12 unforgivable writing mistakes

Though the casual tone of blogging has allowed us to be less formal with the written word, it doesn’t mean we can simply ignore the fundamental rules of writing and grammar. The occasional typo can be brushed off as an innocent oversight, but there are some writing errors that are just plain unforgivable.

These blunders can ruin your credibility as a writer.

1. Fewer versus less

Use fewer when referring to things that can be counted. For example, “She ate fewer cupcakes tonight than she did last night.” Use less when referring to volumes or to things that cannot be counted: “The cupcakes had less frosting yesterday.”

2. Affect versus effect

Although affect and effect can each be used as either a noun or a verb, the more common usages are affect as a verb and effect as a noun. In the example above, the effect is the result of the services. In the sentence, “Our services can affect how customers see your business,” affect is to produce an effect upon, or to influence.

3. Pronoun/antecedent disagreement