English Grammar Rules 101

10 Essential Rules to Improving Your Writing, Speaking

and Literature Skills for Students and Beginners

Melony Jacobs
© Copyright 2019 Melony Jacobs- All rights reserved.

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Background - The Origins of the English Language
Rule 1 - Master the Basics
Rule 2 - Get to Know Your Key Grammar Components
Rule 3 - The 4 H’s: Homonyms, Homophones, Homographs and
Heteronyms
Rule 4 - Become a Punctuation Pro
Rule 5 - Present, Past, and Future Tense
Rule 6 - Structuring Sentences With Ease
Rule 7 - Conquer Capitalization
Rule 8 - Spell Correctly and Format Efficiently
Rule 9 - Create Killer Compositions
Rule 10 - Add Your Personal Touch
Bonus Rule - Never Neglect Common Grammar Mistakes
Conclusion
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 Introduction
Writing is something many of us do on a daily basis. Yet few of us feel truly
confident to say we are a great writer. When you read something that is written
well, it can be very powerful. Good writing can inspire people to get up and act,
make them feel incredibly moved, or make them really mad. This is because the
best writing transports you to a place where you see and feel what you are
reading as if it were really happening to you.

It is fair to say that we can all recognize the difference between good and bad
writing and that we can acknowledge how important it is to write well. However,
when office employees were asked whether they prioritized improving their
writing skills over other professional skills, the answer was almost always no.

We all learned how to read and write in school. For most of us, that is where our
writing education ended. The main problem with this is that the quality of
education on English grammar varies so much depending on when and where
you went to school. Not to mention, for a long time, English language education
adopted an intuitive approach that saw students gaining grammatical knowledge
through reading rather than rote learning. This method of learning has a lot to be
responsible for when it comes to a whole generation not being able to tell the
difference between there and their.

The result of not knowing your way around English grammar can often turn into
a source of embarrassment for many of us. It might even have led to you being
publicly outed by a coworker for your repeated misuse of you’re. What is worse,
because we have been making the same grammatical mistakes for years, it is
almost impossible to spot on your own that you are making them. I am certain
that what led you to pick up this book was some incident or other that involved
being shamed for making an obvious grammatical mistake. Don’t fear, we are all
grammatical offenders here and what matters most is that you have recognized
the need to do something about it!

In all truthfulness, nearly all of us make repeated grammatical mistakes and we

all need to take the time to polish up on our writing skills. The impact of taking a
really small amount of time out of your day to improve your English grammar
knowledge will be massive. In no time at all, you can use the super simple tips in
this book to power up your writing and impress your boss with the strength of
your well-written proposals or whatever it is you need to write.
This book is supercharged with all the essential knowledge you need to know to
improve your use of English grammar. How long will it take you to get through
this book? It will take you a little more than a month to read and practice the tips
and techniques presented in this book. You will quickly progress from zero to
grammatical hero by simply following this book step by step.

As a way of a quick intro on me, I am Melody Jacobs, a 52 year old avid book
reader and expert grammar corrector. As a professional editor and proofreader, it
is my job to fix people’s grammatical mistakes. So in truth, I don’t want the
whole country to all of a sudden become grammatical experts, or I would be out
of a job! What my experience has taught me is most errors that people make in
their writing are about grammar and that they repeat these errors over and over,
most likely as they don’t realize they are making them. It isn’t just in the texts I
am proofing that I see errors, they also appear in the many published novels that
I consume weekly. The reality is we are a nation of grammar offenders and
mistakes are so common we are starting to think they are correct.

So, with this, I decided that rather than quietly complaining to my husband and
friends about the raft of grammatical mistakes I see on a daily basis, I thought I
would take my knowledge of the most common errors and set out to write this
book. The main aim of the book is to provide an incredibly practical and quick
way to improve your English grammar. You can take advantage of my extensive
experience with understanding why people make mistakes. You can save
yourself a lot of time and pain by spending this short time learning about
grammar. After that, you can rest assured that what you learn in this book will
massively impact your writing almost immediately.

In the end, grammar is something that is right or wrong. There is no gray area.
This is something which you can be happy about as once you have it down, you
are good. However, I am fairly certain that you will have probably picked up this
book because your grammar is holding you back and you have decided it is time
to fix it. Poor grammar really does stand in your way of achieving the highest
grades at school, being thought of as an outstanding employee, and ultimately
being able to express yourself correctly whenever you speak or write.

That is why I give you my word that with this simple and quick to read guide on
English grammar rules, you will be fully equipped to manage any grammatical
situation. I promise you that you won’t feel like a floundering fish when you are
put on the spot to produce a grammatically correct sentence structure. Instead,
the grammar rules will be instilled within you so that you can respond with
confidence and ease. On your end, a level of commitment is needed in order to
practice what is outlined within this book. If you only read through this book
once and do not practice the grammar rules, you will soon forget them and return
to your bad habits. It is essential that you dedicate yourself to making a lasting
change within this area. You only need to input a very small amount of effort to
see a massive return. It is like riding a bike, once learned, it is not easily
forgotten.

With this guide in hand and by using the personalized techniques described
within, you will be on the road to English grammar perfection faster than you
could ever have imagined. My previous students have all raved about how
quickly they mastered the techniques and how stepping up their English
grammar game has massively helped them in all areas of life. Now, I hope that
with this book I can combine all of my knowledge on the most effective way to
teach grammar and encourage a much larger amount of people to improve their
grammar then I am able to with just my one to one lessons.

So, come on! Jump in and start practicing. Tomorrow you will already be better
than today with your use of English grammar. Good things are waiting for you,
just as soon as you can express yourself effectively and are able to show the
world that you are an English grammar aficionado.
Background - The Origins of the English
Language
There is no denying the importance of English as a language, with over 2 billion
speakers worldwide. English is the lingua franca of the world, meaning it is the
language used for communication between speakers of other languages. Its
dominance as a language came to force largely in the last few centuries because
it was the language spoken in the British Empire who spread the language to
over ⅓ of the world’s population including the USA, Canada, and Australia. The
cultural production that then came out of the USA in the 20th century, and
continues to this day, saw a worldwide audience consume English language
media in the form of popular music and blockbuster movies. Particularly
amongst the younger generations across the world, you are very likely to find
that even if they don’t speak English, they are aware of it and can understand
some of it. English is significant enough that the majority of countries across the
world use it as a second language on signs, menus in restaurants and anything
that might be read by a non-native language speaker for that area. Given the
continued prominence of USA made music, movies, and tv shows, it doesn’t
seem that English will be giving up its place of prominence anytime soon.

English is a Western Germanic language that was first spoken around the 5th CE
when settlers from the areas around Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands
first came to the British Isles. These people were known as the Anglo-Saxons,
hence where the Anglo bit of English comes from. The Anglo-Saxons were
called Anglo because they came from an area of land that looked a bit like a fish
hook. The Proto-Indo-European root of a fish hook came from the world angle,
meaning it was bent. The modern English word angling, meaning fishing, also
comes from this root. One theory is that the word Anglo is meant to mean
fishermen and that English is the language of the fishermen, a theory that fits
with both the fact that the Anglo-Saxons came from an area of low lying sea and
that the British Isles were mainly full of fishermen and their families.

Previous to speaking English, the people of the British Isles spoke different
native Celtic language dialects that were mainly influenced by Norse, a Nordic
language brought to the area by Vikings in the centuries before this. Some
influences of these Viking invaders still linger on in the English language, such
as Thursday whose original meaning is Thor’s day, the day to celebrate the
Viking god Thor. In the United Kingdom today, the people in Wales, Scotland
and Ireland still speak the Celtic languages which are distinctly different from
English.

The first form of English was Old English. To a speaker of Modern English, this
version is almost unintelligible. For example, the famous Beowulf poem written
in Old English starts off with the following, “Hƿæt! ƿē G ār-Dena in ġ eār-dagum,
þ ēod-cyninga, þ rym ġefrūnon, hū ðā æ þelingas e llen fremedon,” which in
Modern English translates to “Lo! We have heard of the majesty of the Spear-
Danes, of those nation-kings in the days of yore, and how those noblemen
promoted zeal.” As is clear to see, it is no small feat to read and understand Old
English. The alphabet is extended to include extra letters and the words
themselves are much closer to Modern German than Modern English. The
grammar is also much closer to Modern German, something which is important
to understand later when trying to get your head around Modern English
grammar. The truth is, Modern German grammar is considerably more logical
than English. If we had stuck with the grammar system we inherited with Old
English, then I am certain that our modern grammar would be much easier to
understand. However, as you will see next, the evolution of the English language
jumped into the much more complicated and exception filled pool of the French
language. Blame William the Conqueror.

1066, the Battle of Hastings sees the English King Harold killed by an arrow
shot through his eye and William the Conqueror from Normandy, France, takes
over the English throne. Over the next 100 years, a distinct shift can be seen on
the British Isles with an old version of French becoming the language of the
court and Old English being relegated to the language of the poor. Slowly but
surely, a combined language starts to emerge, known as Middle English, which
was still distinctly Western Germanic but which was now undeniably influenced
by Franco grammar and Latin vocabulary. This form of English does have some
resemblance to Modern English and when read it is a little bit intelligible. For
example, the first line of the Canterbury Tales by Geoffery Chaucer reads in the
original language as, “Whan that Aprill, with his shoures soote. The droȝte of
March hath perced to the roote. And bathed every veyne in swich licour, Of
which vertu engendred is the flour;” which transcribes as, “When [that] April
with his showers sweet. The drought of March has pierced to the root. And
bathed every vein in such liquor, Of which virtue engendered is the flower;”
Now we begin to see the emergence of Modern English as it is not such a great
leap from Middle English to what we speak now.
Starting from the 15th century, English started to really take form. Three major
things happened in the 17th century that have had a lasting impact on the
language until today. The first event was the Bible being translated from Latin to
English for the first time. This meant that common people who were able to read
had greater access to the religion than before and could read the Bible even if
they didn’t speak Latin. The King James Bible is considered to be one of the
earliest texts written in Modern English and as it was such an important text it
found its way into many homes across England, leading to a standardization of
the language that had not been seen before.

Next came William Shakespeare. As a playwright, Shakespeare is responsible

for shaping the way we speak English today. He invented hundreds of words that
we still use, such as critic, lonely, and swagger. What is more, he also heavily
influenced the use of grammar and sentence structure. Previous to the emergence
of Modern English, which Shakespeare is attributed to as writing in, the
language was not standardized and the use of phrases was very rare. Due to the
love of Shakespeare’s plays throughout England, the phrases he invented became
commonplace, such as ‘with bated breath’ and ‘a foregone conclusion’. Not only
were his phrases commonly used but the idea of phrases became the norm with
more and more invented by writers and poets being used by the common
people.

The last event that took place during this period is the Great Vowel Shift. This is
an event that changed forever the way that we pronounce English words,
specifically the way we pronounce vowels. Before the shift, lots of English
words had long vowel sounds and the spelling of them reflected this. However,
after the shift, the vowel sounds were shortened and the use of silent consonants
became common, such as in the word thumb where you do not pronounce the b.
From this time onwards, approximately the middle to late 17th century, English
spelling was standardized further and these standardizations are still in place
today.

Does that mean that the English language has not changed since William
Shakespeare? No, of course, it has changed. Every language evolves over time,
as can be seen by the different stages of the language that have just been
described. What is important to know is that even though we may not speak like
Shakespeare, for example in his play A Midsummer Night’s Dream his character
Lysander declares, “Ay me! for aught that I could ever read, Could ever hear by
tale or history, The course of true love never did run smooth;” it is still
intelligible, the vocabulary is still used today, and the grammar structure is
correct.

Since William Shakespeare, English has gone on a real journey of discovery

which has twisted its fate towards a number of different paths. English has
traveled the world, been part of the history of the empire and is now spoken by
millions of people as a first language and even more as a second language. The
English spoken today is still considered Modern English but it has morphed into
different dialects, for example, British English is a distinct dialect, as is
American English. A dialect is different than a language. When you speak a
different language to another person, you should expect that you will not
understand most of it. You may understand some of the vocabulary, for example,
if the language comes from the same family of languages such as French and
Spanish. With a dialect, you should expect to understand most of the vocabulary,
but the grammar can be different and there will certainly be a lot of regional
vocabulary that will differ, usually the names of items. So, a British person can
easily understand an American, but they definitely had some humorous moments
discovering the different meanings they have for common words. Such as, a
rubber is an eraser to a British person, where it is a condom to an American!

More important than the difference between dialects, is the way that English is
now written. Until around 150 years ago, the majority of people who spoke
English could not read or write it. What this meant is that there existed a huge
variance in the way that people from different areas would speak English. If you
were living in Northern England, you would certainly use a lot of words and
phrases that would be foreign to someone living in London. The same goes if
you talk about someone living in Toronto 100 years ago, they would not be able
to fully understand what someone was saying in Vancouver. Regional variances
were very common in the spoken language. However, as the only people to read
and write were of the educated classes and represented a small percentage of the
English speaking population, the variance amongst the written language was
restricted. More than that, large amounts of control were placed upon the way
people wrote English. Grammar was thought of as something that must be used
correctly and if you did not you would be strictly reprimanded. To write
anything in informal English was considered very bad practice and therefore the
written form of English did not see much alteration for hundreds of years after
Shakespeare, that was until the contemporary period we are in now.

The big shift came when education was opened up to the masses. In the 20th
century, being able to read and write was no longer a privilege of the upper
classes. As free education for children was provided in many English speaking
countries, this also meant a much larger percentage of the population being able
to read and write. This was an education revolution and English speaking
countries became the first to reach almost complete literacy in their population.
As much as this was incredibly important for opening up education for all, the
formalization of the English language did take a bit of a hit. Now a much larger
number of people could read and write and this meant that there was no way to
control how English was written in any way the same way it was before. During
the first waves of literacy, regional words were the first to be introduced to
written English. Phrases and words from the different parts of the English
speaking world were written down for the very first time. People were slow to
standardize the spelling and grammatical use of these phrases and so until the
Oxford Dictionary was able to categorize them correctly, the written language
became a bit of a mess. In particular, people started to use grammar very
informally and in large parts, wrongly. For example, a very common phrase that
came out of North West England was, “I didn’t do nothing wrong.” In this
phrase, the grammar is incorrect as you can’t have a double negative. Didn’t is
negative and nothing is negative. Essentially, they should cancel each other out
and should be understood as ‘I did something.” However, as this phrase was
known widely in this area and they accepted it to mean, “I didn’t do anything
wrong,” it was written down by a lot of people from this area. Does that mean
that the grammar changed because of these new additions? No, the grammar
rules still remain the same and this is not considered strictly correct. What it did
do is bring about the difference between formal written English and informal
written English.

As we entered the last decade of the 20th century, we saw a massive acceleration
of the informalization of written English. Firstly, slang became more widely used
in written English. Slang has always been around whenever English has been
spoken. People like to make up their own words, they like to associate words
with their hobbies, people they are friends with, or perhaps a subculture they are
part of. What happened in the 1990s is that these subcultures started to go
mainstream, with the music, movies and tv-shows that were produced about
them being accessible to large parts of the English speaking population. Hip-hop
is a strong example of a subculture from the USA that through the power of
media, affected the way an English speaking person in Manchester, England
spoke. Young people started to say phrases such as, “you are da bomb,” and
“why you got beef?” After a while, the more that young people say these
phrases, the more they start to write them down. This understandably, affects the
way that grammar is understood and used as neither of the above examples are
grammatically correct, but people start to think they are correct as they become
common and this, in turn, challenges how they think of grammar. Unfortunately,
the result is usually negative as they start to apply grammar rules incorrectly and
make grammar mistakes such as saying, “why you here?” rather than, “why are
you here?”

