OOC: Common Spelling and Grammar Mistakes

Made by user:P3a to help folks who maybe don't have English as their first language, or who otherwise want a bit of a nudge or a place to refer to.
Feel free to drop a message on the talk page if you're unsure on something mentioned here, or if you're stuck on something that isn't mentioned at all, and I'll do my best to answer it.
==Grammar==
===Main and Subordinate Clauses===
A main clause is a part of a sentence which would make sense on its own. For example:
*"Jenny went to the shops."
A simple sentence is composed of a single main clause. The above sentence is an example of a simple sentence.
A subordinate clause is a part of a sentence which doesn't make sense on its own. For example, in the following sentence:
*"After tea, Jenny went to the shops"
The clause "After tea" is the subordinate clause.
===Placement of Speech Marks and Quotation Marks===
In British English, speech marks ("...") are placed encasing the punctuation related to the clause they enclose.
*"So," said Jenny, "when are we setting off?"
When the "..." puncutation is denoting quotation marks instead of speech marks, they might be placed elsehow to emphasise what is the author's words and what belongs to the quote.
*But do these mana crystals, described by the companies who sell them as "safe", really "satisfy [one's] every need for mana without causing further addiction"?
===Commas===
A comma should only be used to separate a main and subordinate clause if the subordinate clause comes first. For example:
*"After tea, Jenny went to the shops."
versus
*"Jenny went to the shops after tea."
Another common comma mistake is comma splicing. For example:
*"Jenny went to the shops, John went to the cinema."
This sentence is incorrect. A comma should not be used to join two main clauses together. Instead, a semicolon, full stop or conjunction should be used:
*"Jenny went to the shops; John went to the cinema."
*"Jenny went to the shops. John went to the cinema."
*"Jenny went to the shops whereas John went to the cinema."
Other punctuation may be correct, but a comma is not.
Another use of a comma is to change the emphasis of a sentence. For example:
*"I hate all lollers, who are idiots."
*"I hate all lollers who are idiots."
Whilst I think resolving the ambiguity in this particular sentence could be better done (for example, "I hate all lollers because they are idiots" versus "I hate lollers who are idiots"), the difference the comma makes to the meaning is significant. The first sentence means that I hate all lollers because they are idiots, i.e. all lollers are idiots and that I hate them all. However, the second sentence means that not all lollers are idiots - and that I hate the lollers who are idiots.
Remember! Commas save lives:
"Let's eat, Grandma!"
"Let's eat Grandma!"
===Use of lists in a sentence===
A list within a sentence should be started with a colon (:). If the list is made up of single items, then they should be separated by commas. If the list is of phrases and clauses rather than single words, then use semicolons (;) to separate them rather than commas.
For example:
*John needed to buy a lot of things: fish, condiments, potatoes, vegetables, ice-cream.
*The shop had many people inside: busy women with small noisy children; a stressed shop assistant, who was cleaning up a spill in Isle 3; business men on their lunch breaks; teenage girls, who were probably skipping school, browsing the magazines and squealing over the latest celebrity.
==Spelling==
For a more exhaustive list, try this. If you prefer your spelling hints to be in a visual format, try this.
===A note on British English versus American English===
Some words are spelt differently, or parsed differently, depending on whether one is using British or American style of English.
Generally speaking, which version of English one uses depends on where one was born, what version one was taught at school, and which version one prefers. Blizzard use American English, but as Britain is within Europe, a lot of players use British English.
Neither version is correct or incorrect. However, it is good form to ensure that one's own use of English is consistent to either the British or the American version.
As a quick test:
*If "colour", "armour" and "favour" look right to you, you are using British English.
*If "color", "armor" and "favor" look right to you, you are using American English.
During this section, I will do my best to note when there are differences between British and American use/spelling of a word.
==="Their", "They're" and "There"===
Their is used to refer to something that belongs to multiple other people.
* "Their kite was stuck in a tree."
They're is short for "they are".
* "They're late for work."
There is used to refer to a place which is not here.
* "There is a cat."
* "The cat is over there."
==="To", "Two" and "Too"===
To is used as a reasoning word.
* "I needed to go to Shattrath in order to visit Khadgar."
Two refers to the number, 2.
* "There are two factions of player characters."
Too is used to indicate an excess of things.
* "There are too many blood elves."
==="You're" and "Your"===
You're is short for "you are".
* "You're annoying"
Your is used to describe something that belongs to you.
* "Your insolence tries my patience."
==="Definately"===
I cannot stress this enough. There is no "a" in "definitely".
==="Its" and "It's"===
It's is used when the word is short for "it is" or, sometimes, "it was".
* "It's a massacre!"
Its is used for something which belongs to it. There is no possessive apostrophe for this word.
* "Its paw was bleeding."
* "Its tentacle was cut off."
==="Affect" and "Effect"===
Affect is a verb.
* "She affects him quite a lot."
* "The event affected her."
Effect is a noun.
* "His effects on her are pronounced."
* "The event left lasting effects on him."
==="Alot" and "A lot"===
"Alot" is a town in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India.
"A lot" means "a large amount".
Please get them the right way around. In the words of The Oatmeal: you wouldn't say "asteak" instead of "a steak", so why say "alot" instead of "a lot"?
==="Anymore" and "Any more"===
"Any more" is British English.
"Anymore" is American English.
Therefore, one ought to endeavour to keep one's use of the two inkeeping with their use of "colour" (British) or "color" (American), alongside similar words such as "armo[u]r" and "flavo[u]r".
==="Blonde" and "Blond"===
"Blonde" is used when the subject is female i.e. a girl, woman.
"Blond" is used when the subject is male i.e. a boy, man.
It's the only gendered adjective in the English language that I'm aware of, so please use it correctly!
==="Fiancée" and "Fiancé"===
"Fiancé(e)" is a word borrowed from the French language, and is therefore gendered.
"Fiancée" is used when the subject is female i.e. a girl, woman, wife-to-be.
"Fiancé" is used when the subject is male i.e. a boy, man, husband-to-be.
==="Lose" and "Loose"===
"Lose" is a verb - as in, "to lose":
*"I might lose this game."
*"You lose!"
*"He loses at everything."
*"She loses at everything, too."
*"We lose all the time."
It is the present (and future) tense form of the word "lost". It means to suffer a loss - to fail to keep, to fail to maintain, or to cease to have.
"Loose" is an adjective - used to describe something which has the property of not being tight, not being close, or not being densely packed.
*"It is loose."
*"We are loose friends."
It also comes in verb form.
*"She loosens the top of the jar."
*"He loosened the rope."
Props to User:Menord.
==="All right", "Alright" and "Allright"===
"All right" is American English.
"Alright" is British English.
"Allright" is incorrect. Don't use it. Use one of the other two.
Props to User:Menord.
==="Centre" and "Center"===
"Centre" is British English.
"Center" is American English.
Similar rules apply to "theatre/theater" and "metre/meter".