Admittedly, the English language is difficult to master. Just ask someone who learned English as an adult. The subtle nuances and the numerous usage rules can be overwhelming. And if you think the rules are onerous, consider the exceptions. Despite this admission, we are obligated to continue trying to adapt our speech, and especially our writing, to the conventions of Standard American English (SAE) (no, we didn't make this up). For that reason, Editorial Resources has compiled this grammar assistance reference page that includes the most common grammatical errors that cause consternation and grief.

Commonly misspelled words, improper phrases, and generally ill-used grammatical constructions:

	a lot (always two words)
	all right (not "alright")
	anyway, anywhere (not "anyways" and "anywheres")
	can/may (can = ability; may = permission)
	cannot (always one word)
	different from (not different than)
	English (always capitalized)
	it's = it is
	its = it possesses something
	receive (i before e, except after c)
	their = they possess something
	there = not here
	they're = they are contraction
	to = preposition relative to direction
	too = also
	two = number after 1
	unique = one of a kind (cannot thus have something that is "very unique")

Please contact one of our editors if you have other specific questions relative to grammar correction. We are dedicated to offering writing assistance that allows us to save the world one apostrophe at a time.

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