Have you ever heard of Hartman's Law of Prescriptivist Retaliation?
It's kind of a mouthful, but the tenet basically says that when you write about punctuation or grammar, there's a good chance you'll make an error in your
punctuation or grammar.
Most of us have been shamed for making writing mistakes. (Can we all just agree to stop calling each other out?) To ensure any grammar mistakes you make
are simply typos and not signs you're ignorant of the rules, take a look at this infographic from
ShortStack. It lists 16 common word mix-ups that people commit.
Study this graphic to get a handle on i.e. vs. e.g., who vs. whom, and that vs. which.
Here are a couple of the tips you'll find:
I.e. and e.g.
"I.e." is an abbreviation for "id est," which means "that is." A good memory trick is to think of "in essence" when you see "i.e."
"E.g." is abbreviation for "exempli gratia," which means "for example."
Who and whom
"Who" refers to the subject of a clause. "Whom" refers to the object of a clause.
To make sure you picked the right word, replace it with "him/her" or "he/she." If "him/her" makes sense, use "whom." If "he/she" makes sense, use "who."
[RELATED: Get advanced writing and editing tips from Mark Ragan and Jim Ylisela.]
Check out the graphic:
(View a larger image.
Kristin Piombino is associate editor of Ragan.com.