With all the writing people are expected to do in an average business day, it’s no wonder grammatical errors slip through the cracks. Unfortunately, these issues can create misunderstandings or make you look bad.

Fortunately, you don’t have to go back to school or read long grammar tomes to avoid the five most common mistakes.

Is it so:
1. confuse possessives and contractions, as in “its” and “it’s”
2. mix other words that sound similar, like “then” and “that”
3. use “I” or “myself” when you should use “I”
4. the difference between “that”, “which” and “who”
5. “he/she/it/they” and the words that go with them.

1. possessives and contractions
is and is
you and you are
they and they are

If you’re writing the possessive form of “it,” “you,” or “they,” never insert an apostrophe, a punctuation mark that should always be approached with extreme caution. Furthermore, remember that there is no such word as “your”.

Alternatively, ask yourself if you could say “is”, “you are” or “they are”. If you could, add the apostrophe.

2. Other similar sounds
If you’re not sure, Google “same names” and check one of the many lists available online. You’ll soon remember the words you commonly confuse, and you’ll have to review them less often.

3. Me, myself and I
Use “myself” only when referring to something you did yourself, as in “I did it myself.”

Write “I” in the subject line of the award only. So “David and I walked to school” is correct. “The dog followed David and me” is not.

Otherwise, it is “I”.

4. That, which, who
My “it” tip is actually about editing, not grammar, but I’m sneaking it in because it’s so easy. When reviewing your writing, see how many “it”s can be removed without underlining their meaning.

Use “which” instead of “that” when you can say “which”. Or think about “which witch is which”.

Write “who” instead of “it” when referring to people, not objects.

5. He/she/it/they and the words that accompany them

You can use “them” to refer to a general singular term, as in “The team won the award because they are very good at customer service,” because everyone knows that “the team” refers to more than one person. This used to be against the rules, but is gaining acceptance.

If you’re writing for people who are picky about grammar, make “the team” plural, as in “The team members won because…” Although you could refer to the team as “it,” that’s dehumanizing.

Turning a singular into a plural also allows you to drop the awkward “he or she.”

quick review
*With the possessive form of “it”, “you”, or “they”, never add an apostrophe. If you can say “is”, “you are” or “they are”, use the apostrophe.
* If you’re not sure of other possible words with similar sounds, Google “homonyms” for a list and check it out.
* Use “myself” only when referring to something you did yourself. Use “I” only in the subject of the award. Otherwise, it is “I”.
*Remove the word “it” from your writing, as long as this does not make it more difficult to understand.
*Use “which” instead of “that” when you can say “which witch is which”.
*Write “who” instead of “it” when referring to people, not objects.
*To avoid the awkward “he or she”, make your subject plural, for example by changing “the team” to “the team members”. You can also refer to general singulars like “team” as “they,” as long as you’re not writing for sticklers on grammar.

Although there are many other possible mistakes you can make, these are the most common. The solutions are simple.

Avoid the big grammatical pitfalls and you’ll see an immediate improvement in people’s understanding and respect.