The 5 Grammar Rules Even Good Writers Get Wrong

I have been writing professionally for over a decade and I still catch myself making the same five mistakes that trip up nearly every writer I know. These are not the grammar errors that bad writers make. These are the ones that good writers get wrong because the rules are genuinely confusing and inconsistently taught. Let me walk through each one with the tricks that finally made them stick for me. 1. Who vs Whom This one shows up constantly in professional writing and it is easier than you think once you know the substitution trick. Replace the who/whom with he or him. If "he" sounds right, use "who." If "him" sounds right, use "whom." The m in him matches the m in whom. "Who wrote this report?" becomes "He wrote this report." That works, so "who" is correct. "To whom should I send this?" becomes "To him should I send this." Sounds right, so "whom" is correct. The New York Times got this wrong in a 2019 headline: "The candidate who voters chose." It should have been "whom." Voters ch