Secondly, came the cell phone with the ability to send SMS messages to your
friends and family. As some of you may remember, the qwerty keyboard did not
exist on the first phones. Instead, you texted by pressing the numbers 1-9 for
different letters. The process could be quite long, so the result was people
throwing grammar rules out of the window and inventing shorthand ways to say
sentences. For example, “I am going to be late tonight,” was transcribed to text
speak as, ”I'm gonna be L8 tonite.” This style of written English became
commonplace for users of cell phones and they continued to shorten phrases to
the bare minimum, such as LOL standing for laughing out loud and BRB
meaning be right back. The impact of this was massive upon the way that the
younger generations started to use written English. Teachers throughout the
English speaking world come to massively resent the coming of cell phones, as
they now spent large amounts of time correcting their students written and
spoken English.

Finally, the internet came and established the use of informal written English as
the norm. By the beginning of the 21st century, a large majority now had access
to the internet and were able to communicate with people across the world in
English. With the advent of social media, sending quick messages to your friends
was very normal, as was posting a status about what you were doing. Trends in
language use would vary over the next ten years with different words being
fashionable at different times, such as swag, binge-watch, and woke. These
words aren’t really massively significant as, throughout the history of language,
they have always adapted and added in new vocabulary. What is significant, is
the confirmation that informal written English was here to stay.

The importance of seeing how the written form of English has transformed over
the last century is that it has made us all really bad at grammar. On a daily basis,
we consume large amounts of written language that is predominantly written in
informal English with grammar rules being loosely applied. People continue to
use text speak regularly, with speed being seen as a quality more desirable over
the accuracy of grammar. Yes, it is true that a lot of people who you are around
on a daily basis probably understand how you speak and how you write, even if
you use informal language. However, a person in Australia may not understand
an American when they write online that they, “are totally shook by finding out
the tea.” Nor would that American understand when the Australian said, “whack
a snag on the barbie.”

The consequences, therefore, of informal language being so commonplace and

how it has transferred into the written form, is that we have lost clarity across the
English language. It is completely fine to speak and write in different ways
depending on who you are talking to. You can use informal language with your
friends and family as it feels natural and comfortable. But, when you use this
same language with people you don’t know, who may not be from the same area,
or even the same country as you, you risk them not understanding. That is why
formal English exists, it allows all speakers of English to understand each other,
independent of where they come from. What is more, as the grammar rules are
standardized, it also allows you to be certain that what you are saying will be
understood and not misinterpreted. So when you say, “I am very shocked by
what I heard about Sally,” rather than “I am totally shook by finding out the tea,”
nothing will be misunderstood.

Don’t underestimate how important being understood is. As you have seen
throughout this chapter, the English language has taken many forms and has
shifted over time into what it is today. However, nothing has prepared us for the
assault upon the formal language that is happening now. So, when you do make
the effort to learn how to apply grammar correctly and write in formal English
when at school and at work, you will be marked out quickly as above your peers
for the quality of your written work. It is still a very much admired quality in an
employee and further than that, if you do want to progress to the higher levels of
your chosen career, it is considered unacceptable to use anything other than
formal English. What is more, when you use formal English and correct
grammar, you can be assured that your million-dollar ideas are understood
clearly, and may even make you that million dollars! Take this time to focus on
your grammar, think of it as an investment for your future and a stepping stone
to where it is you want to be in life.

Rule 1 - Master the basics

First things first, whenever you write anything, you use the building blocks of
the English language. Without them, we wouldn’t have a language, just a
collection of words that people would say.

The funny thing is though, most of us can’t identify a verb from a noun or an
adjective from an adverb. And the truth is, this really isn’t your fault. Yes, you
may have seen them written up on a board somewhere back in your school days,
but rarely would any teacher have spent much longer than an afternoon teaching
you exactly the meaning of each different building block.

That is because, when you are teaching a first language, you don’t start from the
beginning and ensure that your students really know what each part is. Instead,
you skip ahead to reading longer texts to develop their level of the language
quickly. However, as a student, when you miss these building blocks and don’t
understand them fully, you can carry that misunderstanding through to adulthood
and repeatedly make the same grammar mistakes.

So when you are in a tangle over your adverbs and adjectives, stop blaming
yourself. Rather, you must recognize that now is the time to detangle the mess
and to build up correctly the way you write and speak.

The doing block: understanding verbs

Without a verb, you don’t have a language, just a collection of words that can’t
be understood. That is because a verb is any word that describes what someone
or something is doing. You can also think of it as an action word to help you
remember that a verb is always about performing an action.

I run every day by the lake.

In this example, run is the verb because it clearly expresses that the person is
performing an action, in this case, that action is running.

I love Jessica because she is funny and sweet.

In this example, love is the verb because it shows what someone is doing. Don’t
get confused that verbs can only be a visible action such as walking or talking.
That is why it is much better to think of them as a doing word. To love someone
is to do something. That is how we can clearly identify that this word is a verb.
Pretty much every time we speak or write, we need to express that we are doing
something. That is why verbs are so important. If we try now to write a sentence
without a verb, it doesn’t turn out very well!

I to the cinema with friends.

Perhaps, you might be able to guess the meaning of this sentence, but it is
obvious to everyone that it doesn’t actually make sense. Being clear with your
use of language is the ultimate goal. That is why, no matter what you write or
speak about, you must include a verb.

It can be a little bit tricky to figure out what is a verb and what is not. That is
why I want you to always remember it as something that you or someone else is
doing. Keep this in mind, particularly when you look to the next description of a
certain type of verbs called helper verbs.

Helping verbs are, as the name goes, incredibly helpful! They appear in many of
the sentences that we write, so it is essential to identify them correctly as verbs.

I will play football later.

In this sentence, the action verb is play. It is easy to identify it as a verb as

someone is doing something, which in this case is to play football. On top of
this, there is another verb in this sentence and that is will. This is a helping verb
as it is helping you understand the correct meaning of the other verb in the
sentence.

If we remove the helping verb and the later at the end of the sentence, it now
reads:

I play football.

This sentence has a different meaning to the previous sentence. As you can see, a
helping verb can dramatically change the meaning of the sentence, so using them
correctly is a must. What you have to remember is that a helping verb is usually
not an obvious action, which is why people often dismiss them as not being a
verb. Yet, if we look at other examples of helping verbs, you can see that they
are about someone doing something.

I am Jessica.
In this example, the only verb in the sentence is a helping verb. This person is
saying that they are Jessica. In being Jessica, they are doing something. What is
more, in this example, the helping verb isn’t actually helping anything. That is
because not all helping verbs have to be written next to another verb for them to
make sense.

What is important for you to remember is that 99% of the time, your sentence
must include a verb. It can be a verb by itself, a verb with a helping verb, or
perhaps a helping verb hanging out all alone. There is such a thing called a
nominal sentence where you don’t include a verb, but unless you are desperate to
sound like an 18th-century English philosopher, I doubt you will ever have cause
to use it.

The naming block: understanding nouns

Everyone deserves a name and boy do we have a lot of them! In fact, humankind
is rather obsessed with naming everything! We have named the furthest star and
the smallest of creatures found at the bottom of the ocean.

As names are so very important to us, you will see them coming up in nearly all
the sentences that you write. The naming building block of language is called a
noun. We will take a look at how nouns are identified now. What is key to keep
in mind is that nouns can name anything including people, animals, places,
things, and ideas.

My dog is small.

In this example, the noun is a dog who happens to be small. It is easy to find the
noun is the case.

My dog is a Chihuahua.

However, in this example, there are two nouns. The first one is the dog and the
second one is the Chihuahua. Very often, there is more than one noun in a
sentence, remember what I said about our love of naming things.

You might notice that on one of the nouns there is no capitalization, whereas on
the other there is. We will go into capitalization in detail further on in this book.
For now, what I want you to know is that the reason dog is not capitalized is
because it is considered a common noun. Common nouns are the names we give
to everyday things that we talk about all the time. They might be cats, cars,
cauliflowers, croissants, but they are not Christmas. That is because like
Chihuahua, Christmas is a proper noun. These types of nouns have capital
letters because they are not considered common and are talking about a specific
thing. Remember it this way, a dog can be lots of different types of dogs but a
Chihuahua can only ever be a Chihuahua. That is what is meant to be specific.

What is more, the two different nouns have two different functions in the
sentence. Firstly, the noun dog is acting as the subject in the sentence. What this
means is that the sentence is about the dog being a Chihuahua. It is not about any
dog or any Chihuahua. It is specifically about it being that dog.

Secondly, the noun Chihuahua is acting as the object in the sentence. This is
because the dog being talked about in the sentence is not just any dog, it is
specifically a Chihuahua.

We just learned about verbs, and in this sentence, the verb is the helping verb is.
If we then analyze the whole sentence, we can see that it is broken down into
three main parts.

Subject + Verb + Object

My dog + is + a Chihuahua

This structure is a very common sentence structure that we use in English.

However, I must admit that it can become a bit complicated to start to think
about writing in terms of structure as well as having to consider using the
different building blocks such as verbs and nouns. What is most important is to
recognize how the majority of sentences should be written without worrying too
much about what the different parts are called.

When writing, you have to write about something, this is what we call the
subject. This something has to be doing something, this is what we call the verb.
Then, the something doing something is probably doing something that has a
name as well, this is what we call the object. So the something being talked
about in this sentence is the dog. The dog is doing something and that is being
something. What that dog is being is a Chihuahua.

You can apply this to lots of sentences you write to be able to understand if you
are using your nouns correctly. Just check that you understand who is being
talked about, that you know what they are doing and what the name is of what
they are doing. Sounds simple, hey!

The replacing block: understanding pronouns

We just learned about how much we love naming things and what a noun is. So,
what if I were to tell you that actually sometimes we don’t want to name things
and instead replace the actual name of something with a generic term that isn’t at
all descriptive or creative? Well, the answer is yes. Sometimes, we get a bit lazy.
Scratch that, we often get pretty lazy and want to shorten our language so that
we can quickly deliver the message of what we want to say.

Jessica and Juan walked across the road.

In this sentence, we can clearly see two proper nouns, Jessica and Juan , just as
we have learned in the noun section of this book. Now, if we want to say this
sentence more quickly, what would we write?

They walked across the road.

Very easily, we have replaced Jessica and Juan with they. By doing this, we
have replaced the nouns with a pronoun.

Pronouns act just like nouns, they are a naming word. However, pronouns are a
shortened version of a noun and replace the name. You will see pronouns in
many sentences and we particularly use them when speaking. Pronouns include
I, me, she, he, it, they, us, them, that, this and these. You can always spot a
pronoun because it is not a specific name but if you wanted to you could replace
it with a specific name.

She loves running.

Jessica loves running.

As you can see, she is easily replaced by Jessica. This shows you that it is a
pronoun. The same goes if you are trying to work out whether you can replace a
noun with a pronoun.

The dog is a Chihuahua.

It is a Chihuahua.

Returning to the example from before, the noun dog is easily replaced with the
pronoun it. Yet, the proper noun Chihuahua can’t be replaced with a pronoun as
it would not make any sense.

It is an it.

As we love to speed up everything we do, you will come across pronouns very
regularly. Feel free to use them to replace nouns. A word to the wise though,
make sure that your reader knows what noun you are replacing it with. If you
talk only about it and not the dog , the reader may never know you are talking
about a dog. The best way is to mention the actual noun at the beginning of each
new paragraph to make sure everyone understands what is going on.

The describing block: understanding adjectives

Life would be nothing if we couldn’t say how much we love it or hate it! We are
expressive creatives and we want to shout out to the world what we really think
about something. To do this, we need to use the describing building blocks of the
English language which are called adjectives.

Adjectives add depth and richness to your language. They are very important in
transforming what you are writing from a simple non-descriptive sentence to one
that packs a real punch! Adjectives are words used to describe both a noun and a
pronoun.

The music is loud .

In this example, the adjective is loud because it is describing how the music is,
which is a noun. We could also change the word loud and replace it with many
other adjectives, such as melodic, beautiful, irritating, etc.

An adjective is put in a sentence when we want to answer a question about a

noun. These questions are:

1. Which one?
2. What kind?
3. How many?
4. Whose?

Using the above example, if we were to ask the question of what kind of music
is it? We would get the response, the music is loud. In this case, the kind of
music being played is loud music. By being able to answer the above questions
is what makes a word an adjective.

Something which can cause confusion when it comes to adjectives is that a noun
can actually be an adjective in some cases.

Jessica’s music is enchanting.

With this example, we are talking about music again and it is easy to identify
that enchanting is an adjective as it answers the question of what kind of music?
As well as enchanting being an adjective, so also is Jessica’s. You might be
thinking, hang on a second, the word Jessica is clearly a noun as it is naming a
person. You are not wrong. However, with the addition of ‘s, Jessica becomes
Jessica’s which changes it to an adjective. This is because when you ask one of
the adjective questions, whose? Jessica’s is the answer to whose music it is?

Articles are the final piece of the adjective puzzle and something that quite a few
people trip up over. Not to worry, follow the advice below and you will always
be able to tell your a from your an. The good news is, though they are often
misused, there are not very many of them to misuse. In English, there are three
articles, the, a and an.

I want to eat an apple.

In this sentence, the person wants to eat an apple and it doesn’t matter which one
it is. This is because the person has not specified that they want to eat a specific
apple. The word an is an adjective because it is describing the apple. It is also an
indefinite article because it is not describing a specific apple.

I want to eat the apple.

In this example, you can see that the person is saying that they want to eat the
apple and that apple is a very specific one. They won’t eat just any old apple, it
has to be the one they are talking about. Once again, the world the is an
adjective because it is describing which apple. As well, it is also a definite article
as it describes exactly which apple the person wants to eat.

As you can see, adjectives can take a few different forms. It can start to get a bit
confusing so you must always remember that an adjective can only ever be
describing a noun. Keep this in mind and you won’t see yourself fall over by
using them incorrectly.
The modifying block: understanding adverbs
Remember, when I said we love describing things, and when I said we love
naming things, well we also love to go into lots of detail to make sure that we are
absolutely understood. This is where adverbs come in. Adverbs are words that
describe verbs, adjectives, and even other adverbs. Yes, it is true, when you
thought an adjective was enough to describe something, you were wrong! In all
seriousness, adverbs are super helpful building blocks that modify the words we
are using to describe a situation so that understanding is clear.
My daughter is extremely polite.
As you can see, the sentence above demonstrates that the person has a daughter
who is extremely polite. The word polite is an adjective and already describes
the daughter as being polite. Yet, the world extremely describes how polite the
daughter is, making it an adverb. The impact of the adverb upon the sentence
becomes much clearer when you change the adverb for something else.
My daughter is not polite.
Now the situation being described has been reversed. Even though the adjective
polite is still present in the sentence, the meaning is now changed to show that
the daughter is anything but polite. The word not is an adverb and an important
one to remember. That is because you are able to recognize adverbs easily
because they almost all end in ly. However, one of the most commonly used
adverbs is not and this doesn’t follow the above rule.
Trying to identify adverbs is fairly simple as all you need to do is ask yourself
the following questions about the verbs in your sentence:

1. How?
2. Where?
3. Why?
4. When?
5. To what extent?

These questions are crucial in sussing out what is an adverb as well as allowing
you to understand how to add an adverb to a sentence.

We should eat dinner.

This example does not contain an adverb. It is currently demonstrating that a

group of people should eat dinner. What dinner that is or where they will eat is
unknown. However, if we do ask the question where they should eat, we can
insert an adverb to make the sentence clearer.

