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Screenplay Grammar and Other Common Mistakes

by Robin Rowe 2/16/2007

1. Titles are capitalized when it refers to an actual person. Special screenplay rule. This is sort of like the special rule in journalism where president is capitalized whenever it's the President (of the United States). Except in a screenplay, President would be capitalized both times. So is a Congressman, the Plumber, even Mom and Dad.
2. Sounds are ALL CAPS. Special screenplay rule. There's a GUNSHOT and a woman SCREAMS.
3. Singing is in italics.
4. 'I' before 'E' except after 'C'. Don't expect a receipt when you die.
5. Watch out for homonyms!
   1. They're/Their/There: "They're" is the contraction of "they are". "Their" means it belongs to them. "There" is a place. They're on their way there with their friends.
   2. Too/To/Two: "Too" means also. "To" is the opposite of from or modifies a verb into the future. "Two" is the #2. For us to be two, means you must include me, too.
   3. Then/Than: "Then" means sequence, that something happens first. "Than" indicates comparison. He's richer than she is. She got married first, then he did.
   4. Whether/Weather: The latter is reported by weathermen.
   5. It's/its: "It's" is "it is". "Its" indicates possession. The car lost its fenders, but otherwise it's still running normally.
   6. Who's/Whose. "Who's" is "who is" (contraction). Whose is the possessive form of who. Who's driving? Whose car is this?
   7. Copywrite/Copyright: I only list this one because I've actually seen it on the cover page of a script. Learn to use the spellchecker.
6. Watch out for commonly confused words!
   1. Which/That: "Which" indicates a choice. Which one? "That" is just one, no choice. Of the two cars, that's the one which gets better mileage.
   2. Farther/Further: "Farther" means more than far. Further just means more, not distance. I can think about it further, but can't walk any farther.
   3. Lay/Lie: Lie means recline. Lay means to place. Lie down on the bed. Lay the money on the table.
7. Use contractions. "It's", not "it is". "Can't", not "cannot". Uncommon exception to rule is to convey drama. "Where are you?!!"
8. Commas signal a pause. There are certain words that almost always have a comma when at the beginning or end of a sentence. "Yes, I mean you. No, I don't mean her. I meant him, too. Both, him and her. Right, that's all of them." A sentence rarely has more than two commas. Where it would cause too many pauses in a sentence, excessive commas may be dropped. "Them also. Gabrielle, you too." Note that it's not "Gabrielle, you, too". Another use of commas is to separate description from a person or thing: "This is even better than being kissed by Jordan, the cute basketball player." You know there's a comma there because it's really a contraction of two sentences. "This is even better than being kissed by Jordan. Jordan is the cute basketball player."
9. Apostrophes signal possession or contraction, not plural. "Larry's friends can't drive. They grew up on a commune in the 60s where they had no cars. His friends' hippie parents didn't see the need." Note that apostrophe comes after the 's' when it's plural and the second 's' is dropped. Note that "its" is a pronoun possessive adjective, like my, your, his, her, our, their...none of which have apostrophes.
10. Use present tense. Everything happens in the now in a screenplay. "Clara runs up the stairs and leaps through the open window onto the roof." Not, "After Clara had run up the stairs, she leaped through an open window onto the roof." If there's an 'ed' on the end of your verbs that's a problem.
11. Avoid run-on sentences. Any sentence with more than ten words is probably a run-on sentence in a screenplay. Once you pass six to eight words consider how to break it into two sentences. Exception is to use longer sentences to make a point that your character is a bore who likes to talk too much. Or, that the character is a wit who talks really fast in banter. Either way, that should be in the character description so the actor knows how to play it.
12. Avoid direct answers. People in conversation rarely answer yes or no to a question. "Do you know where my keys are?" In real life or a screenplay the response is not, "Yes Silly, they're on the dresser". Rather, "Did you look on your dresser?".
13. Avoid monologues. In a stage play, characters often use monologues to help convey to the back row what they're thinking. (Here's a they're/their switchero: It's to convey their thinking to the back row.) In a screenplay, monologues seem over the top because a close-up conveys thoughts better. The exception is when a character is pushed by events beyond patience into making a speech.
14. Don't forget character descriptions! Forgetting to describe characters or describing them in a superficial or stereotypical way annoys readers, who may discard the script as "Not in Industry Standard Format". Describe the character of the character, rather than giving just the age, race, and gender like it's a police report. To describe someone to a friend, you'd give colorful description, not stats. You'd say, "Bob looks like a high school principal and prefers to wear plaid", not that "Bob is a 52-year-old Caucasian male". Does the age, race and gender even matter in the role? Depending on what the character does in the story, it could be that the right Asian woman would be just as good a fit for the role of "Bob". It's best to avoid irrelevant stats that needlessly limit casting choices into dull stereotypes.
15. Don't forget scene descriptions! Forgetting to describe locations is another common mistake that breaks industry standard format.