Have you ever clicked “send” on an email and immediately spotted a typo? These mistakes happen to everyone, but some are more common than others. From accidentally writing “your welcome” to forgetting a comma, we all slip up from time to time.
It’s important to remember that not every email needs to sound like a legal document. A quick note to a friend or co-worker can be informal, and minor mistakes aren’t much of a worry. But a job application, professional request, or formal complaint? Those require clear language and precise grammar. When the stakes are higher, flawed grammar might affect how seriously your message is taken.
Subject-verb agreement issues are common in emails because we frequently refer to teams, departments, and groups. This rule seems simple: A singular subject takes a singular verb, and a plural subject takes a plural verb. Easy enough, right? Not so fast.
Certain sentence structures can obscure this otherwise obvious rule, especially when additional words separate the subject and verb. For example, “The list of items are attached” is incorrect. One might mistakenly pluralize “are” because of confusion caused by the plural word “items,” but the subject is actually singular: “list.” So, the correct statement is “The list of items is attached.” Similarly, “The box of files was delivered yesterday” calls for the singular verb “was.” Don’t let the plural “files” distract you from finding the main subject of the sentence: “box.”
Another common issue is the use of collective nouns, which generally take singular verbs in American English (with a few exceptions). Words such as “company,” “team,” “class,” “group,” and “committee” all require singular verbs, as in, “The team is meeting first thing in the morning.” (“The team are meeting” is incorrect.) However, there are some exceptions to this rule, including “police” and “people,” which take plural verbs, as in “People are loving the new campaign.” The best way to get these right is through familiarity and memorization.
Homophones and near-homophones — words that sound alike but have different meanings — are frequent offenders in email writing. Spell-check often won’t catch these mistakes because the words are spelled correctly, but they’re being used in the wrong context.
One of the most common mix-ups is between “your” (a possessive adjective) and “you’re” (a contraction of “you are”). Even experienced writers sometimes overlook this error, whether due to a typo or a very rushed note.
Some homophone pairs are especially relevant in professional correspondence. For instance, you might “happily accept” an invitation — you wouldn’t “except” it. “Accept” means “to receive or agree to,” while “except” means “excluding something,” as in, “Everyone has responded to the invite except Susan.”
Another commonly confused pair is “insure” (“to provide insurance coverage”) and “ensure” (“to make sure, certain, or safe”). For instance, “We need to insure the package before shipping” means the writer needs to purchase insurance coverage for the package. Conversely, “ensure” has a wider scope: “Please ensure the attachment opens correctly” or “I want to ensure we’re on the same page.”
Comma splices are very common because email writing tends to mirror speech. For example, in places where we naturally pause while talking, we tend to add commas in emails. But a comma doesn’t do the same job in writing as a pause does in speech. This grammar mistake occurs when joining two complete sentences together with a comma instead of a semicolon, conjunction, or period. While this mistake doesn’t change the meaning or intention in casual emails, it is incorrect grammar and should be avoided in formal settings.
Consider these comma splices: “I reviewed the report, it looks good,” and “Thank you for checking in, let’s chat tomorrow.” This type of writing is extremely common in casual emails, but it’s grammatically incorrect. While each half of those sentences can stand alone, in formal grammar, a comma should not hold them together. Instead, a semicolon could join them, as in, “I reviewed the report; it looks good.” You might also use a conjunction (“and,” “but,” “so,” etc.), as in, “I reviewed the report, and it looks good.”
Even better, use a period to separate the two ideas: “Thank you for checking in. Let’s chat tomorrow.” This is often the easiest and best choice.
Joint possessives aren’t as common in everyday English, but they pop up in emails more often. The guidelines for writing joint possessives say that when two people own something together, only the second name needs to show ownership. However, when they own things separately, both names need an apostrophe and “s.” This is why the ice cream brand “Ben & Jerry’s” — which refers to a single shared company — shows possession on only the name “Jerry” (not “Ben’s & Jerry’s”).
Consider this situation in an everyday office email: “Mark and Susan’s project is nearly complete.” This wording describes a single project owned by both Mark and Susan. However, if Mark and Susan submit separate reports on that project, each of their names needs an apostrophe and “s”: “I’ve attached Mark’s and Susan’s reports.”
Things can get more confusing when personal pronouns are used instead of names. For example, “John and I’s office” is incorrect; it should be “John’s and my office.” However, it’s best to avoid this construction whenever possible, as it can be confusing. Simply saying “our office” is best.
Some mix-ups aren’t about spelling — they’re about choosing the right word for the situation. In casual emails, these slipups don’t matter as much, but they can make your writing seem less polished in formal situations.
Take “good” and “well,” for instance. “Good” is an adjective that describes a noun, while “well” is typically an adverb that modifies a verb or adjective. For example, “I hope you’re doing well” is grammatically correct because “well” is acting as an adverb. Conversely, “He did a good job” is correct because “good” is describing the noun “job.”
Another often-confused pair is “fewer” and “less.” The general rule of thumb is to use “fewer” for countable items and “less” for noncountable items. You might say to your manager, “We have fewer applicants than last year,” because applicants are countable. But you might add, “And we have less time to complete interviews,” because time is more abstract. Generally speaking, if you can put a number in front of it (“three emails,” “five reports,” “two invitations”), use “fewer” and reserve “less” for abstract amounts (“time,” “money,” “energy,” etc.).
Lastly, “between” and “among” are frequent in emails, boasting similar yet distinct uses. “Between” refers to two specific people or things, while “among” refers to three or more. You might say to a colleague, “This update is between us,” which is correct grammar. You would not say, “This update is among us,” because there are only two people involved. In another correct example, you might say, “This contract is between my company and the vendor,” because both nouns are singular entities. For greater quantities, use “among,” as in, “We’re dividing the work among five departments,” or “There is a consensus among all involved parties.”
While some of these guidelines may seem tedious, following them will ensure your professional emails read as confident and polished rather than rushed and disjointed, allowing your message — not your grammar — to take center stage.
More from our network
Word Smarts is part of Inbox Studio, which publishes content that uplifts, informs, and inspires.