We should eat dinner there .

The word there is clarifying exactly where they should eat dinner and this is
what makes it an adverb. It describes the verb to eat as it is not just eating, it is
eating there .

Finally, a really common way of using adverbs is to describe the different

degrees of something. This misuse of this concept, called comparatives and
superlatives, is hands down the most frequent mistake I see English speakers
make. Let’s dig into it to understand it further and help you to correct this
mistake, fast!

That horse can run quickly.

In this example, the word quickly is an adverb describing the verb to run. If we
change it a bit we can make it a comparative adverb.

That horse can run more quickly than other horses.

By adding more we have suggested that the horse can do something to a greater
degree than other horses. It is called a comparative adverb as we are comparing
one thing to another, in this case, horses.

That horse can run the most quickly out of all horses.

Now we are saying that this horse can run quicker than any other horse. In this
instance, the adverb is a superlative and it is stating that the thing we are talking
about can do something to the highest degree possible.

Hang on a second, can’t we also say:

That horse can run quicker than other horses.

Not to mention:

That horse can run the quickest out of all horses.

Yes, you are not wrong. The two examples above are both grammatically correct
and do convey the same meaning as the other examples we have just gone
through. However, they are not adverbs they are adjectives. This is something
that people routinely forget.

How do you tell the difference? Well, a super quick way is to see if the word
ends in ly or not. If it ends in ly then it is definitely an adverb. However, as we
mentioned you can’t always rely on all adverbs ending in ly. A better way to see
what is what is to try and replace the verb in the sentence with is.

The horse is more quickly .

The horse is quicker .

If the sentence turns out grammatically correct, then you can be certain you are
dealing with an adjective. Adverbs don’t pair with the verb to be.

What is more, learn this quick trick to stop messing up your comparative and
superlative adjectives. If the adjective has less than two beats to it, then you
don’t add the word more. If it has more than three, then you do.

1
Quick

This has one beat so to turn it into a comparative you add ‘er’ and to a
superlative, you add ‘est’.

Quicker and Quickest

But if it has three or more beats you can’t do this.

1-2-3
Beau - ti - ful

In this case, you have to add ‘more’ to turn it into a comparative and ‘most’ to
turn it into a superlative.

More beautiful and most beautiful

And with that, I think you should be there. You have just successfully navigated
your way through all the essential building blocks of the English language. I
have a lot more to teach you when it comes to truly master grammar, but even if
you were to stop here and do nothing further, you would find that you are now
far ahead of the rest of your peers in understanding how to use grammar
correctly.

Don’t stop here! We are going to move on now to understand even more
grammatical concepts and work towards leveling up the way you write and
speak. Remember to review this chapter a few times though. Even if you don’t
read it all, go through the examples and write your own. Pick up something you
have recently written and check whether you put a verb in every sentence and if
you correctly used nouns, adjectives, and adverbs. I am sure it will be
illuminating as to your actual level of English grammar. Don’t worry if you don’t
like what you find. We are going to be working on a significant improvement in
every aspect of the way you use grammar going forward.
 Rule 2 - Get to know your key grammar
components
How are you feeling? You have made it through rule number 1 (good job) and
now we are striving towards rule number 2. Just a few things to remember
before we proceed. This process of becoming a grammar genius is a quick one.
The book is short for a reason so that you only have to learn exactly what you
need to know to write flawlessly. We have made it accessible but that doesn’t
mean that you are going to absorb this information by osmosis. You need to
work on it a little bit. Go through the examples as much as you can and
understand each key component before moving onto the next.
If you think you have mastered your verbs, nouns, adjectives, and adverbs, well
then come on in. Now we are going to talk about all the little words that go in
between the important building block words we learned in the previous chapter.
Like with most of the other grammatical rules that we have gone through so far,
without these little words, we wouldn’t have a language and we wouldn’t be able
to communicate. Which would be terrible. So let’s make sure we know them.

Making connections: understanding conjunctions

Having words that show what we are doing, what we are feeling and what we
have named something are all very well and good except when we can’t join
them up into actual sentences. This is why need conjunctions.
These little wonder words glue our words and phrases together into sentences
that show meaning. When we start off simple, we might only have one
conjunction in a sentence. As we progress further, you will find yourself using
multiple conjunctions in one sentence to produce complex sentence structures.
That is why we need to make sure we understand how to use them properly from
the very beginning.
Today, I went swimming and running.
The word and is the most common conjunction in the English language and you
can probably understand why. We very rarely want to say just one thing. More
often than not, we want to say lots of things. To do this we need to have a word
that connects one thing we want to say with another thing we want to say that is
related to the first thing. How we do that is by using and.
There are a ton of different conjunctions that we can use to bring meaning to our
sentences by connecting information together, but there are only three main
types.
The first type is conjoining conjunctions. The best way to remember these ones
is that they glue together words that are related together.
I want to buy a dress or a coat.
The conjunction here is or because it is connecting two similar parts together,
one part about wanting to buy a dress and one about wanting to buy a coat. What
is important is that this conjunction specifies that I want to buy only one, not
both. If we changed the conjunction to another conjoining conjunction it would
change the meaning of the sentence.
I want to buy a dress and a coat.
This sentence shows that I want to buy both items. By simply changing the
conjunction in this sentence, I have completely changed the meaning. This
shows you the power of conjunctions.
The next type of conjunctions are subordinating conjunctions. These words also
help to show a connection between two different phrases but they are different in
that they connect two phrases, one that can stand alone as a sentence and one
that can’t.
I want to go to Spain because of the weather.
Because is the most common subordinating conjunction and clearly shows that
you want to do something because of something else. Also, as you can see, I
want to go to Spain is a complete sentence but of the weather is not. The
conjunction because is essential in establishing meaning in this case.
Since I was a child, I have wanted to go to Spain.
Subordinating conjunctions can also appear at the beginning of sentences. What
is more, they are very often about time. In this sentence, the conjunction since
indicates that you have wanted to go to Spain since childhood. Without it there,
the sentence would not have any meaning.
The last type of conjunction is correlative conjunctions. These are different
because they always come in pairs. They are also very useful to use and can raise
your writing level. They act in the same way as conjoining conjunctions in that
they add words and phrases together.
 Both Jessica and Juan crossed the road.
This example clearly demonstrates that two people crossed the road with the use
of the conjunction both and the conjunction and in a pair. It is a useful device to
use correlative conjunctions as it makes certain that no other meaning could be
understood from this sentence. When we write anything, having another person
understand exactly what we mean is the ultimate goal.
It is clear that we can’t do without conjunctions when we speak. They are the
literal glue of the English language and allow us to be really clear in what we are
saying.

Making relationships: understanding prepositions

When we have a group of words that might be a combination of verbs, nouns,
adjectives, and adverbs, they are trying to form some sort of meaning together
but to do this they need a little help. What these types of words lack is the ability
to show how they relate to other words or phrases properly. This is where
prepositions come in. A preposition is usually a small word that is inserted into
the sentence to demonstrate a relationship between a noun and some other word
in the sentence.
Jessica crossed the road with Juan.
In this example, the word with is the preposition as it demonstrates the
relationship between Jessica and Juan in that they crossed the road together.
The horse ran the race despite having an injury.
This is another example to show that there is a range of different prepositions
and that the placing of them in the sentence is really important. In this sentence,
the meaning is demonstrating that the horse did something despite something
else. The first thing, running the race, has a direct relationship to the second
thing, having an injury, because of the preposition despite.
You could write this example as two different sentences but the relationship
between the two phrases would not be made clear.
The horse ran the race. The horse has an injury.
As you can see, the impact and meaning have been lost. This shows the
importance of prepositions in establishing an understanding of what is really
trying to be said.
Another important thing to understand about prepositions is that they don’t
always appear where you expect them to be, yet this does not affect the
sentence’s meaning.
The dog is behind the chair.
Behind the chair is the dog.
These two sentences mean exactly the same thing and are both grammatically
correct. However, I would suggest that to make certain your intended meaning is
conveyed correctly, that you try to insert prepositions in the middle of a
sentence. Think about what thing you want to relate to another thing and write
two simple sentences about them. Now take a preposition and try to insert it in
the middle to make a complex sentence.
I studied math. I went to high school.
I studied math throughout high school.
These two sentences have been combined to show that you not only studied
maths but that you studied it throughout your time at high school.
There is quite a large list of prepositions and sometimes people forget which is
one and which isn’t one. The number one rule to remember, if you can’t connect
two simple sentences together with the word then it won’t be a preposition. All
prepositions show a relationship between the words and phrases.

Making it shorter: understanding abbreviations

So far in this chapter, we have gone through a whole bunch of little words that
literally help us to make sense of our language and communicate clearly. We
really couldn’t do without them. However, there does exist a whole category of
tiny words that are not the result of wanting to be clearer in our language, rather
they have come from the desire to be faster. These are abbreviations which are
shortened versions of words that we commonly use.

As I have previously said, the way we use the English language can sometimes
be a bit contradictory. Sometimes, we are obsessed with making certain that the
meaning of what we are trying to say is translated correctly. This leads us to use
grammatical rules to ensure clarity. Then, on the other hand, we also like to
speak quickly but still convey meaning. The truth is, there is a time and place for
both styles of English language use. For example, being grammatically correct
and using well thought out sentence structures is essential for the formal use of
the English language. Whereas, using devices such as abbreviations where we
shorten words despite compromising understanding, is much more suited to
informal language use. So, before I demonstrate abbreviations, just remember
that if you are trying to up your formal language game, then you should use them
lightly, particularly in written work.
That being said, abbreviations can be really useful in quickly conveying a
message. Many of them have also become so common that we are much more
accustomed to hearing the abbreviation than we are the full version of the word
or phrase.
Dr. Ramirez is ready to see you.
The word doctor, in this case, is very commonly abbreviated to Dr. with a period
placed after the abbreviation. It would be odd for us to see it written out as
Doctor Ramirez as this abbreviation is now the accepted norm.
FYI there is a letter for you at reception.
This abbreviation is an acronym, meaning it has taken the first letter of each
word in the phrase to form it. FYI means for your information. It is frequently
seen in emails between staff members and on social media messaging sites.
However, it is also a clear example of informal language and therefore must only
be used informally. Writing it in a memo to your boss is certainly not the best
way to impress.
N.B. classes will start at 10 am next week.
The final group of acronyms that do make their way into formal language are
those which have come from Latin, then abbreviated and subsequently used by a
majority of those in academia, which in turn have made them common in all
formal writing. N.B. means nota bene which translates as take note. E.g. means
exempli gratia which translates as for example. Finally, etc. means et cetera
which translates as so on. All of these examples, you will have come across and
will continue to see. My advice is to use them sparingly to avoid any confusion.
It is simple enough to say for example so why use e.g.?
As I have made obvious, abbreviations can be a bit of a double-edged sword.
Yes, they may save you time and lots of people may be familiar with them.
However, on the whole, writing out the words in full or using a comparable
phrase is preferable. Being clear and concise so someone else can understand
should always be favored over speed.
Making it obvious: understanding interjections
Oh! Are you paying attention? Wow! I thought you had fallen asleep there for a
minute. Hang on! Let’s turn this up a notch.
Are you wondering what is going on? Well, what is going on is that I had a
sudden rush of strong emotions and wanted to convey this to you through the
written word. To do this, I used a little word that makes a big impact called an
interjection.
Yikes! I am going to be late.
In this example, yikes is an example of an interjection as it is a word that is
usually only spoken but has been written down to maximize the impact upon the
reader. Saying I am going to be late only shows to the reader that you are late.
Whereas with the addition of yikes , you have made it clear that you are worried
that you are going to be late and feel strongly about it.
It is obvious that, as with abbreviations, interjections live mainly in the world of
informal language. That being said, they can be useful when writing creatively
as they certainly pack a punch and convey a meaning that you wouldn’t get if
you didn’t use one.
Wow! I didn’t expect to get an A on my English paper.
Strong, emotive words are almost all interjections, including wow, ouch, aww,
eww, help! It also follows, because of the strength of the words, that they also
include an exclamation mark after them. They are certainly useful for getting
over the right impact but as with abbreviations, it is certainly wise to use them
sparingly in your written work. Save the strong emotions for your friends and
family. It is always best to impress your literature professor with the elegance of
your language rather than the force of it.
Bravo! You have made it to the end of rule 2. Not only have you conquered
verbs, nouns, adjectives, and adverbs, but you also know how to put them
together with useful little connecting words that are essential for structuring a
grammatically correct sentence. Don’t forget to check out the examples a few
more times to check that you really do know your stuff.
 Rule 3 - The 4 H’s: Homonyms,
Homophones, Homographs, and
Heteronyms
It is great to see you here at rule 3! We have made it this far together already.
Now is the time to dig deep and push through the rest of the chapters. Believe
me, this is where it gets exciting.

Before we start, I think I should let you in on a little secret. Well, less of a secret
and more of a confession. So here goes. English isn’t actually a very logical
language and it does its best at all times to confuse and terrify speakers of it! The
truth is, as it has developed over time, and incorporated rules from German,
French, and other languages, it has managed to confuse itself. English has often
been called the language of exception because it can feel as if it has more
exceptions to the rules than instances of actually following that rule. To be fair,
that isn’t actually true. Lots of the English language is logical. It is just here and
there, there exist some rather infuriating diversions away from the central rules.

So, when we go through the rest of this book together, and you feel a burning
desire to question me on why what I am explaining is not always logical, well it
isn’t. However, it is the way that it is. What I mean, is despite the confusing
nature of English grammar, it has been standardized and therefore we are able to
learn how to use it correctly. Don’t sweat it too much, if you can enjoy the
uneven path of English grammar, you will then certainly become a master of it.

This brings me swiftly on to the 4 H’s which are homonyms, homophones,

homographs, and heteronyms. The 4 H’s are tricky little beasts but also very
enjoyable to learn. So let’s dive in.

Homonyms - the same sound and the same spelling

The group of words called homonyms is defined as words that sound the same
and are spelled the same but have different meanings. You might think about
why we couldn’t just come up with new spellings or different words entirely to
describe them. Well, we didn’t and that is why you need to learn how to
correctly interpret the meaning of the sentence.
 I went to the country fair to meet a fair maiden with fair skin where we
enjoyed the rides for a very fair price.

When you read the word fair in this sentence you should pronounce it exactly
the same way each time. As you can see, the spelling is also identical each time.
This means that fair is a homonym. Each example of the world fair used in the
sentence has a different meaning. A country fair is a type of festival. A fair
maiden is a beautiful woman. Fair skin means light skin and a fair price means
reasonably priced.

Let’s try another example. These are fun!

Well , now that you are well I can fetch water from the well .

Once again, we have three different versions of a word, with the same spelling
and same sound that all mean different things. Well at the beginning of the
sentence is an exclamation showing that something is about to happen. Now that
you are well means now that you are feeling better. Fetch water from the well is
a location where water can be found.

When you see homonyms in a sentence you need to pay attention to the other
words around it to be certain that you understand it. If you get confused with its
meaning, work out whether it is a noun or an adjective, or perhaps something
else. This will give you clues to what it really means.

When it comes to writing yourself, think about how you use homonyms in a
sentence. Having a clear meaning is essential when writing. So, if too many
homonyms are going to confuse your reader, try and swap one of them out for a
different word that means the same thing.

Homophones - the same sound with a different spelling

There is only really one example that we need to talk about when we go through
what a homophone is (don’t worry, we will actually go through three!) As soon
as I mention it, you will know what I am referring to. A homophone is a group of
words that all sound the same but have a different spelling. They also represent
the most repeated mistake that a native speaker of English will make when
writing. Let’s see that first example now so we can all get on the same page.

