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You've just put the finishing touches on your newest baby, a Web site! You're all ready to roll it out or perhaps, you've already rolled it out and posted the URL on thousands of search engines (if not, you HAVE to read one of Webreference.com's articles on this topic http://www.webreference.com/new/searchrank/.) Are you forgetting something? Is something nagging at you, but you can't put your finger on it?
Could it be that you used the wrong word? Wrong punctuation? There is nothing more annoying to us grammar freaks than Web sites that don't follow grammar rules or recommended styles.
One of the most common, and very annoying mistakes is the use of "insure" instead of "ensure" with "assure" getting involved in the brawl. Want to know how to stop making these stupid mistakes? Read on.
I am convinced the insurance industry sends subliminal messages through the use of the word "insure" because it is confused with "ensure," a commonly used word. Why is it that when we need something NOW it's not there for you? I looked all over the Web for an example of incorrect use of "insure" and couldn't find one. However, when I went to a jobs database and typed "insure" and sure enough, lots of examples came up and they were all wrong. Here's one example: "Interview applicants to insure accuracy and completeness of paperwork."
Oh now, we need to buy insurance for paperwork??? This is ridiculous! Unless you're in the insurance business, you probably should avoid using "insure."
Yes, there is another competitor for our attention and confusion. It is true that all of these words mean, "to make certain." However, "assure" is special because it's the only one that makes a reference to a person in an attempt to ease your mind. In writing this article, I assure you I am providing you with a good resource.
(It took me hours to write the admission that they're right!)
How many times have you typed the word, "which" in a sentence only to get that irritating green line under it to notify you that there's a grammar problem? Actually, in most cases, the word processor is RIGHT! It just gave me the freakin' green line when I typed "which" without a comma prior to it. "Which" usually has a comma preceding it because it is providing more information about the clause.
All the grammar experts explain that you should use "which" for non-restrictive clauses and "that" for restrictive clauses. Oh, like we remember what "non-restrictive" means. Here it is in plain English for us commoners:
This article, which is written by Meryl Two Syllables Not One, is an award winner <dream on, Meryl>. You see? I added information about this delightful article. See the comma beforehand? No green squiggly line this time.
Use "that" to identify the object in the clause. The article that Meryl wrote... in this case, if I didn't use "that Meryl..." then you would not know what article I am referencing.
I am doing my best to affect you with the effects of my article. Here, "effect" means "result" or "intent." I hope that the results of this article will get you to clean up your writing act. We use "affect" because we want to "influence you" to make a change, but it also means "to display a liking." I better stop here before I feel like I am writing a romance novel.
This article originally appeared in the Dec. 28, 2000 edition of the WebReference Update Newsletter.
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Written by Meryl Evans and
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Revised: Dec. 29, 2000
URL: http://webreference.com/new/grammar/
