, no apostrophe: The Thompsons. The Andersons. If it's a name like Jones then it's the Joneses. It can be proper to put an apostrophe at the end of a name that ends in S. For example, Dennis in the possessive is Dennis'. As in, Dennis' tennis shoes.

"Alot" is not a word. It is two words. Separate them.

"I could care less," makes no sense whatsoever. That would mean I could be less concerned (but I'm not). The correct expression is "I couldn't care less."

It's never "Me and.." just like you'd never say "I and.."

"If you want someone to read that book, tell them about it." People use this all the time, but it's still just one person you're talking about, so it would be 'tell him or her' .

You borrow something from someone, and you lend or loan people something. You don't 'borrow them' a comb or money or your car, or say 'borrow me a pencil.'. You loan the person your comb or money or car or pencil.

Here's one that sounds the same, but it's not: Should have, not should of. Should have studied better, not should of. Should have taken the clothes out of the dryer, not should of.

Starting or ending a sentence with 'So.' That word is a connector such as, I didn't study so I got a D on that test. I wanted some popcorn, so I made some. The use of 'So I was talking to Jim and he said..' is one of those peeves of mine.. It makes me wonder where the first half of the sentence went. Similarly, if you're putting 'so' at the end of a sentence, then complete it: I saw they were on sale so.., is not a completed sentence. I saw they were on sale, so I bought them.

Now you can rest assured the grammar police will leave you alone. Hopefully, they will...

More misused phrases: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/commonly-misused-words_n_4652969