As an editor, I see common grammar mistakes all the time. Blog posts tend to be an area where mistakes crop up frequently. Many bloggers view their blog as a conversation with their readers; thus, blog posts are often written in a more casual, conversational tone than articles or other types of writing. Some bloggers even write like they are speaking directly to their readers. That writing style can work, if done well. But simple mistakes can make a blogger come off as sloppy rather than personable.
There are many words and phrases used in everyday conversation that people get wrong in writing. As with many common grammar mistakes, misspelling these phrases often comes down to simple confusion over things that sound similar. The two phrases that I see misspelled most frequently are “for all intents and purposes” and “voila.”
People often write “for all intensive purposes” instead of “for all intents and purposes.” But while “intensive” refers to a level of intensity, what the “intents” in the actual phrase refer to are reasons and motivations. The correct phrase is actually redundant, with “intents” and “purposes” meaning similar things.
Poor “voila” frequently gets spelled roughly as it sounds: “walla.” There is a lovely college town in Eastern Washington called Walla Walla, but it has nothing to do with the phrase “voila,” which has a French phrase meaning “there it is” as its origins.
Bloggers can make a conversational tone work to their advantage, but only if they are able to maintain credibility. All blog posts should be proofread carefully for common grammar mistakes such as these before publishing. What the ears might not catch in conversation the eyes will catch upon reading.
