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Grammar and spelling - a refresher

By
Real Estate Agent with Buyer's Choice Realty

You know who you are. You know you need to read this, because your posts will be around forever (theoretically), and you don't want people thinking you are a numbskull, do you?

I have only written one post before now that is not related to real estate, but I'm fed up. This is not comprehensive, but should help some, and it will certainly make me feel better.

The first thing you can do is simply press the spell check button. You know, the little thingy with ABC and a checkmark? Real simple - just click it before you publish your post. No one cares if you are a bad speller, unless you refuse to utilize tools available to you. Then we, the ever-diminishing fans of the English language, have no choice but to judge you. Even if you hate the language and love to text "i <3 u" to your boo, think about the rest of us when publishing online content.

Still here? Ok, let's get to learning.

you/your/you're

you - not me. correct usage - I enjoyed seeing you today. incorrect usage - Send me you offer and we can put a deal together.

your - belonging to, sometimes denoting ownership. correct usage - Your house is beautiful. incorrect usage - Your looking great today.

you're - a contraction of you are. correct usage - You're looking great today. incorrect usage - You're house is beautiful.

there/their/they're

there - not here. correct usage - I think this chair would look better over there. incorrect usage - I think it was there fault.

their - pluralized version of your (see above). correct usage - Their offer was too low. incorrect usage - I think this chair would look better over their.

they're - a contraction of they are. correct usage - It's not our fault; they're to blame. incorrect usage - They're offer was too low.

apostrophes

Not every word that ends with 's' needs an apostrophe. This is a tough one for many folks. An apostrophe can also denote ownership. For example, my cafe would be Morrison's Cafe. My family as a whole would be the Morrisons.

words ending in 'ed'

If you are using words in the past tense, it is a safe bet that they will end with 'ed'. Even some words that are in the present tense end with this suffix. For example, if you must do something, you are supposed to do it, not suppose.

These are just a few items that are pet peeves of mine. Most of us strive to be professionals and want to be known as such. Our writing, especially in this era of weblogs and online networking, needs to live up to professional standards. Thanks for reading, and i thnk ur gr8 2. Oh, by the way, when you misplace something, you lose it. When you free a caged animal, you loose it.

On a separate note, WHEN YOU TYPE IN ALL CAPS, IT MEANS YOU'RE YELLING!!! KNOCK IT OFF ALREADY.

Patrick Randles
Nova Home Loans - Tucson, AZ

Someone needed to make this post. I started to type one on MLS spelling errors. I found some grammatical errors that were pretty bad as well. I decided not to post it because I thought it was too negative. It needed to be said.

Sep 13, 2008 02:10 PM
John Morrison
Buyer's Choice Realty - Ipswich, MA
Exclusive Buyernulls Agent, CBR - Boston Area Real Estate

Tim, clearly they bother you. Titles are a completely subjective thing. That's part of the brilliance of publishing your own material. I personally dislike caps, which coincidentally has nothing to do with grammar or spelling, the subjects in this post.  You are right about our language - I forgot to capitalize English, so I just fixed it. As for 'real simple', it is correct. Real in this case is used as an adverb meaning very, really, ever so. For the record, I never referred to myself as the grammar police. I simply found a .gif that worked for this post.

Sep 13, 2008 02:20 PM
Robert Kerr
Kerr Financial - Warwick, RI

Superb post!  One of my pet peeves.

Another common one: "must of" instead of "must have."  cringe.

 

Sep 13, 2008 02:28 PM
John Morrison
Buyer's Choice Realty - Ipswich, MA
Exclusive Buyernulls Agent, CBR - Boston Area Real Estate

Thanks everyone for reading and responding to my post. I'm surprised to get so much feedback, and find it amazing to know others actually read what I write once in a while.

Sep 13, 2008 02:30 PM
Kathleen Lordbock
Keller Williams Realty Professionals - Baxter, MN
Keller Williams Realty Professionals

it, its, it's, its'    tough to remember them all

Sep 13, 2008 02:37 PM
Terri Visser
Desert Sky Real Estate, LLC - Redmond, OR
CRS - 12 Years Selling Central Oregon Real Estate

Spell check is great, but doesn't always solve the grammar issue.  A word can be spelled right but still be used incorrectly.  I sometimes suffer the effects of this one...it happens to the best of us.

