#grammatic

Figuring out the right verb to use in a sentence will be difficult if you don’t know the basic rules. Give me five minutes, and I’ll teach them to you!

Okay, let’s start with an explanation and a few examples. Subject-verb agreement is what we call matching verbs to their proper nouns. Here are some examples of subject-verb agreement in simple sentences (The verbs are in bold):

Jake is watching tv.

Emily and Micah are doing their homework.

Alex is walking home. 

Seems pretty understandable, right? When there is more than one subject, I have to make the verbs plural. When there is one subject, I make is singular. Let’s look at some more complicated ones that you might find yourself stuck on. 

The girls who play basketball are strong.

Each one is going to come. 

Notice in the first one, I have an adjective at the end of the sentence, and my two verbs are seperated. However, there are more than two subjects, which means I still have to use the plural verbs. 

In the second one, I used a tricky noun! Although each one implies there are multiple, I use the singular verb. Why? I have no idea. Nouns like each one, neither, everybody and more are rule breakers. They will always use the singular verb! In the same light, words like all and some will always use the plural verbs. If you think the noun you have is a rule breaker, look it up! Google is a writer’s best friend. 

Alright, recap! The rules for subject-verb agreement are:

Plural nouns get plural verbs (are)

Singular nouns get singular verbs (is)

Rule breaker words might need to be looked up!

There! Hopefully now you’ll spend less time wondering if you used the right verb, and more time writing! Remember that the english language is full of tricky little rule breakers, so if you’re unsure, just look it up. Thanks for reading, and happy writing!

Double negatives are a big no-no in advanced writing! Here’s a short post explaining why, and how to avoid them. 

Before I tell you why you shouldn’t use double negatives, let me remind you of what they are:

I don’t want no cake! 

You can see that in the sentence, I have two negative words: “Don’t” and “No”. 

The main reason you can’t do this sort of thing is because it confuses the reader. Technically, I don’t want no cake means that you do want cake. People who are well versed in the written language will notice this, and assume you mean that you do indeed want cake. Others, who may not be as well aware could think that you don’t want cake. Readers will misinterpret your sentence, which is not what you want. To make sure that you are clear in what is happening, just avoid double negative sentences all together!

Essentially, when you have two negatives in a sentence they cancel each other out. When you’re speaking, double negatives might make more sense, but they are very confusing and render a sentence useless when written. For example, We don’t need pie, and we need no pie mean the same thing. But when you add them together, they cancel each other out. 

If you’re having trouble spotting a double negative, try this: rewrite the sentence with each of the negatives given. If each one is grammatically correct and still mean the same as one another, you have a double negative. Here are some examples:

I hardly never drink milk. 

I hardly drink milk. ✔

I never drink milk. ✔

She wasn’t going to not go.

She wasn’t going to go. ✔

She was not going to go. ✔

There! Now hopefully, you won’t ever have to deal with the complex confusingness that are double negatives! And remember, don’t never be not happy while writing. 😉

Here’s a short post explaining what sentence fragments are, and how to fix them!

In order to be grammatically correct, a sentence needs a subject and a predicate. The subject is the person/place/thing, and the predicate explains what happened to that person/place/thing. Therefore, if a sentence is missing either one of these, it’s a sentence fragment. 

Completed Sentence:

Clara (Subject) looked out the window. (Predicate)

Sentence Fragment:

(No subject) Out the window. (Predicate) 

(Subject) Clara. (No predicate)

Improper use of dependent clauses will also lead to sentence fragments. Remember, dependent clauses are used to add extra information, so don’t use them unless you have something to add!

Proper use of Dependent Clause: 

While cleaning, (Clause) he (Subject) played some music. (Predicate) 

Improper use of Dependent Clause:

While cleaning. (No added information)

You can fix sentence fragments very easily! Simply double check if your sentence has a subject and predicate, and if you are using a clause that it’s being used properly. Thanks for reading, and I hope this mini grammar lesson was helpful! Happy writing.

Conjunctions are the key to turning simple sentences into complex ones! They help make your writing clear and descriptive at the same time, so make sure you know how to use them!

Conjunctions are words that join simple sentences to make them more complex and mature. They help clarify your writing and allow for well-placed descriptions! There are two types of conjunctions, and they both have separate rules.

Coordinating Conjunctions 

These joining words require a comma before them. I like to use the acronym FANBOYS to help me remember which conjunctions fall under this category.

F - for, A - and, N - nor,  B - but, O - or,  Y - yet, S - so. 

✔She was done, so she left early.

❌She was done so she left early. 

These need commas before them, or else they are not correct! I know “and” may seem a little funny, but it traditionally has a comma before it, especially when listing things. Remember that a comma is a breath, so if you read your work and find yourself without any place to breathe in a sentence, you probably need to add one! 

Subordinate Conjunctions 

These ones are a little more tricky, as there are some grey areas. Almost all subordinate conjunctions do not need a comma before or after them (depending on the placement), but will need two full sentences to connect. In this example, I’m connecting two simple sentences: “he worked out”, and “he was tired”. 

✔Because he worked out, he was tired. 

✔He was tired because he worked out. 

❌Because he worked out.  

❌Because he was tired.

In the first example, the order is conjunction, simple sentence, comma, simple sentence. This conjunction sort of acts as a dependent clause in that it has two complete sentences after it, separated by a comma. 

In the second sentence, the order is simple sentence, conjunction, simple sentence. This more directly connects the two sentences, and does not need a comma. Note that I needed to rearrange the format for it to make sense. 

The last two are wrong because they are sentence fragments. It would be fine if they were a reply to someone's question, but on it’s own as a statement it’s not complete. Conjunctions are used to connect to sentences, but in those examples there is nothing to connect. 

In summary, do not use a conjunction unless you mean to connect two complete sentences together, and separate the two simple sentences with a comma if you place the conjunction at the beginning. 

Anyways, I hope that helped you out! Conjunctions can be a little tricky, but they are super important if you want to improve your writing. Like I said, there are some grey areas. If you’re ever unsure, look it up! Google is your friend. Happy writing!