You’re behaving exactly like your brother, naughty and rude!

The misuse of your and you’re is widespread among all native speakers of
English. Are you guilty of it? Don’t worry if you are, we will fix it now. So to be
very clear, you’re is a contracted version of the two words ‘you are’. Your is a
possessive word that means something belongs to you, in this case, it is your
brother.

What most people do who confuse the meaning of these two homophones, is use
only your in all circumstances.

Your very welcome!

I am sure you have seen this common mistake, perhaps someone has ridiculed
you for making it yourself. To make sure that you don’t make it again when
writing, slow down a bit and think about what it is you are trying to say. You are
very welcome is the correct and full version of this sentence. If you want to
shorten it, you can to you’re. My advice though, if you don’t want to mess up
while writing, use the full version every time.

Their new house is over there and they’re really pleased to be in this
neighborhood.

Very similarly to the previous example, many people trip up over this
homophone. Let’s clear it up together. Their is a possessive word and means that
something is theirs. It will always have a noun after it, in this case, it is their new
house. There is a location word meaning that over there. They’re is a contracted
word meaning they are. Just like before, if you don’t know which version to use,
slow down and think of the meaning. If you can avoid using they’re you will
also find that you don’t fall in the trap that it has laid for you.

Homographs - the same spelling and the same sound

Yes, you may be thinking what is the difference between a homograph which has
the same spelling and the same sound and a homonym that has the same sound
and the same spelling? Your question is very valid. The truth is, there is not
much of a difference between them other than what is considered important to a
homonym is that they sound the same. But with a homograph what is considered
important is that it has the same spelling. If after this chapter, you are still not
sure about the difference between them, don’t worry about it. Instead, focus on
practicing the examples because they are what will show you how to use each
word correctly.

Your lie has upset me so much, I have to go lie down.

In this example, the spelling is the same and the words sound the same but both
have very different meanings. The first lie means to be deceived by someone and
it is a noun. The second lie means to lay down on the bed, and this is a verb.
When you see these words, you can figure out which one is which by
recognizing which one is the noun and which one is the verb.

Heteronyms - the same spelling with a different sound

The final one of our 4 H’s is the mighty heteronym. This group of words all have
the same spelling but have a different sound. As a native English speaker, you
have a bit of an advantage that you intuitively know how to pronounce these
words. You can imagine that if you are approaching English as a second or third
language, it can be pretty tricky to explain that they are spelled the same but are
not spoken in the same way. They are absolutely one of the many exceptions that
we have in the English language, in this case, they are an exception based on
what is considered a standardized vowel sound. You should be able to approach
any language and given that you understand the way the vowels are pronounced
in combination with other letters, work out how to pronounce it. English just
doesn’t work this way. Unless someone shows you the different pronunciations,
you could continue to say it incorrectly until someone does.

Luckily, when it comes to writing, you don’t need to worry about how a word is
pronounced, you only need to worry about using it correctly.

I put down my bow and took a bow.

In this example, to identify what is what with these two homographs, you need
to see which word is the noun and which word is the verb. The first bow is a
noun, which we can see because it has the possessive word my before it. This
bow means a violin bow that is used to play the instrument. It could also be a
bow and arrow but because the rest of the sentence is about bowing to an
audience, you can assume it is talking about the instrument and not a weapon!
The second bow is about bending your back to accept congratulations from an
audience.

When I graduate I will become a graduate.

This example is very useful as it demonstrates how a verb and a noun of the
same word route are pronounced differently. In this sentence, the first graduate
is a verb meaning when you matriculate from college. The second graduate is a
noun meaning you will be a person with a degree. These two words are
heteronyms of each other because they are spelled the same but sound different.
This is very common with lots of verb/noun combinations of the same word
route. For example, insult, abuse, contest, permit, etc.

A really helpful way to remember how to pronounce these words is to learn the
correct intonation for both the verb and the noun. When it is the verb version of
the world the intonation is placed on the second beat of the word. In graduate,
this means that ‘duate is emphasized. Whereas, with the noun version, the first
beat is emphasized, which in this case is gra’. Try this out with the different
words listed above and you will see that this formula works every time!

So there we go, you have just had your first introduction into the wonderful
world of the exceptions of the English language. If you are anything like me, you
will enjoy these little idiosyncrasies. If you are not, don’t worry, just set about
learning them thoroughly so you’re not laughed out of the board meeting for
putting ‘your welcome’ in your Powerpoint presentation!
 Rule 4 - Become a Punctuation Pro
I want to write a really clear chapter for you that explains exactly why
punctuation is key because without punctuation we would be faced with
incredibly long sentences that never seem to end or have any direction to them
instead they simply continue onwards until some cataclysmic event stops them
or perhaps the cat comes to sit on the laptop forcing the writer to pay attention to
the cat wanting to have dinner rather than focusing on how to form a punchy
punctuation chapter that inspires people to use punctuation correctly which
whilst the writer pauses to think about the cat at that moment fortunately puts its
tail on the period button.

Wow! That was uncomfortable, wasn’t it? That is because life without
punctuation is uncomfortable as it simply loses meaning and we are unable to
communicate effectively.

Think of punctuation as the conductor in an orchestra. As part of an orchestra,

you have the strings section, the brass section, the percussion section, and the
wind section. These represent our verbs, nouns, adjectives, and adverbs. If all of
these sections were to play at once, or in an unorganized way, the sound they
would make would be terrible. Enter center stage, the conductor. The function of
this person is to manage all of the different sections and organize them so they
play at different times and for different reasons. The result is a beautiful, melodic
piece of music.

The same goes for punctuation. It serves as a way to organize our written
language so that the reader knows where one sentence starts and where another
one begins. As well as this, different forms of punctuation can be used to
emphasize certain parts of the sentence, such as an exclamation mark which
indicates surprise or shock to the reader.

So rather than having long, rambling sentences about your cat, learn how to
become a punctuation pro and you will certainly impress with your writing
skills.

Know when to end it: understanding periods, question marks and

exclamation marks
All great things must come to an end, even your new and improved written
work. However, finishing sentences off correctly is something that English
speakers are not particularly good at. If you don’t pay attention to grammar, you
will easily find yourself writing as if you are speaking. The result of this is you
often sound like you are babbling. You must be concise with your written
language and this is why punctuation is your savior.

That being said, before we start on this punctuation journey, I want to make a
suggestion that you learn how to use punctuation sparingly. Don’t stuff your
sentences full with punctuation just because you know how to use it. Short,
well-written sentences always beat long, convoluted structures. Keep it simple
and you can’t go wrong.

I went to the shop.

This sentence is as simple as it gets. We have a pronoun, a verb, and a noun

followed by a period. As is with all sentences, the period is placed at the very
end to suggest to the reader that we have finished explaining one piece of
information.

I went to the shop. I wanted to buy some bread.

I went to the shop as I wanted to buy some bread.

These two examples have exactly the same meaning, yet one is said in two
sentences and the other in one. When using a period, you can join two related
sentences together with a conjunction followed by placing a period at the end of
both now newly joined sentences. We will go further into detail later on about
phrases and clauses, but what is important to understand at this stage is that you
can join up similar information into one sentence. If it isn’t similar or related,
then put it in two.

How much does the bread cost?

Another way to end a sentence is with a question mark. As the name suggests,
you use a question mark when you are asking a question. Remember, to ask a
question, you also have to use one of the question words, which are how, why,
what, when, where, and who.

We have an incredible offer on bread today!

This is an example of using an exclamation mark. It is used this way to draw the
reader’s attention towards an exciting offer on bread. If you were to say this
sentence, you would almost certainly put a lot of energy into it. You would
probably raise your voice a bit and open your mouth wide. This is because you
want to make an impact with the sentence as most likely you want people to be
excited and come and buy your bread. When it comes to writing, you can’t
guarantee that a reader will understand the emotion you intend behind a
sentence, so putting an exclamation mark at the end can indicate that this
sentence has a strong meaning and conveys your intended emotion.

Get away from my house, now!

As you can see in this example, an exclamation mark can show more than one
emotion. It is not limited to showing a happy emotion. In this case, the sentence
is demonstrating anger and fear. By placing the exclamation mark at the end, it
allows the reader to feel the urgency of what is being said.

You know I like to throw in a caveat or two. Well, there is a caveat with
exclamation marks that is you don’t want to overuse them. Though they are
excellent at conveying emotion, outside of the world of creative writing and
sales, they can make your writing seem immature. Used sparingly, they are much
more impactful than packing every other sentence with them.

Know when to take a break: understanding commas

Where a period is a definite end to a sentence, a comma is more like taking a

break. You never know you might get back together after it. In all seriousness,
commas are very useful for breaking up your written language and emphasizing
meaning. You can look at a comma as a small pause between related information
in a sentence. Some people equate it to taking a breath while speaking. I prefer
to see it as a device for making the meaning of the sentence clearer.

However, the misuse of commas is an epidemic among English speakers. The

reason is, as I said above, people believe that commas act in the same way as
pausing while speaking. The problem with this is that people speak in largely
different ways. Some people speak really quickly, going through tons of
information in a very short time. Then you find people who speak very slowly,
gently meandering through what they are trying to say. It often follows, that if
you are a faster talker then you will tend to use very few commas and instead
pack your sentences with conjunctions. On the other side of the spectrum, slow
speakers stuff their sentences with commas rather than ending them and starting
a new sentence. Either way, both strategies result in comma abuse.

You saw at the start of this chapter an example of not using a comma correctly.
The result was a very long and uncomfortable to read sentence that has no place
in being in a grammar book. That being said, if we had broken that sentence up
with commas only, it still would have been far too long. The number one rule of
commas is to join up similar pieces of information. If it is not related, start a new
sentence. Don’t worry if you are unsure at this point in time about how to tell
what is and isn’t related. We are going to run through all the different ways of
using a comma to make it really clear.

After school, I am going to meet my friend Jessica.

This is an example of using a comma after an introductory phrase. After school

is the introductory phrase and can’t be a sentence by itself because it doesn’t
have a verb. By placing a comma after the phrase, it allows the reader to be
certain that the person is going to meet their friend Jessica after school rather
than just in general.

My mother, I was happy to see, was feeling much better.

Commas can also be used to break up sentences that contain information that is
non-essential but placed within the sentence to show emotion. This method uses
commas as interpreters in the sentence by surrounding the non-essential
information. In this example, I was happy to see is considered non-essential
information but something that adds value to the sentence. Therefore it has a
comma placed before it and after it.

That was really scary, wasn’t it?

Another way of using a comma is to place it just before asking a question. In this
example, the comma is placed before asking, wasn’t it? The question at the end
is called a question tag. It is a fairly informal way of asking a question so it is
best restricted to informal written work. To change it to be formal, write it as do
you agree that it was really scary?

Adam, there is a person waiting for you at reception.

Whenever you address a person directly in a sentence, you need to include a

comma directly after their name. More often than not, you will place the name at
the beginning of the sentence as you are usually giving them some sort of
direction.

My father, Juan, is an incredible singer.

This is an example of a nonessential appositive where you use commas to

separate similar information. What this means in lay terms is that my father and
Juan represent the same information told differently as it is talking about the
same person but using a different name to describe them. It is a nonessential
appositive because you could remove either my father or Juan from the
sentence and it would still make sense.

William Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a fine

example of classical theatre.

This sentence contains an essential appositive which is not separated by

commas. That is because the title of the play is essential information. If you
removed it from the sentence, you would not be able to understand which of
William Shakespeare’s plays is being talked about. So the trick to knowing
whether you use commas is to see what happens when you take out one of the
nouns which refer to the same thing. Does the sentence still make sense? Great,
use commas to separate that word out from the rest of the sentence.

March 3, 2009, is an important day in the history of the company as we

won our first major client.

When it comes to putting commas around dates, we are a bunch of very

confused writers! Do we put the comma before the day, the month, the year?
What if we change the format of the date, does that affect it? I think we need to
clear this up once and for all.

When you write the date in month-day-year format, like the example above, you
need to use commas after the day and the year. If you are writing it in day-
month-year format then commas are not necessary. It can be a bit tricky to
remember this rule, so my suggestion is that you say the date out loud. When
you say March 3, 2009, out loud you automatically pause between the day and
the year. If you say 3 March 2009 out loud you will notice that you don’t pause.
Therein lies the trick.

That woman is an aggressive, self-righteous, offensive hypocrite.

Now we come on to the good stuff. We love to list all of the ways that people
both delight and annoy us in equal measures. Listing is something that most
people are aware of as needing commas to separate out the different items.
However, when it comes to adjectives, you must be careful to not put a comma
in where it shouldn’t be. In the above example, all of the adjectives being used
could be said in any order and still make sense. Therefore, you use commas to
split them up.

The charming little girl came by the house again.

Whereas, in this example, you can’t interchange the words charming and little.
Therefore, this means that you don’t need to use any commas but the word order
must remain the same.

Jessica could have been an actress, but she didn’t want to leave home.

Another way to use a comma is before the word but . Be careful with this one
though, it feels natural to pause before saying the word but. However, you only
add a comma before it when the phrase after it is an independent clause,
meaning it could be a sentence all by itself.

I love oranges but hate lemons.

This is an example of when the phrase after the but couldn’t be a sentence by
itself. Therefore, you don’t need to use a comma.

One more common mistake with commas is using the word and. In American
English, people frequently place a comma before the word and mistakenly. The
only instance that you use a comma with and is in a list. Take a look at this
example for the correct use.

I went to the shop and bought bread, cheese, and chocolate.

If you notice in this example there are three items listed. That is why we have
put a comma before the and. If there are only two items in a list, you don’t need
to use a comma. In fact, using a comma before an and in a list is entirely
optional. So don’t worry if you don’t use one. The important thing is to not put
in a comma when it shouldn’t be there.

“It is fantastic to see you here!” said Juan.

“I like to eat jam on my toast, ” said Jessica.
These two examples show you when you should use a comma in quotation
marks. The first example ends in an exclamation mark and is an instance in
which you don’t use a comma inside the quotation mark. The exclamation is
important in the reader’s understanding of the emphasis of this sentence which is
why it is there and not replaced with a comma. The second example, however,
does use a comma because this sentence would normally end with a period. You
simply replace it the period with a comma and end the entire sentence with the
period instead.

After buying the candy (and promptly eating a few on the way over here),
I gave them to my delighted grandmother.

In our final example of using commas correctly (yes, there are a lot), we can see
how to use a comma correctly with parentheses. Whatever the situation, you
don’t use a comma before opening parenthesis, but you do use one after closing
parenthesis before carrying on with the rest of the sentence.

So, there you have it! If you take a moment to learn how to use commas in
different situations I can guarantee that you will be miles ahead of your
colleagues when it comes to writing skills. They are so often misused that by
doing it right you will shine bright!

Know when to separate: understanding colons, semicolons, hyphens, and

dashes

We are going to move on to a group of punctuation now that in the 21st century
have run away with themselves a little bit. This group of punctuation, which
includes colons, semicolons, hyphens, and dashes, mainly live in the realm of
informal language. That being said, they did start off their lives as formal
punctuation and if we try really hard collectively, we may be able to restore them
to their former glory.

Colons, semicolons, hyphens, and dashes are predominantly about emphasis.

