At the risk of offending some of my peers, I want to make an observation. As a group, we tend to be horrible at written communication. Software developers are some of the worst writers I have ever read. We make sloppy mistakes, both in spelling and in grammar. Whether you write technical articles for a living, blog posts for a hobby, or pull request comments, this article is an attempt to provide some simple guidance to improve your language and your writing.

Spelling

First, use a spell checker. In today’s world, there is no excuse for spelling words incorrectly. However, if you are not careful, you can still use a correctly spelled word incorrectly. Below are some common mistakes I see often.

Alright

There is no such word, even though many spell checkers do not flag it. It is an informal form of all right.

Alot

This word does not appear in the English language. It is an informal way of saying a lot. When in doubt, consider using many.

Do not use…

There were alot of bugs in the last release.

Instead use…

There were a lot of bugs in the last release.
There were many bugs in the last release.

Cancelled/Canceled

Though technically either form is correct, in most of the English-speaking world, the proper spelling is canceled. Quite frankly, it does not matter which one you use; try to be consistent.

Irregardless

Again, there is no such word. There are two words you may wish to use instead: regardless or irrespective.

October 2020 Update!

It was brought to my attention by Team 33 Productions on Twitter that I am mistaken about this. Evidently irregardless is a word, as reported by NPR just this past summer.

That said, I concur with the following, taken from the article:

“It’s not a real word. I don’t care what the dictionary says,” responds author Michelle Ray, who teaches English in Silver Spring, Md.

I stand by my recommendation that you should not use the word.

It’s/Its

This one probably bothers me more than any other. The word it's is a contraction, meaning it is. The correct possessive form is its.

Do not use…

My cat just spent the last five minutes chasing it's tail.
Its a beautiful day outside.

Instead use…

My cat just spent the last five minutes chasing its tail.
It's a beautiful day outside.

Let’s/Lets

I see this one often. The word let's is a contraction meaning “let us.” On the other hand, lets is a verb meaning “allows.”

Do not use…

I hope the manager let's us use Ionic.
Lets try Ionic for this project.

Instead use…

I hope the manager lets us use Ionic.
Let's try Ionic for this project.

Then/Than

I think this one confuses people because we no longer use then in most programming languages for conditionals. Shell script and BASIC programmers probably do not make this mistake.

Then follows if. Than is used to compare two things.

• If this, then that.
• This is better than that.

There/their/they’re

Their defense is over there working hard to show they’re the most talented.

Whose/Who’s

Whose is possessive. “Whose pull request is this?” However, who's is a contraction meaning who is. “Who’s responsible for this new feature?”

Your/You’re

Your is possessive. You're is a contraction meaning you are. Please do not confuse the two. Whenever I see your welcome in a message, I always want to reply, my welcome what???

I imagine that this is almost always a typo, but it is worth mentioning.

Grammar

Even though you may spell words correctly, and use the correct spelling of your words, it is possible to confuse your reader by using inappropriate language, words, and grammar. This section contains the errors I see most often.

Profanity

Though it has become more acceptable in society, profanity has no place in a professional setting or in your professional writing. If you are writing a novel, or perhaps an article for Rolling Stone, swear all you like. Please do not swear in your technical tutorials, blog posts, and especially not your business emails. Profanity makes you appear neither smarter nor more mature.

Awhile/A while

I admit to being guilty of this one myself. A while refers to an indefinite amount of time. Awhile is an adverb, and will usually appear next to a verb. Also, though some people do it, do not use awhile after a preposition.

Do not use…

The code took awhile to build.
We should discuss our build process for awhile.

Instead use…

The code took a while to build.
We should discuss our build process awhile.

Imply/Infer

If you expect your reader to derive some meaning from your statement, you are implying. Your reader is inferring. Try not to reverse them.

Lead/Led

The past-tense of the verb lead is led, often confused with its homonym lead, which is a metal.

Less/Fewer

I see this error often, and the rule is pretty simple. If you can count something, use fewer. If you cannot count it, or you tend to use its singular noun form, use less.

Do not use…

This code release has less bugs than the last one.

Instead use…

This code release has fewer bugs than the last one.
This code release is less complex than the last one.

Split Infinitives

An infinitive is a verb form that is used as a noun. The word replicate is a verb. To replicate is a noun. In the sentence Docker enables teams to replicate, the verb is enables and the noun is to replicate.

Splitting an infinitive involves adding another word between the two.

Do not use…

Docker enables teams to quickly replicate their development and production environments. 

Instead use…

Docker enables teams to replicate their development and production environments quickly.

Also correct, though less common

Docker enables teams quickly to replicate their development and production environments.

Though splitting infinitives is becoming more acceptable and widespread, especially in informal writing, the use of split infinitives seems lazy.

Contractions

Some two-word phrases are commonly abbreviated into contractions (can’t, shouldn’t, we’re, they’ll, etc.). Most of us who are not Lt. Commander Data use them almost unconsciously. This is not a hard and fast rule, so much as a preference on my part. I was taught many years ago that one should avoid using contractions in professional and technical writing. Their use is considered too informal.

Do not use…

It's come to my attention that you're having questions, and don't understand why we're doing this project.

Instead use…

It has come to my attention that you are having questions, and do not understand why we are doing this project.

Summary

Like it or not, people do judge you based on your words. Sloppy writing is unprofessional. Spend some time making sure that your meaning conveys your intent.

If you made it this far, then you probably experienced at least one of two emotions:

1. Slight embarrassment that I exposed some flaw in your own writing style.
2. Annoyance at one or more of my opinions.

If you agree with me entirely and make none of these mistakes, congratulations!

If you have some favorites of your own that I have forgotten, or you believe I made any spelling or grammatical errors in this article, please let me know.

Resources

Grammerly Web Site

In addition, these two books have probably been more help to me than any other throughout my career.

Note: These are affiliate links to Amazon.com, and I could potentially receive a commission for any sales resulting from them.

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