Common typing and spelling mistakes

You can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs. Wherever there’s a lot of writing, typos are bound to happen. Most of the time, these are careless mistakes that occur in the rush to get things done quickly. Sometimes texts need to be produced in a hurry. Sometimes it’s a consistent misuse that has persisted for years. Today’s post takes a look at the most common spelling and grammar mistakes. You’ll get tips on how to easily avoid them in future.

1 | Dass/das – 2 potential errors in one

That pesky sharp ‘S’ has not only driven schoolchildren to the brink of despair, but even seasoned copywriters often stumble over it. First of all, it should be noted that since the last spelling reform of the German language in 1996, ‘daß’ has become ‘dass’. But what does this mean in terms of usage? When should one use ‘dass’ and when ‘das’?

The word ‘das’ is, at its very core, an article:

• The paper used for printing.
• The printed product we have ordered for our customer.

druck.at tip: Whenever you can use ‘jenes’, ‘welches’ or ‘dieses’, you write ‘das’. Or, to put it in terms of the popular mnemonic:

The ‘s’ in ‘das’ – it stands alone – fits with ‘dieses’, ‘jenes’ and ‘welches’ without any changes.

The word ‘dass’ is what is known as a conjunction. It introduces or links subordinate clauses.

• It is the customer’s request that we use this paper.

Incidentally, anyone wishing to delve deeper into the wonderful world of the ‘s-rules’ is referred here to the Duden Recommended.

2 | Hyphen versus en dash

Let’s take a look at the hyphens we encounter in the German language. A common mistake is to use the hyphen or the en dash incorrectly.

The hyphen is used, amongst other things, in the following examples:

The Dash is used, amongst other things, for the following purposes:

You can type a dash using the following keyboard shortcuts

Mac: [Option] + [-]
Windows: [Ctrl] + [-] 

3 | The correct use of spaces

There are always moments during proofreading when you inevitably come across incorrect use of spaces.

Abbreviations

Let’s take a A good example of ‘e.g.’: This abbreviation is often written as ‘e.g.’. However, this variant is incorrect. Why is that? It is because, if written out in full, the two words would not be joined together: ‘for example’.

Note: Each abbreviation must be treated as a word in its own right, which is why the space is necessary.

Icons

Spaces are often omitted before symbols.

The typography specialists amongst our readers are probably going to cry out in protest right now. Why? Strictly speaking, one would need to use the so-called relative unit of measurement known as the ‘Geviert’ here. Publishing software such as Adobe InDesign offers every facility to delve deeply into this subject and implement this unit of measurement. Essentially, it is about creating the perfect spacing between characters and symbols. For per cent signs or abbreviations, 1/8 Geviert is used.

druck.at tip: It is advisable to engage a professional proofreader for every printed job at the final stage. Experience shows that, no matter how good your spelling and grammar skills are, you can become blind to your own text. A proofreader, like a detective, reliably tracks down every single mistake, no matter how small. This is the finishing touch and ensures a perfect printed product.

4 | Common typos