Their purpose is to amplify the meaning of what is about to be said. Nowadays,
we write in very different ways depending on the context. If we are at work or
college using emails and writing papers, we write very formally. If we are
speaking with our friends and family over social media or through SMS, we tend
to write informally. In the latter, we love to imbue what we are writing with the
emotions we are feeling. Emotive language and informal grammatical structures
have become very common because of the frequency with which we are using
social media and SMS. This, in turn, has transferred to our formal written
language, and in particular, we now regularly use colons and dashes, whereas in
different eras they didn’t see the light of day.

There are three different types of birds living by the lake: heron, starling,
and blackbird.

Starting with colons, the main purpose of a colon is to alert the reader to
important information in the sentence. In this case, the names of the birds are the
essential information in the sentence. The colon is placed right before the list of
birds and importantly it does not have a verb before it.

The three different types of birds living by the lake are heron, starling, and
blackbird.

This example means exactly the same as above but it is written without a colon.
That is because the word are has been placed before the list of bids and that is a
verb. When you use a colon instead of a verb, in the mind of the reader they
assume that you are saying the verb which is why it isn’t needed.

You have two choices here: blonde and curly, or brunette and straight.

What comes after a colon doesn’t have to be a list. It simply has to be related
information. In this example, two choices are presented to the reader with the
inference being that they must choose one option.

A bat is not a bird: it is a small mammal.

As you can see with this example, a colon has been placed between two pieces
of related information. Each of these bits of information could be a separate
sentence by themselves. By using a colon, the emphasis is placed on the bat
being a mammal rather than a bird, for which it is commonly mistaken. The
colon draws additional attention to this fact as if it is a big arrow pointing
towards the second phrase that says don’t forget this!

Keep this image of a big arrow with flashy lights in your head when you are
using a colon. If the information that comes after a colon is not worthy of such
attention, simply put a period and start a new sentence. 99% of the time, you
should use a period over a colon. The 1% normally comes in titles as a colon can
be a good way to create a catchy title that also includes an understandable
explanation about what the reader is about to read.
 I ordered an extra-large portion of fries; life is too short for counting calories.

Now we move on to the younger brother of the colon: the semicolon. Never has
a punctuation mark been as controversial as the semicolon. The reason is that it
has a reputation for being unnecessary and only used by those in high levels of
academia. Neither is strictly true. There are plenty of legitimate reasons to use a
semicolon over other punctuation. Nonetheless, if you use it incorrectly (or
maybe even when you use it correctly), you may face a bit of stick for it.
Unfairly so, but you have been given fair warning.

In the example above (and also a life mantra), you can see that a semicolon has
been used to separate two complete sentences that are related to each other. A
simple way to use a semicolon is to take two sentences and see if you can join
them with a conjunction. If you can, whip that conjunction out of there and
replace it with a semicolon.

I need to order the following items: extra-large leggings; a dress with a

zipper down the side; two pairs of size 8 red shoes; and a cheeseburger
because I am still hungry!

Another useful way to use semicolons is when you are writing a list of items that
have more than one word. The semicolon helps to pause the reader and identify
which parts of the sentence belong to each list item. For example, a dress with a
zip down the side is a long description. Having a semicolon after it rather than a
comma serves to slow the reader down and ensure they understand exactly what
the list item was before moving on.

What is her problem with me; moreover, why does she continue to insult me?

You can also use a semicolon to connect two sentences in which the second
sentence starts with a conjunctive adverb such as more moreover, however,
finally, likewise, etc. This is actually a pretty nifty way to punctuate such
sentences as using such adverbs as above usually indicates that you are writing
something emotional. Therefore, using a semicolon to emphasize the second part
of the sentence is a great way to really assert the meaning.

This is a child- friendly restaurant.

Welcome to the world of hyphens, designed to trip you up! Don’t worry it isn’t
that much to get your head around, it is just that we so commonly use the hyphen
incorrectly that you will probably think the incorrect use is actually the right way
to do it. The best thing to do is to clear your mind of everything you know about
hyphens and let’s start again with them from the beginning.

In the example above, a hyphen has been placed between the two words child
and friendly to emphasize that they are connected in meaning. This is important
as you must not understand the sentence as it being anything other than child-
friendly. If these two words are separated you run the risk of the sentence being
misinterpreted.

Juan has become a highly respected professor.

In contrast to the other example, this one does not use a hyphen. This is because
even though highly and respected must be said in that order to preserve the
correct meaning and that they are connected together, you do not use a hyphen
when the first word is an adverb. How do you remember what is and isn’t an
adverb? If you recall, most adverbs end in ‘ly. If you place a hyphen between
these two words you will fall into the trap that many of us have before. Keep in
mind, noun + adverb = hyphen, adverb + noun = no-hyphen. The reason behind
this is that you could remove highly from the sentence without much impact on
the meaning as adverbs are about a degree of something. So Juan would still be
respected regardless. However, if you removed child from the other example, the
restaurant would just be friendly, which is a bit weird; not to mention, it totally
changes the meaning.

All students must read pages 10- 19 of the coursebook.

When is a hyphen not a hyphen? Well, when it is a dash. Yes, they may look the
same but they have very subtle differences in size and more importantly, they
function differently. Have you ever experienced your word processor acting a
little bit strange when you enter a hyphen between two words and all of a sudden
the size of the hyphen gets bigger? Well, that is because your computer knows a
thing or two about grammar and has actually inserted either an em dash or an en
dash rather than a hyphen.

The example of the student’s reading homework contains an en dash. It is a

fairly simple device that places a dash instead of saying to or through. You can
use this for numbers or time. It is very common to see it used as a shorthand.
Just make sure you are using it for a range of numbers or a span of time. It is not
for connecting random numbers together.
 The Grammy Award- winning singer Jessica will be with us here tonight!

Another use of the en dash is to join together a two-word compound noun with
an adjective to create a compound adjective. Jessica is not just a singer, she is a
Grammy Award-winning singer. The en dash provides added emphasis to this in
the sentence.

I always loved Dolly Parton - or rather, I was obsessed with her.

The dash in this sentence is different. It is called an em dash and can be used for
emphasis as well. Notice that it has spaces either side of it, this is one way to tell
what it is. In this sentence, the em dash is replacing parentheses. The reason is to
exaggerate the information in the second part of the sentence, rather than side-
lining it by placing it in parentheses. Once again though, this grammatical tactic
can make your written work look a little bit immature and informal. One or two
em dashes can impressive. Yet, a whole bunch of them looks like you are
screaming all over the page!

He has always been allergic to two things: tomatoes and dairy.

He has always been allergic to two things - tomatoes and dairy.

In our final example of dashes, this is another em dash. It works in exactly the
same way as a colon with the added oomph that an em dash provides. As with all
our previous examples of separating out words using colons, semicolons,
hyphens, and dashes, it is to be used lightly. Sprinkle a few into your work but
don’t overdo it. That way you can show that you really are a punctuation pro.

Know when to divide and conquer: understanding apostrophes

The apostrophe is a multitalented punctuation mark. It can own everything and

cut you out of the deal in an instant. Confused, don’t worry. I will explain what I
mean right now.

I am very excited for my sister’ s wedding.

First off let’s talk about owning it all. To do that you need an apostrophe as it is
the most common method to show possession, meaning that you or someone else
owns something. In the example above, the person is excited about going to their
sister’ s wedding. We know it is the wedding of their sister because there is an ‘s
after the word sister.
You will be pleased to know that in English, there is only one way to show that
something is possessive and that is to add an ‘s. So as long as you add this, you
won’t go too wrong.

I am very excited about my sister Jessica’ s wedding.

That being said, you may falter off track when trying to position the possessive
when a few more words are added to the mix. In the above example, the
possessive apostrophe has switched to the word Jessica and is no longer on the
word sister. That is because it wouldn’t make sense to stay on the word sister as
it would suggest that the sister owns Jessica rather than Jessica owning her
wedding. If you get confused, say it out loud and you will probably catch the
mistake. Concentrate on who owns who.

This isn’ t anything to do with you.

Now comes the taking everything away from you part - or rather, taking
everything away from the words. The above example showcases apostrophes
being used in contractions. As you have heard me say before, we love to speed
up our language. This has resulted in us shortening two words into one and using
a contraction apostrophe to fill in the gaps. The word isn’t is a contraction of is
not.

There are lots of examples of contractions that we use regularly, such as don’t,
you’re, hasn’t, I’d, etc. Despite using them frequently, we all have a tendency to
mess them up a bit and put the apostrophe in the wrong place. More often than
not the apostrophe is placed before the last letter replacing vowel sounds in the
second word. Commonly, people place it between the two contracted words, for
example, do’nt and would’nt. Remember, the apostrophe is meant to replace
missing letters so in the case of don’t it is replacing the o in not.

There we are, it’ s finally time to leave.

The dog thinks its bed is the sofa.

As we wrap up apostrophes, it’s about time we solved the ultimate apostrophe

mystery: what is the difference between it’s and its . You know that English is
the language of exception and this is no exception, well, except it is an
exception! When coming to deciding how to deal with the case of it’s and its , it
was a bit tricky for grammar theorists. The words it is had long been shortened
to it’s and so was already in common usage. However, it is a pronoun that can
have a possessive and if it followed the possessive rule should add ‘s to the end
of it. However, it’s was already taken as a contraction so it was finally settled
that its was to be used as the possessive. To work out which to use, ask yourself
does the sentence say it is something or is it talking about owning something.
Once you answer this, you will know the correct form to use.

Know when to wrap it up: understanding quotation marks and parentheses

As we come to the end of our journey through punctuation we are going to finish
off with two superstars! First, let’s discuss how we use quotation marks
correctly. Second, we will wrap up the whole chapter with a how-to-guide on
parentheses.

“ The weather is going to be perfect in Marbella,” Jessica said.

Quotation marks don’t take much explaining. They are used whenever you insert
someone else’s words into your writing. The absolute rule of quotation marks is
that when you open a set, you also have to close them. So, if you want to quote
someone, you start with one set of quotation marks that point towards the right
followed by the other person’s words ending with a punctuation mark such as a
comma and a second set of quotation marks that point towards the left.

Juan contradicted Jessica, “ They told me at the airport there would be a

big storm in Marbella.”

Another thing to keep in mind when using quotation marks is the position they
come in the sentence. It is easier with the first example as it comes at the
beginning. However, if it comes in the middle or end of a sentence you must
remember to capitalize the first word in the quote.

“ I think you will find I am right,” said Jessica, “ after all, I am the
meteorologist.”

That being said, if you decide to split your quote into two parts, you only
capitalize the first letter of the first word in the first section of the quote, ending
that section with a comma. When you add the second section of the quote, you
don’t need to capitalize it. When you are using this type of construction, think of
it as one long quote that if written as a whole wouldn’t have a random capital
letter in the middle. That way you won’t forget about the capitalization rule.

At this time of year, you can hear recitations of Charles Dickens’s ‘ A

 Christmas Carol’ all across the city.

We can also use quotation marks to highlight the name of a short story, chapter
or article in text. To do this, you can use only one quotation mark rather than two
to indicate that it is not a direct quote. Be careful with this though as it is
commonly misused. Using double quotation marks around the word or phrase is
bad practice. It is called air quotes and is only used in media for emphasis. On
the whole, it is better to italicize names and translations to highlight them. Any
name of a book, film or famous person should never be put in quotes. However,
if you stick to the italic format in your word processor, you can’t go wrong.

“‘ A Christmas Carol’ is my favorite of all Dickens’s short stories,” said

the professor.

Sometimes, we like to try and play with the mind of our computer and see if it
can keep up with the strength of our punctuation knowledge! One such example
is when we need to put quotation marks within a quotation mark. It can send
your computer a little bit haywire if you are not careful. When quoting the name
of a short story, poem or article when also quoting what someone else has
written, use only one quotation mark. As you can see in the above example, the
name of the short story comes at the beginning of the sentence, which means you
have three quotation marks in a row. It is strictly correct, however, if you can
restructure the sentence to avoid this, it is much more pleasing to the eye and
won’t send your computer into a download spiral of grammar confusion!

The end is now in sight, you have almost earned your badge for being a
punctuation pro. Let’s wrap it up with parentheses. A very useful punctuation
mark, mainly because of our love of embellishing our sentences with additional
information, the parenthesis is used to denote additional information within a
sentence.

While climbing the stairs ( paying more attention to his phone than his
feet) , Juan tripped and fell.

The main test for using parentheses is does the sentence make sense without the
additional information? If it does, then you have a good case to use parentheses.
Make sure that you always use them in pairs to surround the additional
information and add a punctuation mark such as a comma, colon, or period,
directly after the last parenthesis. In this example, the additional information is
not needed for the meaning to remain the same, that Juan tripped on the stairs.
Yet, its addition adds useful insight into why he fell.

My assignment is to write about the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (

NATO) with my classmate ( Jessica) .

This example is a test. Can you see which word is correctly put in parentheses
and which one is not? Let me help you out. NATO has been placed correctly in
parentheses because it is an acronym of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
It is more commonly known by its acronym so its addition to the sentence adds
clarity for the reader. You will notice that you don’t include punctuation after an
acronym in parentheses. I must warn you though that our use of acronyms has
gotten wildly out of control. We use acronyms for everything, particularly in the
corporate business world. Don’t just stick in an acronym for every long name or
concept, only use the ones that are widely known by the general public. I do
know that when you are fighting for word space in your papers at college, you
want to use an acronym to save on space and time. However, have mercy on
your professor who just doesn’t want to read that the FTA has commissioned the
HRH to work on behalf of the NWRA in partnership with the SPRCAN. Stuffing
sentences with acronyms is painful and to be avoided.

The mistake in the example is that Jessica, the name of the person’s classmate,
should not be in parentheses. Even though it is additional information and the
sentence makes sense with or without its inclusion, you simply add a comma and
then place the name.

Lastly, let’s talk about square brackets. These super helpful guys are a form of
parentheses that you can use to add clarity to quotes. You can insert words into
quotes to make them easier to read.

It was written in the monthly report that, “The desired effect [ of the
presentation] was achieved, everyone clapped and cheered.”

As you can see in the example, square brackets have been used to ensure that the
reader knows that what is being talked about is the presentation. It is a small
addition to the quote to ensure the meaning is translated correctly. Keep in mind
that when using square brackets, the additional information should be very brief
and concise. One of the main purposes of square brackets is for quoting the work
of other people. So, if you add information into their quote that manipulates the
meaning to something it is not meant to be, you are headed for trouble.
And there you have it, folks! We have come to the end of our sojourn through
essential English language punctuation. I am certain by now that you will have a
much more thorough understanding of when and when not to use the different
punctuation marks. You know what I am going to say, practice makes perfect, so
go through the examples as much as you can. That way, you can proudly show
off your pro skills, with newfound confidence born from finally knowing what a
semicolon actually is.
 Rule 5 - Present, Past, and Future Tense
One thing you can guarantee in life is that the seconds turn into minutes, minutes
to hours, hours to days, and days to years. Time keeps marching on, whether or
not we like it. What that means for our use of English grammar is that we have
to be able to capture the fact that some things are happening now, some things
have already happened, and some things are going to happen. To be able to cope
with our time organized existence, the English language is written in tenses:
present, past, and future.

In short, the present tense expresses what is happening right now, or something
which is ongoing. The past tense expresses something that has already happened.
The future tense expresses what might happen in the future. It sounds simple
enough, doesn’t it?

Well, the truth is, as is with lots of English grammar, there are a couple of
different ways to use each tense correctly. What is more, a very common trait
when writing in English is for writers to switch between tenses incorrectly. The
reason is that, as with lots of English, you can use the tenses in exceptional ways
whereby you may use a past tense verb to actually talk about the present. We do
this an awful lot when speaking and the result is that we have transferred this
trait to our written word. The best advice is to keep it simple and stick to the
rules. There is never a justified reason to create overly complicated grammatical
structures. Learn now which tense is which and focus on sticking to the right
tense for the situation you are writing about.

