Grammar

You often read writing advice saying adverbs are bad, but learning how to use adverbs effectively is a key skill for any writer. That’s not to say that teachers, editors, or even famous authors are wrong to warn about using adverbs in writing. But adverbs are a natural part of language and writing, along with…

I’ve been teaching English for a long time, but the history of English rules never ceases to amaze me. To say it’s a messy language is putting it mildly. However, that’s also the beauty of English. It’s a language that’s alive, evolving, and adapting; unbridled from convention and regulation. While its history goes back centuries,…

When AI gets grammar wrong, it’s not always obvious at first glance. But if you’re too quick to hit the accept change button from your grammar checker, you could be undoing great writing. You might think a suggested change looks fine, because it’s usually at a word or clause level. But when you look at…

You’re not alone if comma usage rules drive you up the wall. It seems like there are more rules and disagreements for this tiny little punctuation mark than for any other part of grammar and writing. I’m sure you know the basic comma rules. But worrying about them when you write is an unnecessary distraction.…

I never trust one writing checker before I publish my writing online. I’ve learned the hard way that while it is quick and easy, none of them are perfect. That’s why I am in the habit of using two or three before I trust my eyes for a thorough proofread. It might seem pedantic, but…

Interrogative pronouns include the words who, whom, whose, what, and which. While they are words you often use, they can pose issues in certain situations. We use the words to construct clear and precise questions, yet even experienced writers sometimes have to double-check. That’s why it never hurts to occasionally brush up on your basic…

Why bother with learning grammar when there are so many writing checkers and AI (artificial intelligence) tools to fix your errors? All you need to do is paste in your text, and hey presto, it’s 100% grammatically correct. However, these tools don’t always understand what you want to say. Sure, they can catch obvious mistakes,…

If you are not familiar with the word, nominalization is a grammatical term for turning verbs and sometimes adjectives into nouns. For example, the noun decision instead of decide or experimentation instead of experiment. There is no grammatical problem with turning verbs into nouns. However, it can have a detrimental effect because it can weaken…

Indefinite adjectives are common and extremely useful in all forms of writing. While many of them are often determiners, they can also act as adjectives. When it comes to referring to a number, these adjectives allow you to avoid specifics that, in many cases, are unnecessary or irrelevant. For example, A vast crowd enjoyed the…

For most writers, using conditional sentences is intuitive. You don’t need to think because they come naturally. While that’s perfectly okay, sometimes it’s worth investigating grammar points that you rarely think about. In this case, you might find that you can do more or add more variety to your writing. Do you know that there…