Sep 13, 2008 03:00 PM
Lanre-"THE REAL ESTATE FARMER" Folayan
Samson Properties - Bowie, MD
I don't make promises.I deliver results.SOLD HOMES

You're right. I am not a English Major myself,I will definitely admit that. But I usually don't check my spellings as I am typing what I am going to put on my post. But some people just don't check what they type before they hit the submit button. This is a great featured post.

Sep 13, 2008 03:19 PM
Bob Haywood
McGraw Realtors - Owasso, OK
BobHaywood.com

You didn't cover the "to" and "too" usages!

Sep 13, 2008 03:28 PM
Stacey Pierce
Licensed Real Estate Salesperson - Manhattan, NY

I just don't read it if i can't understand it. Maybe English is the second language for some of the people making the errors. I don't know . I don't let it bother me too much but it is rather annoying. I work with people who write ads that are horrific but they get calls from them. That I will never understand. I hope the people that make these errors read this post and work diligently towards change.

Stacey~

Sep 13, 2008 03:33 PM
Debbie Small
Long & Foster Realtors - Martinsburg, WV
REALTOR

Don't spoil it for me! I enjoy reading my competitor's grammatically incorrect and misspelled posts. All kidding aside, great post and couldn't agree with you more.

Sep 13, 2008 03:39 PM
Wayne and Lynda Gomillion
Real Living Hagan Realtors | Pinehurst ~ Southern Pines, NC - Pinehurst, NC

Thank you for having the courage to post what many of us will only think!

Sep 13, 2008 03:58 PM
Jason Crouch
Austin Texas Homes, LLC - Austin, TX
Broker - Austin Texas Real Estate (512-796-7653)

Great minds think alike.  I found this one just now.  :)

Sep 13, 2008 05:36 PM
Erik Hitzelberger
RE/MAX Alliance - Louisville REALTOR-Luxury Homes - Louisville, KY
Louisville - Middletown Real Estate

Great post.  I agree with Lane on the sell/sale.  I cringe every time I see, "Let me help you sale your house."  Unbelievably, I see some form of this often.

Sep 13, 2008 05:36 PM
Christine Donovan
Donovan Blatt Realty - Costa Mesa, CA
Broker/Attorney 714-319-9751 DRE01267479 - Costa M

It looks like you and Jason are on the same page today with grammar rants.  My 4 year old son hates what he calls "funny words", those verbs that have irregular conjugations.  He'd like them all to be normal so that Mom will quit correcting him.

Sep 13, 2008 06:10 PM
Anna Little
Greater Atlantic Shores Properties at Atlantic Shores Cooperative - Virginia Beach, VA

I love when people say what I am thinking!  It saves me the time to write it myself.  The confusion about the use of the words blog and post is common here, I read an entire POST about it the other day!  

Sep 14, 2008 02:24 AM
Bill Gillhespy
16 Sunview Blvd - Fort Myers Beach, FL
Fort Myers Beach Realtor, Fort Myers Beach Agent - Homes & Condos

Hi John,  With all these comments why are there so many horrible examples here in the 'Rain and in our MLS systems arounf the country ?  Good job !

Sep 14, 2008 02:35 AM
Joan Whitebook
BHG The Masiello Group - Nashua, NH
Consumer Focused Real Estate Services

Thanks for the reminder -- at the very least one can use the spell check on AR.  As for grammar, you may have to patrol the posts!

Sep 14, 2008 03:20 AM
Kristin Moran
Owner - RE/MAX Access - KristinMoran@Remax.net - San Antonio, TX
San Antonio,TX - Real Estate - 210-313-7397

Hi John - Good reminders, thanks.  Seems some of us DO need to go back & learn proper grammer & spelling.  I don't claim to know the proper way by any means.  I just do what feels right which is probably wrong! :). KM

Sep 14, 2008 03:25 AM
Anne Marie Malf
Malfi Marketing Solutions ~ for real estate professionals - Yardley, PA
Real Estate Marketing Consultant/Virtual Asst, Bucks County,PA

Hi John, thanks for the great reminders.  I do try to use the spell check features whether on AR, word, etc. but sometimes words are missed.  I also try to read it again before I hit the enter or submit button - the last thing I want is someone thinking this girl can't communicate although I do try to write from the heart and with my own style. ~Anne Marie

Sep 14, 2008 04:08 AM
William Collins
ERA Queen City Realty - Scotch Plains, NJ
Property and Asset Management

John,

Thanks for the post. Really scary that we need to have this type of post. However, reading blogs here and there, I can attest to the need.

Sep 14, 2008 03:01 PM