Live in the present: understanding the present tense

With all the tenses we will go through, there is a simple version, a not so simple
version, and a slightly more not so simple version. I wish it was all just one easy
to understand concept but unfortunately, it is not. Not to fear, I am going to break
down each variety so you can see how to use it correctly.

Simple present

I am happy to learn grammar, as I write every day.

This is an example of the simple present tense. It is used to describe what you
are doing right now, such as right now I am happy to learn grammar. It is also
used to describe a habitual activity that you do regularly. In this case, I write
every day.
The simple present tense is not difficult to conjugate as the majority of verbs for
all pronouns use the root form of the verb, or add s or es to it.

First-person singular I write

Second-person singular You write

Third-person singular He/She/It writes

First-person plural We write

Second-person plural You write

Third-person plural They write

The notable exception to the simple conjugation of the simple present tense is
the verb to be. It doesn’t follow the above rule and just needs to be learned.

First-person singular I am

Second-person singular You are

Third-person singular He/She/It is

First-person plural We are

Second-person plural You are

Third-person plural They are

I do not want to go to the park.

To make a simple present tense verb negative, you can add the words do not (or
shorten it to don’t), before the verb.

I am not happy.

For the verb to be, you add not after the verb to make it negative.
 I have traveled to China before.

Present perfect

The present perfect tense is the next version of the present tense and one which
can trip people. The reason is that it is used to describe something that has
happened in the past but without giving a definite time period or it can be used to
show something that started in the past and continues to the present. In this
example, the word have is added before a past tense verb to show that this
person has traveled to China but it is not known when they did.

The present perfect tense is easy to conjugate by adding either have or has before
a past tense verb.

First-person singular I have traveled

Second-person singular You have traveled

Third-person singular He/She/It has traveled

First-person plural We have traveled

Second-person plural You have traveled

Third-person plural They have traveled

To make a present perfect tense verb negative, you can add the words not after
the word have or has .

I have not traveled to China before.

Present continuous

The present continuous tense is the final version of the present tense which we
will talk about. It is used to describe a situation happening right now or in the
very near future.

The taxi is waiting outside for you.

In this example, you can see that the action is happening right at that moment
and is continuing to happen. It is a really useful way to conjugate a verb in the
present tense. The verb is waiting and it is made continuous by adding the word
is before it.

The present continuous tense is easy to conjugate by adding the verb to be to the
present participle (meaning it has ing at the end of the verb).

First-person singular I am waiting

Second-person singular You are waiting

Third-person singular He/She/It is waiting

First-person plural We are waiting

Second-person plural You are waiting

Third-person plural They are waiting

To make a present continuous tense verb negative, you can add the words not
after the verb to be.

I am not waiting any longer.

Looking to the past: understanding the past tense

As you can see by its name, the past tense is all about actions that took place
already. Even though this seems easy to navigate, it can be tricky as we
commonly misuse the past tense by mixing it up with the present tense in
sentences. Just check through your work, paying close attention to your tenses,
to ensure you have conjugated the verbs consistently in the same tense.

Simple past

I learned a lot from my English professor.

This is an example of the simple past tense. It simply describes an action that
takes place in the past.

The simple past tense is not difficult to conjugate as long as the verb is regular.
You mainly add ed to the end of the root verb.

First-person singular I learned

Second-person singular You learned

Third-person singular He/She/It learned

First-person plural We learned

Second-person plural You learned

Third-person plural They learned

When it comes to irregular verbs, however, it is a bit rockier. Below is a common

example, but for most you must learn them by heart.

First-person singular I was

Second-person singular You were

Third-person singular He/She/It was

First-person plural We were

Second-person plural You were

Third-person plural They were

That is strange, I did not learn anything from that professor.

When it comes to making a simple past verb negative, it is not quite as simple.
You must add the words did not before a root verb. This can trip you up as it
looks like a present tense sentence.

I was not happy.

For the verb to be, you add was not or were not after the verb to make it
negative.
Past perfect

I was shocked to discover that my dog had eaten the entire birthday
cake.

The past perfect tense is an interesting tense used to describe a sequence of

events that took place in the past. It is not used as commonly as the simple past
tense, which does lead to common misunderstandings on how to use it. If you
remember it as a way to recount actions that have taken place in a certain order
in the past, you will find no problem with it.

In the above example, the simple past tense is first used to explain that the
person was shocked. Why was the person shocked? It is because the dog had
eaten the entire birthday cake. The had eaten is written in past perfect tense and
is part of a sequence of events. First the person expressed they were shocked and
then they said why.

Luckily, the past perfect tense is simpler to conjugate than to understand. To

conjugate it you only have to add had before a past participle.

First-person singular I had eaten

Second-person singular You had eaten

Third-person singular He/She/It had eaten

First-person plural We had eaten

Second-person plural You had eaten

Third-person plural They had eaten

To make a past perfect tense verb negative, you add the words not after the word
had .

They demanded I leave the restaurant even though I had not eaten yet.

Past continuous

The past continuous tense is the final version of the past tense which I will
mention. It is used to describe a situation that happened in the past over a period
of time.

Even though the sun was shining all summer, I could not find happiness
in it.

In this example, you can see that the action of the sun shining happened in the
past over a period of time which is defined as the summer. As I have mentioned
before, this is one tense that people mix with the present tense when writing, so
keep in mind the purpose of it.

The past continuous tense is conjugated by adding was or were to the present
participle (meaning it has ing at the end of the verb).

First-person singular I was waiting

Second-person singular You were waiting

Third-person singular He/She/It was waiting

First-person plural We were waiting

Second-person plural You were waiting

Third-person plural They were waiting

To make a past continuous tense verb negative, you can add the words not after
the verb to be.

Don’t worry, I was not waiting for too long.

Dreaming of the future: understanding the future tense

Finally, we will take a look at the future tense. Arguably it’s the most exciting
tense, as who doesn’t like dreaming of future plans. This tense is all about things
that have not happened yet but that we want to talk about anyway. This might be
so you can make future plans with your friends or predict the score of the footie
game.

Simple future
 By the end of the year, I will learn a new language.

This is an example of the simple future tense that talks of learning a new
language in the future.

The simple future tense is not difficult to conjugate as you either add will before
a root verb or you add am/is/are going to plus the root verb.

First-person singular I will learn

Second-person singular You will learn

Third-person singular He/She/It will learn

First-person plural We will learn

Second-person plural You will learn

Third-person plural They will learn

Even though it is easy to conjugate, the simple future can be confusing as you
can have two ways to say the same thing.

First-person singular I am going to learn

Second-person singular You are going to learn

Third-person singular He/She/It is going to learn

First-person plural We are going to learn

Second-person plural You are going to learn

Third-person plural They are going to learn

As you can see, I will learn and I am going to learn are both in the simple future
tense and both mean the same thing. The difference is that using will is
considered formal and using going to is considered informal.

You will not learn anything if you don’t stop talking over the class.
To make a simple future tense negative that uses will, simply add not after it.

This year will be not be any different, I am not going to learn French no
matter what I promised myself on New Years’ Eve.

To make a simple future tense negative that uses going to, add not before it.

Future perfect

By the time I arrive, he will have left.

The future perfect tense may look like it has been designed to catch you out but
it isn’t as nonsensical as it appears. Okay, yes you do use a past tense verb to
describe something that has not happened yet. However, when you think about
it, there is no other way to describe it. As you can see in this example, the future
perfect tense is for describing something happening in the future that is
dependent upon something else happening first. By the time the person arrives,
which is the first part in a sequence of events, the other person will have left.
The latter part is the future perfect tense.

The good news is that the future perfect tense is easy to conjugate. Add will
have to a past tense verb to show that this has yet to happen.

First-person singular I will have left

Second-person singular You will have left

Third-person singular He/She/It will have left

First-person plural We will have left

Second-person plural You will have left

Third-person plural They will have left

To make a future perfect tense verb negative, you add the words not before the
word have .

If you are lucky, they will not have left yet.

Future continuous
The future continuous tense is the final version of the future tense which we will
cover. Its function is to describe something that will happen in the future over a
period of time.

I am very proud to announce that my sister will be running the marathon

this year.

In this example, you can see that her sister will be running the marathon. It is a
great way to conjugate in the future as it emphasises the continuous nature of the
action that will take place over a period of time. Something to note, you can only
use the future continuous for action verbs such as running, walking, swimming,
etc. If you try and conjugate it using a verb that doesn’t describe an active action,
it will appear ironic and odd to the reader. Just stick to the simple future tense for
those verbs.

The future continuous tense is conjugated by adding will be to a present

participle verb (meaning it has ing at the end of the verb).

First-person singular I will be running

Second-person singular You will be running

Third-person singular He/She/It will be running

First-person plural We will be running

Second-person plural You will be running

Third-person plural They will be running

To make a future continuous tense verb negative, you can add the word not in
between will and be.

Due to an injury, Jessica will not be running today.

That is everything you are going to get from me in terms of tenses. There are a
few extra tenses that you can use. However, my advice is that the tenses
described above are by far the most commonly used and have you covered for
whichever situation you wish to describe. Approach cautiously when starting to
use tenses. Question your old habits as much as you can and ask yourself if you
have broken away from mixing up the tenses. Don’t worry, run through the
examples a few more times to get more familiar and you will be just fine!
Hey, are you enjoying the book? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Many readers do not know how hard reviews are to come by, and
how much they help an author.

I would be incredibly grateful if you could take just 60 seconds to

write a brief review on Amazon, even if it’s just a few sentences!
>> Click here to leave a quick review
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts!
Your review will genuinely make a difference for me and help gain
exposure for my work. - Melony
 Rule 6 - Structuring Sentences With
Ease
We have learned about a wide variety of different grammar rules including,
different tenses, punctuation and the basic building blocks. Yet, these rules don’t
mean anything by themselves. To actually write, we have to take everything that
we have learned so far and put it into a sentence. This is what we are going to
achieve in this chapter. It is not a difficult task by any means. What we must
keep in mind is the basics of the rules we have learned so far and use them in an
uncomplicated manner to form simple but effective sentences. I will cover a
range of different sentence structures. By the end of this chapter you will have
strong repertoire of writing structures that you can roll in any situation.
I could never have imagined that when I turned thirty I would have the
opportunity to become the one thing I had always wanted to be. This was
something I had dreamed about for a long time, finally it was here, finally
I was a mother.
I wanted to show you this example to demonstrate what I mean by overly
complicated sentence structure. It takes a long time to get to the point that the
writer is trying to make. It is also contains a lot of redundant information that
adds very little to the meaning of the two sentences.
When I turned thirty I fulfilled a lifelong dream of becoming a mother.
When we rewrite the information to form a concise and well formed sentence,
we get the impact of the meaning immediately, with all redundant information
removed. Many people feel that they want to pack their sentences with as much
emotion as possible, yet this often leads to long and confusing sentences. Don’t
underestimate the power of a small well-formed sentence. Always aim to write
in this way.
Before we get to sentences, we must look to phrases and clauses first. This is
going to be a quick overview as I don’t want to weigh you down with the
technical side of sentence structure. You must be aware of the following but the
structuring of sentences is much more important, especially knowing how to
keep them concise and meaningful.

Phrases
A phrase is a group of related words that function together to represent
something. There are different types of phrases which you can identify by what
type of building block word they are using.

Noun phrase Verb phrase Adjective Adverb Prepositional

phrase phrase phrase

the tiny baby was playing very small truly beside the bed
beautiful

Phrases as you can see are collections of words. What is important to remember
is that they can’t be a complete sentence by themselves. Clauses on the other
hand, though they look a lot like phrases, can stand alone more times than not
and that is because they contain a verb.

Clauses

There are two main types of clauses, independent and dependent.

The art of Shiatsu massage was unknown in the Western World.

In this example, you can see an independent clause. If we analyze the sentence,
there are several phrases within it. The art of Shiatsu massage is a noun phrase
and was unknown is a verb phrase. We can identify it as an independent clause
as it has a verb and the sentence is complete and understandable.

An independent clause is made up of a subject and a verb, also called a

predicate. It stands alone as a sentence as it expresses a complete thought. When
examining a sentence, if it is a simple case of a subject plus a verb with a period
at the end, then this an independent clause.

Until Jessica returned

In contrast, this example represents a dependent clause. It is clear it is not a full

sentence as it does not have any punctuation mark at the end. What is more, even
if it did have a period at the end, it can’t be complete. That is because the adverb
until needs to be completed, you must ask yourself until what? On top of this,
you must not confuse a dependent clause with a phrase. This is not a verb phrase
as it contains more than just a noun and a verb, it also has an adverb in it.

Until Jessica returned, her dog would sit looking out of the window
waiting for her.

Dependent clauses provide additional information to independent clauses as they

can’t stand alone by themselves. In this example, you can see that the dependent
clause has been added to an independent clause to show what was happening
until Jessica returned.

Sentences

Now we get to the good stuff, sentences. We are going to go through the four
main types of sentence structure which are simple sentences, compound
sentences, complex sentences, and compound-complex sentences.
Simple Sentences
A simple sentence has one independent clause with one subject and one verb. As
well as the subject and verb, a simple sentence can also have adjectives and
adverbs. What a simple sentence can't have is another independent clause or
dependent clause within it.
Jessica returned from work at six each day.

In this example, you can see that there is one subject, Jessica , and one verb,
returned . Nothing has been added to the sentence other than nouns and
adverbs. This is the trick to check whether it is a simple sentence or not.

Juan married within a year.

One subject and one verb can be seen again in this example. It is a powerful
example as it demonstrates how to deliver a sentence concisely and with oomph!
Simple sentences are a great tool to have in your bag. They can be used to
deliver poignant messages. You often see them used in literature and other
creative writing. That is because a good author knows that you don’t need to
fluff out your sentences to deliver the message effectively.
Compound sentences
As much as I am a fan of short, concise sentences, I’ll admit that there is a need
to say a little bit more sometimes. Enter center stage the compound sentence. A
compound sentence combines two or more independent clauses to make a
complete sentence. The independent clauses are connected with a conjunction
such as for, and, but, or, etc. If you are really brave, you could also use a
semicolon to connect them together.

We traveled all day to get here and now you want me to leave?

Remember that a compound sentence contains two or more independent clauses.

In this example it is clear that there are two separate parts. First we talk about
travelling all day. This clause is independent as it has a subject and a verb.
Second we talk about being told to leave. This clause is also independent
because it too has a subject and a verb. You could, in theory, place a period after
the first clause and not use a conjunction. However, the reason a conjunction is
used and a compound sentence is necessary is that these two bits of information
directly relate to each other. The use of a compound sentence emphasizes that
despite traveling all day they are being told to leave. How rude!

Complex sentences
Don’t worry, these aren’t actually complicated. A complex sentence joins one
independent clause with at least one dependent clause. The independent clause is
called the main clause and is linked to the dependent clause with a subordinating
conjunction. This type of conjunction includes the adverbs until, while, and even
though.

Jessica’s dog would not rest until she returned.

This example shows you that complex sentences don’t have to be long. The first
part of the sentence about Jessica’s dog represents the main clause as it is an
independent clause. We can tell this because it has a subject, Jessica’s dog , and
it has a verb, would not rest . We also know it is an independent clause because
it could be a complete sentence by itself. To make this a complex sentence, a
dependent clause has been attached using a subordinating conjunction. This is
the until she returned part. Despite having a subject and a verb in this clause, as
it has until at the start of the sentence, it can’t stand alone as a complete
sentence.

