Meet Sam. Here are some neat facts about Sam: Sam has performed in a rock band. Sam has met two American presidents. Sam’s mother has won the lottery twice. Not only are all these facts pretty cool, but they all use a special bit of grammar to connect the past with the present. All of these sentences use verbs in the present perfect tense. Let’s …
You might have seen the terms independent clause and dependent clause floating around. A clause is a group of related words (that is, a phrase) that contains both a subject and a predicate. But what makes a clause independent or dependent? In this article, we’ll define independent clause and dependent clause, discuss how they relate to coordination and subordination, explain the role of conjunctions with …
Nouns are an all-star team of words and always have a player ready to step up to the plate, no matter the challenge. Common nouns, proper nouns, abstract nouns, and concrete nouns are our go-to nouns but there are many types of nouns ready to get in the game. To learn the difference between all these nouns, use this guide to link to in-depth …
We can’t ignore opinions. They’re all around us, whether we’re scanning a Twitter feed, watching the news, or talking to friends. While we may wish we could leave some behind (like the ones that start arguments over the Thanksgiving table), they’re an inevitable fact of life. And this makes the language we use regarding our opinions and others’ so important. When you’re debating a topic, …
What is your name? How old are you? Do you have any pets? How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? Okay, sorry for all of the questions. In everyday life, we often ask and write many questions. When we write a sentence, we use punctuation to signal that what we are saying is a question. Punctuation is the system …
Punctuation can get pretty tricky (especially those darn commas). However, punctuation can be mastered if you put in the effort. It won’t come easy (it never does), but mastering punctuation will help bring your grammar to the next level. If you are interested in beginning (or continuing) your dominance over punctuation marks, mastering parentheses will go a long way in making your punctuation perfect. Are …
By Ashley Austrew, Journalist and Writer It’s a good day to double check your work for mistakes. That’s because today, March 8, is National Proofreading Day! It can’t be a coincidence that National Proofreading Day comes right on the heels of National Grammar Day, which took place on March 4. After all, proofreading is a key part of making sure your writing and grammar are …
Verbs and adverbs are two of the major parts of speech and are often used alongside each other in sentences. These two very commonly used categories of words have similar names, but they are used quite differently from each other. In this article, we look at what verbs and adverbs are, explain the important functions they have in sentences, give some tips on how to …
The words been and being are both forms of the verb be. Despite being the most commonly used verb in the English language, be can also be one of the most confusing. This confusion can extend to been and being, which are used in some of the most complicated verb tenses. In this article, we will break down the difference between been and being, explain …
It’s easy to get misled when trying to follow all the twists and turns that the word lead can take, especially because its pronunciation varies as both a verb and a noun depending on which sense or form is being used. In this article, we’ll lead you through the differences between lead and led, explain why lead is considered an irregular verb, and give examples …
Maybe you had your share of teachers who were grammar sticklers and loved to remind you of “The Rules.” If you did, this is one debate they loved to weigh in on—and settle. When it comes to try to and try and, grammarians have a clear favorite. But we’re here to tell you that both try to and try and can be acceptable. (And we won’t even tell your …
The word passed is the past tense and past participle of the verb pass. It is mostly used as a verb, but it can also be used as an adjective. Here are examples of each usage: Verb: Jenny passed me in the hall this morning. Adjective: The wide receiver kept his eyes on the passed football. The word past can be used as an adjective …