What are examples of grammar "mistakes" you make on purpose?
What are some examples of technically incorrect grammar you'll use in your copy? I can't remember which copywriting guru I first heard talk about this, but I was always skeptical of this concept until I started to study grammar in depth. Now I can see many situations where breaking grammar rules would serve the copy. A couple that I can think of off the top of my head are the use of gender-neutral pronouns and the use of persons/people.
I think we all agree that using gender-neutral pronouns is important, but there is one grammar no-no with regards to this that I think is usually preferable to proper grammar. A lot of style guides say that using "their" as a singular pronoun is incorrect and that a sentence should be rewritten to avoid doing this.
So this sentence is considered incorrect: "A good coach takes their job very seriously." A sentence like this is supposed to be rewritten, but a lot of times the rewritten sentence is clunky or sounds too formal. We want our copy to be a greased slide and a clunky, but grammatically correct, sentence can put a stop on that slide.
Another example is the grammar rules regarding the words "persons" and "people." "Persons" is supposed to be used instead of "people" for small and exact numbers. I'll never use "persons." It's too stilted IMO. Which sentence makes for a more slippery slide? Forty-seven persons attended last year. Forty-seven people attended last year. The fist sentence will lead to a slight hesitation for most people IMO.
So what do you guys think? What are your thoughts on breaking certain grammar rules in your copy?
I think we all agree that using gender-neutral pronouns is important, but there is one grammar no-no with regards to this that I think is usually preferable to proper grammar. A lot of style guides say that using "their" as a singular pronoun is incorrect and that a sentence should be rewritten to avoid doing this.
So this sentence is considered incorrect: "A good coach takes their job very seriously." A sentence like this is supposed to be rewritten, but a lot of times the rewritten sentence is clunky or sounds too formal. We want our copy to be a greased slide and a clunky, but grammatically correct, sentence can put a stop on that slide.
Another example is the grammar rules regarding the words "persons" and "people." "Persons" is supposed to be used instead of "people" for small and exact numbers. I'll never use "persons." It's too stilted IMO. Which sentence makes for a more slippery slide? Forty-seven persons attended last year. Forty-seven people attended last year. The fist sentence will lead to a slight hesitation for most people IMO.
So what do you guys think? What are your thoughts on breaking certain grammar rules in your copy?
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