While I cooked dinner, Jessica took the dog out for a walk.

Complex sentences can also start with the dependent clause that is joined to the
main clause by a comma. Remember though that the dependent clause must start
with a subordinating conjunction. This structure works well with while and even
though .

Compound-Complex Sentences

Finally, we come to our fourth type of sentence structure, the ultimate

compound-complex sentence structure. A compound-complex sentence has at
least two independent clauses and at least one dependent clause. Yes, it may
sound like a recipe for a long and convoluted sentence, and it is. Pay attention
when using this structure to adding in unnecessary information. Keep it neat and
concise. If you do this, you can impress with this type of structure. Fail at it and
your page turns into a mess of confusion. No pressure then!

I planned to go to the mall, but I couldn’t until the postman delivered the
post.

Let’s break up the sentence to see the different parts. The first part, I planned to
go to the mall, is an independent clause. It has a subject and a verb. It can also
be a complete sentence. The second part, but I couldn’t until, is a dependent
clause that uses a subordinating conjunction. The third part, the postman
delivered the post, is also an independent clause. It too has a subject and a verb.
It could be a complete sentence by itself but importantly it would have a
different meaning if it did stand alone. All together, the sum of these parts
qualifies this sentence to be a compound-complex sentence.

You now know the four different types of sentences and you should be confident
in using them correctly. Whenever you are faced with deciding which type of
sentence structure to use, keep in mind that it should be short and to the point.

There are a few additional bits of advice I can offer you to keep you from
forming sloppy sentences. Firstly, never join the two independent clauses in a
compound sentence with a comma, potentially also adding a third or fourth
independent clause this way. This I call comma splicing and it results in a long
sentence with unrelated information grouped together.

Secondly, your choice of sentence structure should depend upon who you are
talking to. If your audience is children then using compound-complex sentences
is inappropriate. Likewise, when trying to impress your boss, relying only on
simple sentences can make your writing appear childlike. There is a fine balance
to strike.

Lastly, as you develop your style, you will come to favor certain sentence
structures. This is a good thing as it designates your writing as yours. Often, the
sentence structures you come to use mirror the way you speak. Be mindful of
this and be careful not to waffle. However, if complex sentences become your
go-to sentence structure, then that is just fine. Keep them concise and full of
rhythm. That way your writing style will be well pronounced on the page.
Now you have learned your sentence structures and can tell your way around an
independent clause or dependent clause, it is time to practice. Go through each
type of sentence structure and write out 4 or 5 examples of your own. Once you
have done this, leave them for a while and return to check them later. When you
check them, did you only put related information into each sentence? Did you
correctly form a compound sentence rather than mixing it with a complex
sentence? Be critical of what you have written. You are looking for bad habits
that you may have developed. I am trying to break you of those habits so you
can go forward from now only using correct sentence structure.
 Rule 7 - Conquer Capitalization
It is fair to say, we have a problem with capitalization. This problem has
developed so much that we now frantically place capital letters on everything.
My advice, calm down. We are going to clear up this mess once and for all. By
the end of this chapter you will be confidently placing capital letters only where
needed. Let’s go through them one by one.

The first word of a sentence begins with a capital letter.

M y mother is coming to visit us. W e need to clean the entire house. N

ow!

The names of the days of the week, and of the months of the year, are written
with a capital letter.

Next F riday, T uesday, 21 J anuary, there will be no classes.

The names of historical eras are capitalized.

Today, we will study the I ron A ge.

The names of holy festivals and holidays should be capitalized.

The children were so excited they stayed awake until C hristmas morning.

The names of languages are written with a capital letter.

I am studying E nglish literature, geography, and math.

Words that are related to a particular place must be written with a capital letter.

I am meeting with the F rench ambassador.

However, if a word related to a particular place is part of a phrase, you do not

capitalize it.
 I could eat a danish pastry every morning, but I shouldn’t.

Proper nouns should have a capital letter. Be careful not to capitalize words that
look like they could be a proper noun but are in fact just a common noun.
Normally, these are the names of professions, such as doctor, president, manager,
etc.

J essica is our new student body president.

You will find that religious names and terms are often capitalized. These may be
names of different religions, gods, important figures, and holy books.

The Q uran is a holy book for M uslims.

The name of a book, play, poem, film, magazine, newspaper or piece of music
should be capitalized. Remember that whenever you have a conjunction or
article in the title, these should not be capitalized.

H arry P otter and the S orcerer's S tone is the favorite book of many
children.

The brand names of manufacturers and any of their products are always
capitalized.

Ever since I was a young man, my dream has been to buy a F errari.

When quoting someone directly, the first letter in the quote should be capitalized
only when what is quoted is a complete sentence. Luckily, this is most of the
time.

The French philosopher Descartes is the author of “I think, therefore I

am.”

Keep in mind, some brand names have become so popular that they are now
used to describe the entire product category. In this case they are no longer
capitalized.
 I would like to buy some scotch tape.

The pronoun I is always capitalized but other pronouns are not.

I am going into the city today.

A notable exception to this is when talking about God in various religions. In

this case, the pronoun he/him is capitalized. This is to show respect.

It is by the grace of God that H e will decide whether or not I will be

forgiven.

When writing a title there are two different ways to capitalize. The first style is
to capitalize all principle words. What this means is anything that is not a
conjunction or an article.

The E ssential G uide to L earning F rench

The second style is to only capitalize the first letter of the title. This is called
sentence style. It does not matter which you choose, what is important is that you
are consistent.

T he essential guide to learning French

It is now important to talk about examples where capitalization is often used

incorrectly. The mistake usually occurs when people feel that a word should be
emphasized.

Smoking is STRICTLY forbidden.

Instead of capitalizing the word, if you want to stress the word use italics.

Capitalizing a word because it is proceeded by the is also a common mistake. It

may appear that the word is a proper noun because there is an article before it,
however, only proper nouns should be capitalized.
 He was the first person to reach the South Pole.

This example is incorrect. Rather, it should be the south pole.

When writing about a concept this should not be capitalized.

I was inspired by Psychoanalysis and the work of Sigmund Freud.

The correct version is to not capitalize psychoanalysis.

Finally, don’t capitalize everything just because it is a name. We have spoken

about our love of names, so there are a lot of them. When you want to talk about
a name, focus on the correct rule. If it is a proper noun, use a capital letter. If it is
commonly used then don’t use a capital letter.

I went to see the Doctor today but I couldn’t see my Doctor. Instead they
sent me to see Doctor Singh.

In this example, only one use of the word doctor is correctly capitalized. The
version that should have a capital letter is Doctor Singh as it is a title of a person.

Overall, there are quite a few different rules for capitalization. The thing to keep
in mind is that you likely have a bad habit of excessive capitalization. We panic
when we write and stick a capital letter on everything. Take control of this bad
habit and instead focus on what it is you are talking about. On the whole, if it is a
specific thing you capitalize it. If it is a general thing, you don’t capitalize it.
 Rule 8 - Spell Correctly and Format
Efficiently
Spelling correctly terrifies most adults. We are held captive by our spell checkers
to ensure we don’t embarrass ourselves with our poor spelling. Often, we are
scarred by years of English teachers telling us our spelling is terrible. This has to
stop. Once and for all, we as functioning adults need to take control of our bad
spelling and learn how to spell.

Learned bad behavior is a difficult habit to break. When you write anything, I
am certain that you make the same five to ten spelling errors each time. I know
this is true, because we all do it. That is because when you first learned English
as a child you will have incorrectly memorized spellings of commonly
misspelled words. Rather than correcting the mistake then, this error has haunted
your writing ever since. For me, it is the word separate. Every time I am typing
quickly on the laptop, I write it as seperate. When I make this error, the red line
of my spell checker shows up and I right click it to correct the spelling. This is
an incredibly bad habit as I don’t always have my trusty spell checker on hand.

Spelling common words incorrectly is glaringly obvious when people read

through your work. That is why relearning spelling as an adult is vital. Don’t let
the quality of your work be jeopardized by poor spelling. Instead, let us now
both embark on breaking our bad habits and start to relearn how to spell
correctly.

Let us go through the five top rules for spelling better, starting with I before E
except after C unless it sounds like an A.

A pie ce of cake

In this example, I goes before E because the letter before it is a P.

He decei ved me.

But when the letter before it is a C, you switch the letters.

How much do you wei gh?

As well, if the combination of E and I sounds like an A, you also write it ei and
not ie.

The next spelling tip is about adding suffixes. You tend to do this when you are
trying to make a word a superlative or comparative.

He was the ugliest baby I had ever seen.

The mistake people make is trying to add er to words that end in Y. They might
try and say uglyer rather than uglier. The rule to remember is that if the word
ends in Y it is most likely irregular in the way you conjugate the superlative or
comparative. Most of the time you remove the Y and add something there to
make the suffix correct.

I will happily attend your party.

The same rule applies for words ending in y when you are trying to form an
adverb. Always replace the Y with an I and add the standard ly ending.

When to add an E or not is also something that often confuses us. This is
because the E when coming at the end of a word is often not pronounced.

“I bit off more than I can chew with this one,” said Jessica.

“No, not at all. Her bark is worse than her bite , trust me,” said Juan.

The words bit and bite are commonly misspelled even though when you
pronounce them they do sound different. On the whole remember verbs tend to
not end in E and nouns do. This should help you to remember which is the
correct spelling for each case.

Words containing double consonants, sometimes two or more sets of them, are
difficult to spell correctly. That is because when we sound them out it is difficult
to distinguish whether there is one consonant sound or two.

I am looking for some acc omm odation.

To overcome these spelling errors, slow down and sound out the word beat by
beat. Ac-com-mo-dation. As you can see, by doing this, we can identify that
there are double consonants being used.

Our last spelling rule is knowing how to make a word plural. We often trip up
over whether to put an s or es on the end or even not add anything. The rule goes
that if the word ends in either ‑s , ‑sh , ‑ch , ‑x , or ‑z , then you add ‑es .

In the morning I only have to take two trains but my sister has to take
three buses .

There is also the classic example of how many sheep are in the field?

Farmer John has one sheep but Farmer Tom has three sheep .

With the common words sheep and fish, there is no difference between the
singular and plural form. There are just sheep and never sheeps.

I appreciate that going through the rules of spelling probably feels like you are
back in the classroom again. I am certain that you know the I before E except
after C rule. Yet, I am also certain you commonly misspell words with ie in
them. So, what do we do about this? It is time to put effort behind breaking this
habit.

Firstly, try to read more. Grab an article each day and sit for ten minutes to read
it. This will expose your eyes to correct spelling for a variety of words that you
are probably misspelling.

Next, write a list of the words you commonly misspell. Every time a word is
highlighted by your spell checker as incorrect, jot it down somewhere. If you are
active in alerting your brain to the mistake, next time you come to spell it you
will pause for a moment and think about the correct spelling.

Lastly, try and go through the rules above and memorise the rules through a little
poem or rhyme. I before E except after C is memorable because it rhymes. This
is called a mnemonic. Try and make more for other spelling errors you make.
This type of memory technique is easily memorable as it breaks through walls
you put up about certain issues and brings the correct information to the front of
your mind.

Spelling incorrectly is one very noticeable trait. The other is not formatting your
work in a consistent way. Having different font sizes, excessive amounts of
space and incorrect paragraph spacing can make your work look amateurish. As
with spelling, don’t let a poorly formatted document keep you from making the
best impression. Let’s run through the top tips for formatting efficiently.

The first tip is to insert only one space after a period and not two. The idea of
placing two spaces after a period comes from the need of typesetters with
printing presses to clearly identify each sentence. With modern word processors,
this is no longer necessary. What is more it can mess up your formatting,
particular the margin indent when you justify your text if you continue this old
fashioned method.

The second tip is to know how to get an em-Dash to appear on your page
without sending your computer into a spin. Just hit alt/option + shift + dash (-) at
the same time and you’ll get the long em-dash. If you want an en-Dash rather
than em-Dash, use the shortcut alt/option + dash (-).

The third tip is for using an ellipse, which is when you want to end your
sentences dramatically with . . . If you simply add in three periods, with or
without spacing, it can confuse the formatting machine in your word processor.
Make sure it is understood as an ellipse by using the shortcut alt/option +
semicolon (;).
The fourth tip is for spelling out numbers. There is a difference in opinion of
how to write numbers in your work. In all correctness, you should write out
numbers from one to ninety-nine, placing a hyphen between any that are two
words. However, it has become acceptable to only spell out numbers one through
nine and then use numerals for the rest of the numbers.

At one in the morning, the temperature was minus 17 degrees.

The fifth tip is when you talk about a percentage that you write the word out in
full rather than using the symbol.

There is a 20 percent discount.

The sixth tip is to use only three sizes of fonts throughout your document. The
header should be around 18 pts, subheaders should be around 14 pts and the
body text should be around 12 pts. Make sure that the font you use is the same
throughout the document. The same goes for the color of the text.

The last tip is to keep your paragraphs short. The best size to stick to is around
five to six lines. This makes it much easier for a reader to read as well as keeping
their attention for longer. When a paragraph is too long, readers have a tendency
to skip to the end of the paragraph as they assume that is where the important
information is.

In sum, spelling and formatting may seem like the icing on the cake. However,
they can make or break your work. I know personally that some people will not
hire someone who has a spelling error in their resume. Don’t let something that
is easily correctable stand in the way of getting your dream job or opportunity.
Learn the advice given in this chapter and you will quickly mark yourself out
against your competitors as someone with excellent writing skills.
 Rule 9 - Create Killer Compositions
You have almost made it, you have made it through the essential building blocks
of the English language, how to use punctuation and write different sentence
structures. Now is the time to use everything you have learned and write.

In whichever situation you find yourself in, whether you are working in an office
or a student at college, you will have to write long essays or reports. These
essays will typically be over 500 words. Even though you understand how to
form perfect sentences, you now need to know how to form these into a well
structured essay. This is where having killer composition skills is essential.

There is nothing worse than having to battle your way through long and
unstructured written work. If someone is waffling, going off point, and not being
concise, it makes the reading experience unpleasant. What is more, the reader
can’t focus on the important information and loses concentration.

All of these things are avoidable by learning how to structure your essay
correctly. So first let’s talk about different types of essays and then move on to
creating a killer composition that will never bore your readers.

There are four types of essays that you can write. Firstly, there is a narrative
essay. This is when the writer describes an incident or story written in the first
person. You might do this when reporting upon your own findings or when
writing a creative piece. The aim when writing narrative essays is to make the
reader feel that they are right there with you in the story. Make the essay as
dynamic as possible.

The next essay type is a descriptive essay. This is where the writer describes
something usually from memory. The aim is to paint a picture with your words.
One clever way to do that is to evoke the senses of the reader by talking about
what you can see, smell, touch, hear, etc. You must appeal to the emotions of the
reader and get them to empathize with what you are writing.
An expository essay presents a balanced study of a topic and is most commonly
used when writing college essays. The essay should be well researched and show
a balanced argument of the topic. The writing is not emotional and should be fact
based. This includes using references to others work and things such as statistics,
graphs, etc.

The last essay type is a persuasive essay. The purpose of this type of essay is to
get the reader to see your side of the argument. It is most commonly used in
work when you are asked to present a proposal of your ideas for the business. A
persuasive essay is not just a presentation of facts but an attempt to convince the
reader of the writer’s point of view. The essay must present both sides of the
argument but ultimately persuade the reader to agree with your side of the
argument.

