Thread: Master List of Grammar Tips

So this is going to be a master list of grammar tips for you to use to improve your content. I know personally that horrible grammar really grinds my brains, so I'm hoping you guys will review this thread and help raise the quality of articles online!

Subject Verb Agreement:
The amount of the subject must agree with the verb tense. Examples:

"She runs away" is incorrect. "She ran away" is correct.
"He buy many sites" is wrong. "He buys many sites" is correct.

Verb Tenses:
The verb tense must agree with the time period of the content.

Present:
"Learn about webmaster" is wrong. "Learn about webmastering" is right.

Past:
"Learned to webmastering" is wrong. "Learned to webmaster" is right.

Future:
"Learn to webmastering" is wrong. "Learn to webmaster" is right.

Apostrophes and Pluralization:
You NEVER use an apostrophe (') to pluralize words. Apostrophes are for showing possession. Examples:

Blog's (plural) is wrong. "blogs" is correct.
Blogs posts (possessive) is wrong. Blog's posts correct.


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Please feel free to suggest more common errors for this list!

Incorrect: There are to many people in the room.

Correct: There are too many people in the room.

--

Incorrect: She goes too school.

Correct: She goes to school.

--

Incorrect: I need too people to stand up.

Correct: I need two people to stand up.

You use the when you know that the listener knows or can work out what particular person/thing you are talking about.

For example:
"The apple you ate was rotten."
"Did you lock the car?"

You should also use the when you have already mentioned the thing you are talking about.

For example:
"She's got two children; a girl and a boy. The girl's eight and the boy's fourteen."

We use the to talk about geographical points on the globe.

For example:
the North Pole, the equator

We use the to talk about rivers, oceans and seas

For example:
the Nile, the Pacific, the English channel

We also use the before certain nouns when we know there is only one of a particular thing.

For example:
the rain, the sun, the wind, the world, the earth, the White House etc..

However if you want to describe a particular instance of these you should use a/an.

For example:


"I could hear the wind." / "There's a cold wind blowing."

"What are your plans for the future?" / "She has a promising future ahead of her."

The is also used to say that a particular person or thing being mentioned is the best, most famous, etc. In this use, 'the' is usually given strong pronunciation:

For example:


"Harry's Bar is the place to go."

"You don't mean you met the Tony Blair, do you?"


i learned this from my english teacher ...
hope that can help the others ....
i'm still praticing my english .. hehehe ...
my weakness in english is in my grammar .. >_< hiks

Hi,

I have seen that many people are confused with the difference between the two. So am I.

Please Corey (or someone else) can you clarify.

Thanks.

-Brandon

"It" has the same meaning as "he" or "she", but it is used for animals or things, not humans.

1. It is a dog.
2. She is a girl.
2. He is a boy.

"It's" is the abbreviation for "It is".

1. I love WMP. It's a great forum.

But "Its" without the apostrophe has the same meaning as "his" or "her", but used for things or animals, not humans.

1. This is a mouse. Its tail is long.

Very good Gloson! You'll ace english! \m/

Not sure if this is the right thread, but here's a few things overlooked way too often.

They're, Their, There

There is used when talking about a place.
ex: I want to go there after work.

Their is used when talking about plural possessive.
ex: Have you seen their new dog? He's cute!

They're is used instead of "They are".
ex: They're going to start a new website. They're going to make it big!

Your and You're

Your is used to be possessive.
ex: I like your website.

You're is used to say "You are"
ex: You're going to get in trouble for that.

Originally Posted by BlueNinjaGo

Not sure if this is the right thread, but here's a few things overlooked way too often.

They're, Their, There

There is used when talking about a place.
ex: I want to go there after work.

Their is used when talking about plural possessive.
ex: Have you seen their new dog? He's cute!

They're is used instead of "They are".
ex: They're going to start a new website. They're going to make it big!

Your and You're

Your is used to be possessive.
ex: I like your website.

You're is used to say "You are"
ex: You're going to get in trouble for that.

the stupid thing is that people with English as their mother tongue make these mistakes often
anyways, thanks for clearing this up for people who didn't know.

Originally Posted by Gaya

the stupid thing is that people with English as their mother tongue make these mistakes often
anyways, thanks for clearing this up for people who didn't know.

That's because just as with any language, speaking English and writing in English are two different concepts. When you speak, nobody's going to know if you used the right kind of "their." And grammar has dropped out of our curriculum until like 9th grade, when it's too late to fix bad habits. That's why EVERYONE SHOULD READ!!!

That is why having a style guide is important. Things like website, and web site can make people crazy because both are right. Consistency is the key.