Grammar

Articles on prepositions, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, subject-verb agreement and more.

• Verb Tenses

  Learn the nine most common verb tenses, how to form them and the ways in which they are most commonly used.

• First Person Pronouns

  Learn about first person pronouns, writing types for which they are most appropriate and the correct usage of “I,” “me,” “we” and “us.”

• Second Person Pronouns

  Learn about the 2nd person pronouns, and discover why maintaining the same grammatical person in writing is important.

• Third Person Pronouns

  Learn about third person pronouns, the use of “he or she” and “they,” as well as gender distinction and neuter pronouns.

• Singular Pronouns

  Replace the noun with the pronoun to accurately use this part of speech; the result is a clearly formed and sensible sentence.

• Interrogative Pronouns

  Learn about the five interrogative pronouns, why they do not usually have an antecedent and why they are used only to ask questions.

• Indefinite Pronouns

  Learn about indefinite pronouns and how to use the correct form of verbs and personal pronouns with them to ensure subject/verb and antecedent/pronoun agreement occurs.

• Collective Nouns

  Learn about collective nouns, how to distinguish if they are singular or plural to select the appropriate forms of verbs and pronouns referring to them.

• Prepositions for Time, Place and Introducing Objects

  Write and use prepositions with confidence and accuracy. Read on to discover how to use prepositions of time, place and when introducing an object.

• Ending a Sentence With a Preposition

  Brush up your preposition knowledge, and prevent yourself from making the mistake of ending any of your sentences with prepositions.

• What Is the Difference between Regular and Irregular Verbs?

  Learn about the different types of irregular verbs, how to learn them and whether text is a regular or irregular verb.

• Avoiding Shifts in Verb Tense

  Learn about the importance of maintaining a consistent verb tense, and review some examples of switching verb tenses in the middle of a sentence.

• Appositives

  Find out about the appositive, a phrase that helps describe or define another noun, and how to use it in a sentence with appropriate punctuation.

• Helping Verbs: The Main Verb’s Assistant

  Learn the difference between primary and modal helping verbs, and how these verbs provide additional meaning and define the tense of action of the verb.

• Action Verbs

  Discover how action verbs add power and passion to what you write, and learn how to replace overly used verbs with more descriptive action ones.

• Subject/Verb Agreement

  Understand the mechanics of subject/verb agreement, and learn this grammar point with specific examples of how to employ it in grammatical sentences.

• Run-On Sentences at Length

  Learn how to recognize run-on sentences and correct them, so your readers recognize your writing skill instead of discounting it because of punctuation errors.

• Active Voice

  Learn about the functions of the active voice and the passive voice and examine some examples of how to use each effectively.

• Active Verb Tense

  Learn about active verb tenses, and discover the difference between tenses and voice and how active tenses are used to write in an active voice.

• Passive Voice

  Learn more about passive voice with this simple guide, including tips on proper usage and reasons why instructors and other authorities often restrict it.

• Passive Verb Tense

  Learn about passive verb tenses and how they are used when writing in the passive voice to identify the time at which something occurs.

• Articles

  Learn about definite and indefinite articles, the correct use of “a,” “an” and “the” and when it is correct to omit articles in writing.

• Comparatives and Superlatives

  Learn about comparatives and superlatives as tools of comparison and how to create each by looking at the number of syllables and the spelling.

• Linking Verbs

  Learn about linking verbs, and discover an easy formula for deciding between linking/helping verbs and linking/action verbs when the verbs can function as both.

• Commonly Confused Verbs

  Learn more about the correct usage of commonly confused verbs, such as “lie versus lay,” “sit versus sat” and “rise versus raise.”

• Direct and Indirect Objects

  Learn how to recognize direct and indirect objects in sentences and how to recognize the difference between direct objects and subject complements.

• Subordinate Conjunctions

  Discover the two main purposes of subordinate conjunctions, how to recognize them and the proper construction of sentences that contain them.

• Correlative Conjunctions

  Learn about how correlative conjunctions connect the same type of elements and how to maintain parallel structure, antecedent-pronoun agreement and subject-verb agreement when using them.

• Clauses and Phrases

  Learn about clauses and phrases and how to tell the difference between the two by breaking down the sentence in which they appear.

• Defining Clauses

  Learn about defining clauses, the role that relative pronouns play in them and how to know when a clause is essential to retain meaning.

• Double Negatives

  Learn about double negatives, why you should avoid them in most cases and how they change the meaning of your words from what you intended.

• Adjectives Versus Adverbs

  Learn how to distinguish between adjectives and adverbs by determining which part of speech is modified or considering the context of the sentence.

• Appositives

  Learn about appositives, including how to punctuate them and different ways to use them to provide extra information about a noun, noun phrase or pronoun.

• A Versus An

  Learn about the indefinite articles of “a” and “an,” and discover how the sound of the word, not the spelling, determines which is used.

• Demonstrative Pronouns

  Learn about the demonstrative pronouns “this,” “that,” “these” and “those” and how to tell the difference between demonstrative pronouns and adjectives.