As an editor, college student, employee, and a fairly average citizen of Planet Earth, I receive millions of messages, emails, memos, letters, advertisements, texts, etc. every single day. With the significant technological advancements we have witnessed and will continue to witness throughout the coming decades, millions of people have opinions that they want shared.

I am sorry if it sounds harsh, but the reality is that if dumb mistakes and misuses continue to be made, the ability of the intended audience to take your message seriously will decline. I am already hyper-bothered by grammar errors, spelling errors, etc. The following typos represent fairly basic grammatical and syntactical concepts but are some of the more common mistakes I see made on a daily basis.

1. Two, Too, and To

This one is especially annoying considering we all learned about homonyms very early on in our educational careers.

Two - indicating the number (Two donkeys)

Too - used to indicate an excess of something (too many dogs—said nobody ever)

To - indicating direction or destination (I drove to the store, I gave the box to Andrew)

2. Apart and A part

For whatever reason I hear this one very frequently. The two again sound similar but mean very different things.

Apart - separate, as in, (Suzy tore the papers apart)

A part - indicating when a person contributes to something or plays a role in something (Sally was a part of our team for over 15 years)

3. Who and Whom

If I were to ask you about your date to the party, I would say “With whom are you going to the dance” rather than “Who are you going to the dance with?”

4. You're and Your

Ah, you’re and your. Perhaps the most common misuse of words I see, you’re and your have been confounding the masses for centuries.

You’re - Indicating a contraction of the phrase “you are” (You're welcome)

Your - Indicating possession or ownership (Your ice cream cone, your shoes)

5. Ending a sentence in a preposition

This one drives me up the wall. Eight times out of ten, your gut feeling that tells you if a phrase or word “sounds right” is going to be correct. So honestly I don’t have another explanation for why this is a typo other than it just sounds wrong.

It is always “Where are the cookies?”, NEVER “Where are the cookies at?”

6. Then and Than

Another set of homonyms, “then" and "than" continue to stump thousands.

Then - Indicating a time at which something occurred, sometimes playing a transitional role in a story. (Were you working at Lowe’s then?” or “First they formed a fellowship, then they embarked on an incredible journey to destroy a ring.”

Than - Indicating something is greater or less. Generally used for comparative purposes. ("My workout playlist has more ACDC than yours" or "Her Rachel-from-"F.R.I.E.N.D.S" haircut is even worse than yours was.")

7. Is and Are

This one is another one that just sounds wrong.

Are addresses "you" or or a group of things, whereas "is" indicates a singular subject.

"The dogs are going to the park", NEVER, "The dogs is going to the park tomorrow"

8. Their, There, and They're

For the love of God, people.

Their - Possessive. "Their shorts," "their shoes," "their dates"

There - Location. "She is over there," "He sleeps there?

They're - Contraction for "They are." "They're going to the store," "Where are Grace and Marisa? They're probably eating burgers."

9. That and Who

That represents a non-human object whereas who will always indicate a specific person or group.

"The boy who threw the ball," NOT "The boy that threw the ball"

"The bird that Dad hit with the car," NOT "The bird who Dad hit with the car"

Ah, typos. If we aren't careful, we can completely change the meaning of our message. Hopefully this article has been at least slightly educational. As we enter the professional world or the serious dating/marriage world, we will be aiming to impress hundreds of people throughout the next few years of our lives. Let's make an effort to sound as professional and prepared as we can. Using correct grammar and watching carefully to avoid making dumb (yet totally common) mistakes will help to set us on the track for success. Now go forth, prosper, and remember to use spell check.