Once you know the type of essay that you want to write, it is then best to follow
a few key rules for the layout of the essay. You can still be creative within these
boundaries, but if you follow what is suggested you will avoid going off track.
Focus on delivering the main message of the essay. Do not overcomplicate it
with unnecessary information. Keep it concise and well formatted and you can’t
go wrong. Knock the socks off your college professor or boss by presenting
them with your next essay written with a killer composition.

First off, all essays should start with an introduction. This is the first paragraph
of your essay where you introduce your topic. It needs to include a brief
overview of what you will write about. You can also include your main message
in the introduction, this could be what you have found out. If you include this in
your introduction it helps the reader focus throughout the rest of the paper as you
explain how you came to this conclusion. This is called a hook message and
works well when using all of the essays types that we went through. Just
remember to keep everything short. You should not write an essay within an
essay by spelling everything out in your introduction. On the whole, limit it to
around five to six lines. Use impactful words to entice your reader to read on.
Then you must write the body of your essay. This is the main part of your essay.
No matter the type of essay you are writing, the body should include more than
one paragraph. Keep your paragraphs short. Move through your arguments
logically, presenting them one by one and providing evidence for each of them.
If you have separate topics that you want to mention, consider using subheadings
to ensure that the reader understand what each section is. Build up the pressure
within your essay, pulling your reader along with you, towards the peak of the
overall argument that you are looking to make. Finish the body section with the
main statement that you are looking to present.

Finally, always end all essays with a conclusion. Without it, it feels like a body
without feet. Use your conclusion to sum up your story or argument. Make sure
that you don’t include any new information in your conclusion. Everything that
you conclude must have been mentioned before. If you don’t it can make your
argument appear weak. Make sure to reiterate the overall message of the essay.
Wrap up all the loose threads of the work and make sure to leave the reader with
a punchy takeaway that will keep them thinking about your essay once they have
put it down.

In sum, an essay is always something you find yourself being asked to write. It is
important to make sure you are well practiced on the best way to structure your
essay. The key thing is to ensure you deliver the message you want to make
clearly. This doesn’t mean you have to write pages after pages, going into
excessive detail. Instead, keep it neat and tight. Write an introduction, body and
conclusion that clearly demonstrates your argument.
 Rule 10 - Add Your Personal Touch
Now that you are a writer it is time to develop your writing style. Also called
your personal touch, your writing style is the way in which you express yourself
and it naturally evolves over time. It changes as you age as you go through
different stages of life, develop your own personality, change the activities you
are involved in, and change what you are reading, along with many other factors.
So, what can you do to develop your own writing style? Well, the truth is that a
writing style depends upon life experience as well as the situation you are
writing in. You may start off at college writing formally. Yet as you age, you
become more informal in your style. What matters most is that you are
consistent in your style. If you like to use emotive words, don’t all of a sudden
switch to being very clinical and cold.

There are many ways to develop your style and discover new ways to write.
Read regularly and broadly. Aim to read a few full books a year. Articles are
much quicker to read so skim through a few each week. Avoid anything that is
not written in formal language. The aim here is to develop your writing style, not
to pick up bad habits.

Don’t avoid writing. I know that it might seem that presenting your great idea is
quicker and more efficient. However, there is something incredibly powerful
about a well written proposal. Take the time to write as much as you can. Also,
focus on writing whatever you do write correctly. Don’t allow yourself to
continue bad habits just because it is a quick email or SMS. What about writing
creatively as well? Not everything you write has to be for work or college. You
might discover you have a talent for writing emotionally, something which suits
poetry and short stories. This will help to develop your overall writing style and
might make that next proposal a little less dry.
Use words that come naturally to you rather than trying to stuff your work with
complicated terminology. Nobody likes a show-off, not to mention it risks the
reader not being able to understand you. Instead focus on acquiring a variety of
well known words. When you are writing, don’t use the same word or phrase
repeatedly. Try to learn synonyms for your regular words to broaden your
vocabulary range.

Be as clear as you can. Remember that your main goal is communication. I have
said it a million times but it does need repeating: make sure each sentence is as
direct and simple as possible. At the same time, don’t be overly clinical. If you
are trying to convey emotions, you may need to pack your sentences with a few
more adjectives and adverbs. Make your writing easy for your readers, so it is a
pleasure to read. Awkward writing can make it painful and provoke your readers
into putting down your work.

It is tough to do, but you really have to steer clear of clichés as much as possible.
They can make your writing sound unoriginal. Sometimes you can use them for
effect, especially if you are trying to evoke an emotion that only that cliché will
deliver. Instead think of crafting your own descriptions, use metaphors and
expressions. This will make what you write look original and stand out from the
crowd.

When you are using different sentence structures, make sure that you are
concise. Change the word order in your sentences to see if they can be rephrased
using fewer words. Focus on being as concise as possible. At all costs, avoid
long sentences with unrelated information contained within them. Don’t comma-
splice your way to drab, unreadable work.

Clear, detailed writing makes your work come to life. If you are struggling to
find the right words for your descriptions, do a little research. It is easy to access
a thesaurus online. The English language has over 250,000 words, so you have
no excuse for not being able to find the perfect word for the situation you are
trying to describe.
Finally, develop your style by using certain literary devices that come to define
your work. If you like using metaphors or similes, this will provide a certain
style to your writing. If you prefer technical writing, this will also define how
you write.
In this essay, I will demonstrate exactly why copper is an excellent
insulator. To arrive at this conclusion, I undertook extensive research. My
main research was conducted in the laboratory. I wanted to test my
hypothesis that copper can be used in wires as an insulator. What is more,
I wanted to prove that copper is the most suitable choice for this purpose
over other metals. Overall, my hypothesis was proven correct.
As an example of a writing style, this represents a concise and well written
introduction for a technical essay. It is clear that the writer prefers short clear
sentences that deliver the meaning quickly.
It is clear to me that the best course of action is to abandon this job
contract. Though it distresses me to say so, we will not gain anything
further from this partnership. I am truly grateful for the hard work of all
our colleagues. Their dedication shines through in everything they
undertake.
This second example demonstrates that you can use more emotional language
even when writing a professional piece of work. The message being delivered is
clear but what is stronger still is the emotion of disappointment. This style of
writing is an excellent way to convey emotion.
We are excited to announce the launch of our new product. Built by a team
of world class engineers, this product will revolutionize the way that you
wash your clothes. You no longer have to deal with holes in your favorite
jumper or rips in your faded jeans. Get in touch with us today to find out
how to get yours!
In this final example, you can see a mix of formal sentence structures with a
more informal tone. This writing style is an excellent method for selling
products. It demonstrates how you can write engaging content without having to
compromise on your grammatical structures.
Overall, the thing about writing styles is that it is down to you. The best writing
styles are developed naturally and reflect your personality. Keep in mind that just
because something should be written formally, it doesn’t mean it has to be bland.
Write clearly but add flavor to what you write by using a mix of words and
devices such as metaphors. Over time you will become comfortable with your
style, being able to easily adapt it based on the situation.
 Bonus Rule - Never Neglect Common
Grammar Mistakes
Congratulations, you have made it through all of the steps in becoming an
English grammar pro! We have covered everything from nouns and verbs to
semicolons and the perfect future tense. By now you will have a thorough
understanding of how to create incredible and accurate written work.
As you have been successful in completing all of the rules, here is a bonus rule
to seal the deal! I am going to run through the top ten grammar mistakes so that
you can learn to avoid discrediting your work by making one of them.

Finally, I have come to the conclusion, that I am ready, to take on the role
of head teacher.
The number one mistake of all time is the misuse of commas. It is so rampant
that we have come to see it as normal to have huge amounts of commas in a
sentence. I am sure you have paused once or twice when writing to debate
whether or not you should be using a comma. The problem is that people
associate commas with a pause in speaking. This then translates to the page and
ends up in a comma misuse. You can see in the above example that the person is
clearly trying to emphasize the importance of the decision to become a teacher.
However, by using commas in this way they have split clauses apart and
rendered the sentence incorrect. The best advice is to lower your use of commas,
not increase it.

At the mall I am going to buy: socks; shoes; makeup; and a bag.

Next to the comma, the semicolon is the most abused punctuation mark. As you
can see in the above example, it is often used incorrectly and unnecessarily. The
word unnecessary is the right word as the truth is the semicolon is largely
unnecessary. What is more, it can make your writing appear pompous. I know it
is a legitimate punctuation mark and people are desperate to not have it
disappear into obscurity. However, if you have just recovered from being a
grammar offender, steer clear of it and use a comma instead.

Rugby, which was first played in England in the early 18th century, is one
of Australia’s most popular sports.
This example may look harmless. However, the problem comes with two sets of
unrelated information being contained in one sentence. What is trying to be
achieved is a concept called parallelism. This concept aims to show information
about a topic at the same time as delivering a different message about the same
topic. It is meant to enhance your knowledge of the topic. However, what
happens often is that the sentence structure gets confused. It is acceptable to
have two sentences next to each other talking about rugby. Yet, combining them
is incorrect. You might think it is fine because they are both about rugby,
however they are not actually related as one sentence should be just about it
being first played in England and the other about it being Australia’s most
popular sport. Remember the number one tip of this book, keep it simple, keep it
short.

The business was founded by Ewan Evans.

This sentence is something that you will commonly see and it is written in what
is called the passive voice. This example is not strictly a grammar mistake.
Instead it is a writing style suggestion that you avoid using the passive voice
wherever. It used to be considered a formal way of writing. The truth is that it
leads to drab sentences that lack energy. Change the passive voice to the active
voice by switching the word order to Ewan Evans founded the business. This
way of writing is just as formal but more dynamic.

I was waiting their for over an hour.

Don’t fall into the trap laid out for you by homophones. We went through them
in detail in rule 3 so you should be well versed in how to recognize them. You
know you will only incite ridicule if you make a silly mistake like using their
instead of there.

The content was good.

If you were worried about homophones, wait till you see what homographs have
in store for you! These words are spelled the same but have a different meaning.
For example, the content was good has two different meanings. It could mean
that a piece of content was good. In this case, the accent would go on the first
beat. Rather, the sentence could refer to a feeling of satisfaction. In this case, the
accent would go on the second beat. You have to be certain that the context of
your sentence is clear if you are using a homograph. If not, change the word.

He went rapidly to the store.

Adverbs are not your friend. I know it might seem like they are but trust me they
are not. Writers have a tendency to use an adverb which results in the death of
description. This sentence should instead say he went to the store in a rush. It is
much more descriptive and also gives the sense of urgency needed. However, the
adverb doesn’t do this, it simply says he went to the store with speed. The
meaning is not as significant. Next time you place an adverb in a sentence, see if
you can switch it out with a better description.

It is easy to forget what all this hard work is for.

Stop! Don’t do it! I know we end our sentences in speaking with prepositions but
you can never do this in written work. Change the sentence around so that it
reads what all this hard work is for is easy to forget. Better still, rewrite the
sentence so it is not so awkward. If you don’t you risk your work looking
informal and poorly formed. Stick to formal writing as much as you can and
don’t repeat this grammar mistake.

This is why I don’t go to nightclubs, I easily get tired.

In this example, the mistake lies in the use of this . What is wrong is that it is not
clear what the this is referring to. This mistake is called a dangling modifier. It is
a mistake that lots of people make. The reason is that we assume that the reader
is following our train of thought. Whereas in truth, the reader can easily get lost
in your words and forget previous information they have been told. Even though
in this example, you can make a reasonable assumption that the reason they
don’t go to nightclubs is because they easily get tired, this meaning is not
guaranteed. You might have before it the sentence, I hate music. Then the reader
might wonder whether they are not going to nightclubs because they hate music
or because they easily get tired? As you can see, the meaning is hazy. Clear this
up for your reader by not using the modifier. Change the sentence to I don’t go to
nightclubs because I easily get tired.

You can either have chocolate, strawberry, or vanilla ice cream.

In our final grammar mistake you are faced with an incorrect use of a
conjunction. It is commonly done, particular with either . The mistake is that
three nouns have been described after using the word either . The correct way to
use this conjunction is only ever with two nouns. It is talking about an either/or
situation so will only ever contain two items. We have gone through the use of
every conjunction in detail in rule 4. Don’t be caught out making a simple error
like this. Go through all of the examples again and learn what is the right way to
use each conjunction.

So there you have it, the top ten grammar mistakes made by our fellow grammar
offenders. However, as you have now made it to the end of the book, officially,
you are no longer a grammar offender. Rise up, oh learned person who has made
it through the book, and take up your hallowed position as an English grammar
aficionado!
 Conclusion
I have always wanted to write this book because I know that there are so many
people out there that struggle with the basics of grammar. I also know that this
really isn’t their fault. Due to a lack of schooling on English grammar and the
rise of informal language that has edged its way into our written work, we have
all suffered as a result.

My goal was to create a book that was accessible to all who see themselves as
grammar offenders. I can imagine that you have earned this title because of a
public shaming about your persistent grammatical mistakes. It might have been
because of a harmless group email you sent out saying that your all welcome. Or
perhaps your boss has pulled you up on your poorly formatted work. Whatever
way it came about, I know it upset you enough to do something about it. I bet
you are glad you finally have done something about it.

Now that you have reached the end of the book, you have covered everything
you need to know to survive in the world of English grammar. More than that,
you now have to the tools to truly develop yourself as a writer. I have mentioned
in the book that you really can’t get away from having to do written work, well
unless you are a farmer I guess. Even if you avoid writing reports in your job
right now, in the future you will have to submit a resume and a cover letter. This
requires a whole host of writing skills to complete. Doesn’t it feel great that you
now have them?

We started the book discussing the building blocks of the English language,
covering the differences between verbs, nouns, adjectives, and adverbs. Next, we
moved on to understanding how to connect these words together with
conjunctions and prepositions. We then looked at the confusing world of words
that look and sound the same, so that you don’t mistakenly use one incorrectly.
Onwards, we spent a good time on punctuation, arguably the most difficult part
of grammar. We then looked at the differences between the present, past and
future tense. Next, was structuring sentences. This was where it all started to
come together. We took a moment to conquer capitalization once and for all
before moving on to learning how to spell and format correctly. Then we worked
on how to write killer compositions before ending up with working on how to
develop your own writing style.

As we have taken this journey through English grammar, my aim has always
been to show you how to keep things simple. By not over complicating grammar
and the way you write, the result is beautifully written concise work. If you
focus only on this, you will always produce clear and understandable sentences.
Over time, if you also read more and practice your spelling, you will soon
develop advanced writing skills. Once you are at that level, grammar mistakes
will be kept to a minimum and you can then focus on developing your own
writing style.

I made you a promise at the start of this book that you would no longer feel lost
and confused with grammar. Instead you rise as a grammar phoenix, strong
enough to tackle even the most complex of grammar situations. If you have read
through all of the rules and practiced the examples, then you will have
significantly improved your knowledge of English grammar. You can now stand
tall as a person who knows what is what in the world of grammar and can easily
roll out a perfect composition, or two.

I leave you with this one parting remark, the crux of this book: keep it simple to
not mess it up. If there is anything you take from this book, that is it. Grammar
might seem like an untamable beast but if you don’t get yourself involved with
its unnecessary complexity then you won’t make silly mistakes.

Write simply, with passion, and you can’t go wrong.

 The end… almost!

Reviews are not easy to come by.

As an independent author with a tiny marketing budget, I rely on

readers, like you, to leave a short review on Amazon.

Even if it’s just a sentence or two!

So if you enjoyed the book, please...

>> Click here to leave a brief review on Amazon.

I am very appreciative for your review as it truly makes a
difference.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for purchasing this book
and reading it to the end.
 Resources
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https://www.syntaxis.com/sentence-structure

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