by Jens Petersen
If you need to brush up on your English, there’s an easy and painless way to start. Here are four common errors I encounter when editing books. Study them well and check them in your own work.
1. your you're
“your” is a possessive adjective like my, her, his, our, etc., for example, write “Here is your book.”
“you're” is a contraction of “you are”, for example, “You're welcome” really means “You are welcome.”
Remember: “Your writing will improve if you’re careful about this.”
2. peak peek pique
“peak” can be a noun, referring to “a high point”. It can also be used as a verb meaning “to reach a high point” or an adjective meaning “excellent”.
Write “He is at the peak of his career.” “That mountain has a high peak.”
“peek” can be a noun meaning “a quick look” or a verb meaning “to take a quick look.”
Write “Take a peek at my website.” “Close your eyes; don't peek.”
“pique” is a verb meaning “to arouse or stimulate”.
Write “Her speech piqued my interest.”
3. off of, could of
The preposition “of” is often misused.
In the phrase “off of”, the word “of” is redundant.
Write “He jumped off the pier.” NOT “He jumped off of the pier.”
“could of” should be “could've” or “could have”. In speech the “ve” in “could've” sounds like “of”—hence the misspelling.
Write “I could've come to the party.” NOT “I could of come to the party.”
4. lie lay
To use these verbs properly, you must first memorize their principal parts.
lay laid laid
The action of this verb always acts on some other object. There is always an answer to the question “Laid what?”—it's a transitive verb.
“He lays [what?] the book on the table.”
“He laid [what?] the book on the table yesterday.”
“He had laid [what?] the book on the table before you came in.”
In these examples, the book is the object acted upon.
lie lay lain
The action of this verb does not act on some other object. You cannot “lie” something. The verb is intransitive.
“He lies on the bed.”
“He lay on the bed yesterday.”
“He has lain on the bed for several hours.”
The tricky bit with these verbs is that the present tense of the first verb (to lay) is the same as the simple past of the second verb (to lie).
Write “He lay down on the bed yesterday.” NOT “He laid down on the bed yesterday.”
Write “Why don't you lie down on the bed.” NOT “Why don't you lay down on the bed.”
If you need to brush up on your English, there’s an easy and painless way to start. Here are four common errors I encounter when editing books. Study them well and check them in your own work.
1. your you're
“your” is a possessive adjective like my, her, his, our, etc., for example, write “Here is your book.”
“you're” is a contraction of “you are”, for example, “You're welcome” really means “You are welcome.”
Remember: “Your writing will improve if you’re careful about this.”
2. peak peek pique
“peak” can be a noun, referring to “a high point”. It can also be used as a verb meaning “to reach a high point” or an adjective meaning “excellent”.
Write “He is at the peak of his career.” “That mountain has a high peak.”
“peek” can be a noun meaning “a quick look” or a verb meaning “to take a quick look.”
Write “Take a peek at my website.” “Close your eyes; don't peek.”
“pique” is a verb meaning “to arouse or stimulate”.
Write “Her speech piqued my interest.”
3. off of, could of
The preposition “of” is often misused.
In the phrase “off of”, the word “of” is redundant.
Write “He jumped off the pier.” NOT “He jumped off of the pier.”
“could of” should be “could've” or “could have”. In speech the “ve” in “could've” sounds like “of”—hence the misspelling.
Write “I could've come to the party.” NOT “I could of come to the party.”
4. lie lay
To use these verbs properly, you must first memorize their principal parts.
lay laid laid
The action of this verb always acts on some other object. There is always an answer to the question “Laid what?”—it's a transitive verb.
“He lays [what?] the book on the table.”
“He laid [what?] the book on the table yesterday.”
“He had laid [what?] the book on the table before you came in.”
In these examples, the book is the object acted upon.
lie lay lain
The action of this verb does not act on some other object. You cannot “lie” something. The verb is intransitive.
“He lies on the bed.”
“He lay on the bed yesterday.”
“He has lain on the bed for several hours.”
The tricky bit with these verbs is that the present tense of the first verb (to lay) is the same as the simple past of the second verb (to lie).
Write “He lay down on the bed yesterday.” NOT “He laid down on the bed yesterday.”
Write “Why don't you lie down on the bed.” NOT “Why don't you lay down on the bed.”
Jens Petersen is an editor with a wide range of clients. He primarily edits books. For more information, check his LinkedIn profile at
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/jens-petersen/21/58a/791
He can be reached at PetersenEditing@yahoo.ca
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