Grammar Hints & Suggestions

Do you want to use grammatically

correct sentences in your writing?
Do you want to speak properly and
impress your family, friends &
teachers?
Avoid these common mistakes &
you’ll be a smooth talker/writer in no
time
 PARTS OF SPEECH
• KNOW your parts of speech- they are the building
blocks of the English language
– Noun
– Verb
– Adjective
– Adverb
– Conjunction
– Contraction
– Proper noun
– Pronoun
– Preposition
 AVOID COMMONLY
CONFUSED WORDS
• Forms of there, where, here, to, etc… are
often confused. Triple check these to make
sure you are using the correct form.
• If you are unsure, ASK someone (a peer,
parent, teacher, librarian) or LOOK IT UP!!!
 Write with specific terms
• Avoid vague, non-specific terms such
as: a lot, lots of, etc…
• Use synonyms that are more
sophisticated
• Ex’s: numerous, varied, many, several,
plenty
 AND BUT OUT
• Formal writing differs from conversation
and your writing should show that
• Do NOT begin a sentence with But or
And (unless it’s in dialogue)
• Check for this when proofreading b/c it
is a hard habit to break
 Small #’s
• Spell out the words of small numbers:
-One - twelve, twenty, thirty, forty, etc…
It looks neater and more sophisticated

Dates are okay as numbers, 2010, 1812

 Subject/Verb agreement
• Proofread for sub/verb agreement
• The subject MUST match the verb- read
aloud if you’re not sure- if it sounds
funny, it’s probably wrong.
• Ex: The car is red.
• The cars are red.
• She plays quietly in the corner.
• They play quietly in the corner.
 COMPLEXITY RULES
• Use complex sentences in your writing
• Powerful adjectives, adverbs and verbs make
your writing more interesting to your reader
(and improve your grades)
• Ex: I saw a car
• Complex Ex: As I stood on Fifth and Main, a
flash of red and silver whizzed by my eyes-
Joey’s new Camaro was ready to roll!
 WATCH YOUR TENSES
• It is crucial for your reader to know what time
frame your writing is in: past, present, future
• A key step to ensuring that you remain in the
same tense (unless it’s a flashback, dream, or
something along those lines) is to
PRROFREAD your piece ALOUD to check for
tense consistency.
• Your ear may catch what your eyes do not.
 COMMAS, COMMAS,
COMMAS
• Be sure to use commas correctly- they are
powerful tools that add emphasis and meaning to
your writing.
• Commas must be used after introductory phrases
and to separate proper nouns from the rest of the
sentence. Ex: After a long day at work, Mrs.
Wedlock enjoys relaxing in the park with her son,
James.
• Commas should also be used in lists. Ex: My
shopping list for the party includes juice, bread,
candles and birthday cake.
 HYPHENATION
• If you must hyphenate a word, please
do so only in between syllables.
• Example- I really enjoyed the delect-
able taste of the new dish Mom made.