Punctuation Make your mark as a writer Word usage and punctuation are more likely to trip writers than basic grammar. Of particular danger in punctuation are commas, apostrophes, semicolons, colons, and hyphens. This introduction to punctuation discusses the uses of punctuation marks, not formatting issues. For information about typing and…
Tag: editing
Sentences Make your sentences complete Sentences express complete thoughts. Each sentence contains a subject and a predicate, expressed or implied. As we learn any language our sentences increase in complexity. Some people believe the more complex a sentence, the more impressive. Never confuse wordiness for eloquence. Sentence Types In grammar,…
Verbs and Verbals Words of action, words of being Sentences cannot exist without verbs, the words in a language indicating thoughts and actions. We need nouns to name things and verbs to express what those things do. Even the shortest of sentences use verbs. Verbs do more than show action:…
Adjectives and adverbs are modifiers. These two parts of speech make descriptive writing possible. They modify a word by adding or emphasizing information. We group adjectives and adverbs because they add meaning to sentences in similar manners. Adjective (adj.) An adjective describes a noun or pronoun by answering which, what…
When you want to write about more than one subject or action in the same sentence, it’s time for a conjunction. It helps to understand phrases and clauses when studying the more advanced uses of conjunctions. Conjunction (conj.) A conjunction connects words or groups of words. Conjunctions are described as…
A double is a word that performs the functions of two parts of speech simultaneously. There are various ways for this to occur, so do not think we offer an exhaustive list of doubles. Six Common Doubles To determine the primary role of any word in a sentence, you should…
Grammar errors sneak into almost all writing. Some writers like to think they don’t make mistakes — but their editors know better. The following errors are among the most common: Split infinitives Adverb usage Subject-verb agreement Pronoun agreement Pronoun case Apostrophe usage Dangling modifiers Double negatives Sentence structure Comma and…
English words evolved from a variety of other languages. Worse, how we pronounce words has continued to change, so phonetic spelling is problematic. Yes, once we really did pronounce the k and g sounds in knight. The following is a list of words commonly misspelled or confused with other words.…
This lexicon offers concise definitions of grammar, usage, and style terminology. For basic explanations of grammar rules, please see our guide to grammar. [A] [B] [C] [D] [E] [F] [G] [H] [I] [J] [K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V] [W] [X] [Y] [Z] –…
This guide to word usage is based upon several sources, which are not always in agreement. Remember American English is a “living” language. Also, writers must consider their audiences. As of 2006, we began relying on Garner’s Modern American Usage by Bryan A. Garner for usage guidance. In our original…