I said I would not be posting anything on this blog because I've gotten into trouble with it several times now.

 But, this warrants everyone's attention.

 I am not an English teacher by any means, but there are a few errors a LOT of people make in their writing...and I'm sure you've seen these before.  Of course, these errors are committed not just here in WA, but everywhere.

 I'm not trying to shake a stick at the small stuff here, but errors like these make otherwise great writers look dumb.  Many people could care less, but when this involves writing articles, sales copy, reviews, even blogs and forums where you could get away with these more readily, it can have some impact on sales.

Whilst most people do not even notice, some have pet peeves when they come across instances like these.

This morning I found all of these errors in one sitting.  Usually that's not the case, but it was here.  I won't disclose who wrote it nor what kind of writing it was...it's all immaterial and this is not a finger-pointing session.

There/Their/They're

The first two homonyms are the ones that get interchanged the most of the three.  Very occasionally I see the third booted out of a context and replaced with one of the other two.

There  (Adjective) The basic meaning is "At or in that place."  There are more meanings to it, but they all are related to place.

Their (pronoun) Something that belongs to them.  It's the possessive form of "they."  Modifies the noun it is associated with.

They're Contraction of "They are."

They're going there to pick up their belongings.

Its/It's

This error is extremely common.  When do you use the apostrophe? I'm sure most people know this, but our fingers do not always cooperate at the keyboard.  I believe, for most people, this is a typographical error more than anything else.  It's just a matter of proofreading and watching for this one.

Its The possessive of "it." Modifies the noun it is associated with.

It's Contraction of "It is."

It's all in its place.

You/Your/You're

I strongly believe people attempt to type "your" but it comes out "you."  I've done this myself many times knowing the difference between them.  More than anything else, this is a common typographical error than it is the wrong choice of words.  Of course, spell-checkers do not find these errors.

You Referring to the person(s) being addressed.

Your Possessive form of "you."  Modifies the noun it is associated with.

You're Contraction of "you are."

You should bring your coat if you're going up there.

Please note that this post is in no way meant to be condescending or libelous.  It does not point to anyone in particular.  I realize I write things in such a way sometimes that may not be very strategic or diplomatic. I assure you this, and my other writings are written completely in the spirit of helping.  These are very common errors and I see them every day.  I know I'm not the only one to have addressed this, but it doesn't hurt to put up a reminder like this.

Other people see these errors too...and it's just another reason for them to click away if they find too many of these errors in your writing. I realize it is very easy to make these errors. For all I know, I do it myself in some way every day...but I do watch for them.