As an intern here at LifeTips, I get to spend a lot of time aimlessly surfing the internet, solving crossword puzzles and playing Tetris. But occasionally the Editorial Team puts me to work editing various tips and books. Although we have many amazing Gurus and writers, there are a plethora (or as we like to say here at LifeTips, a crapload) of ways you can improve your writing. 

Be on the lookout for these common grammatical mistakes: 

1.      Although they sound the same, you’re and your are quite different on paper.

• You’re is a combination of the words you and are.  For example, if you write “You’re the most beautiful person I have ever seen,” not only will you brighten someone’s day, but you’ll also get that warm, fuzzy feeling of knowing you’re grammatically correct at the same time. 
• Your is the possessive form of you. It is used to refer to something that belongs to someone else. Ex. “Your feet smell worse than mine!”  

2.     A lot is two words!  A lot is two words! A lot is two words! Get it? Good. 

3.      Forget everything you know about possessives for a minute. What a load off your mind, right?  Although you might be used to adding an apostrophe and the letter “s” to a word to make it possessive (i.e. Batman’s car), that logic doesn’t apply to its and it’s. 

•   Its is the possessive for it. Ex. Make sure to give the dog its bubble bath.
• It’s is a contraction for it is or it has, NOT the possessive form for it. Ex. It’s (It is) imperative that you learn the difference between it’s and its.  
   

4.      They’re vs. There vs. Their

• They’re is a contraction of they and are. Ex. I’m glad they’re so nice to the interns at LifeTips
• There is used to refer to a place, either literal or figurative. Ex. There is a gnome living in the forest over there. 
• Their is the possessive for something that belongs to a group of people. Ex. Yesterday, all my friends had their teeth whitened.      

Keep this list handy. You will cut back on grammatical mistakes and allow me to spend more time figuring out the daily Sudoku and less time editing submissions.