GrammarPhile Blog

Many ProofreadNOW.com customers are former do-it-yourselfers, commonly citing at least one of the following reasons for not outsourcing their proofreading:

• We save money by doing it in-house. Outsourcing is way too expensive.
• We can turn documents around much more quickly in-house without wasting time waiting to get proofread documents back from an agency.
• Our style/subject matter/process is complicated. We need to keep our documents in-house for quality control, because no outside editor/proofreader could conform to our standards.

These days, businesses can flourish or fail based on websites alone.

Your website encapsulates your world. If a potential customer wants to understand who you are and what you offer, he or she will likely visit your website to find out.

For that reason, glaring errors on your website are not peripheral issues—they are right hooks to the body of your brand. If the first impression you give is “weclome” on your home screen, you’re not exactly proving how precise and trustworthy your work is.

Although few people compare with the likes of, say, George W. Bush in creative applications of the English language, most of us have at one time or another used the wrong word in writing or speaking. Following are five misused word pairs we’ve seen in recent months at ProofreadNOW.com.

I’ve had a love affair with words and grammar pretty much my entire life. Math? Not so much. It’s useful, yes. Important too. But having to apply it is like going to the dentist — something I need to do even if I’m less than thrilled about it. So it’s with the greater good in mind that I tackle the use of percent, percentage, percentage points and related questions. You’re welcome.

Percent vs. Percentage

Although some sources (the mercurial Merriam-Webster’s being one of them) suggest that percent and percentage are interchangeable, the more traditional approach is to use percent with a number and percentage with no number:

A surprisingly high percentage of college freshmen drop out.

More than 25 percent of college freshmen drop out.

No style guide that we know of supports using numerals with percentage. For that reason, the following construction is incorrect:

The percentage of college freshmen who drop out is higher than 25.

You’d either need to add “percent” at the end of the sentence or rewrite to avoid using “percentage/percent” in the same sentence. The latter approach is preferable but not always possible, as in sports stories. For example:

Tater and Tot had the highest field goal percentages for the night, shooting 63 and 68 percent, respectively.

Percent vs. Percentage Points

Consider this sentence: Ask your friend if they want to join us for dinner.

If you’re among those who would automatically change they want to he or she wants, you’re about to shudder (or perhaps become apoplectic). Last week, the American Dialect Society (ADS) announced that singular they is its Word of the Year for 2015.

Never mind that singular they is already common in American speech … or that Shakespeare and Jane Austen regularly used it … or that last year the Washington Post style guide officially adopted this aberration. You know in your heart of hearts that it’s just plain wrong.

After overindulging during the holidays, many of us resolve in the new year to eat less and exercise more in order to lose weight and get more fit. The resulting healthy glow comes from feeling more energized, motivated and confident. Imagine imbuing your writing with the same kind of energy! Eliminating the bloat can make your writing come alive and practically jump off the page to draw readers in.  

A new year is upon us, and with it comes the answer to that burning question that invariably crops up around this time: Is it New Years Day, New Year’s Day or New Years’ Day? It’s New Year’s Day, but attempts to explain why can generate even more questions.

“On Dasher, On Dancer …” Dashing through the snow. Dashing to the store to buy that last-minute gift. Adding a dash of nutmeg to the eggnog. Wearing a dashing get-up for the holiday party. December is downright dashing. Guess what today’s post is about?

Be glad you’re not my kid. At 13, he’s already had to endure years of unsolicited lessons on proper grammar, usage, syntax and vocabulary, not unlike one several months ago that started like this, when literally was his word du jour:

Him: It’s literally raining cats and dogs right now.

Me (looking out the window): By golly, you’re right! I just saw a pug, two terriers and a tabby bounce and roll on the pavement.

At least he grinned. Humor works so much better than reminding him of the difference between literally and figuratively for the 86th time, which tends to elicit the eye roll he’s come to perfect. Similarly, I’ve found giving him a certain look is worth at least, oh, 30 words: