You know what really grinds my gears? When people use incorrect grammar. In this day and age it’s so simple to get on a social media platform to go on an extensive rant, a compliment spree or some sort of instant messaging, and not use correct grammar. In reality, you may just be in a rush because no one has time to proofread every message before you hit the send button, right?

Wrong. That lack of caring can lead to having bad grammar elsewhere. Like on tests, which you get graded on, or a job application, which may lead your possible employer, both of those situations can end badly if you don’t use appropriate grammar. Other writers like ones from the Washington Post, TechRepublic and Harvard Business Review have all stated that they would not hire someone with bad grammar, so you might not get far in life with “you’re abilities” with incorrect grammar, as I just used.

“Grammar errors interfere with clarity,” says a writer at the Startrubiune.com in the article “Top 10 reasons you should learn to use proper grammar.” For example, “your” is used as an adjective to explain that an item owned by a person. So, if you wanted to compliment someone on their hair you would write “your hair looks nice” not “you’re hair looks nice.” If you use the latter, “you’re,” you’d be saying “you are hair looks nice,” meaning you’re changing the meaning of the entire sentence.

The simplest way to figure out which one to use is to remember that “your” is about owning something and “you’re” is a conjunction of “you” and “are.” So, if you cannot put “you are” in the place of where “you’re” is, then you should change it to the other spelling.

Another grammar confusion is which “there,” “their” or “they’re” to use. If you are referring to a place use “there” for instance, “we should go there.” The purpose of “their” is to refer to a person’s belongings although with “their” the noun is usually multiple people. “Their house is beautiful” or “their dog would not stop barking at me” are correct usages of “their.” “They’re” is a conjunction of “they” and “are” so, “they’re so nice” or “they’re going to the pool” are correct uses because you can take out the “they’re” and replace it with “they are.” All of these explanations may seem rather repetitive but they all serve the same purpose: to put those, debatably, hard to comprehend terms into everyday situations.

Many writers, not all experts, have written articles on improper grammar in the real world. An award-winning blogger for TechRepublic, Toni Bowers, wrote, “I have to admit that I think less of a person’s ability if they don’t know the correct usage of ‘they’re,’ ‘there,’ and “their’” in her article “Would you hire someone with poor grammar skills?”

She did not say whether she would or would not would hire someone if they have bad grammar in the article but, she prefers people who know proper grammar, as inferred from the statement before. She wouldn’t hire someone she thinks less of because, that wouldn’t make sense, towards bettering her company, if she had a person with better grammar that she could also hire, theoretically.

Co-founder of iFitixit, Kyle Wiens, wrote an article on his “zero tolerance approach” of correct grammar use, including humorous mockery of people who think they can get away with bad grammar online and in reality. “Yes, language is constantly changing, but that doesn’t make grammar unimportant. Good grammar is credibility, especially on the internet” wrote Wiens when discussing who he decides to hire, and those whose “applications go straight into the bin.”