Grammar Usage
a lot
a large amount, usually not specific; NEVER one word (There are a lot of books in this room)
beside
a location at the side of (I stood beside John in line)
diner
a place to eat (We went to the diner to eat)
straight
a straight line
could of/ might of/ must of / should of/ would of
avoid; instead use helping verb "have" ( I should have helped with the chores)
being as/being that
avoid; use because or since (The dog broke his leg because he jumped off the bridge)
than
conjunction used in comparisons (She is prettier than her sister)
it's
contraction for it is (It's time to go to sleep)
they're
contraction for they are (They're finished studying)
who's
contraction for who is (Who's coming over to my house after school?)
don't
contraction meaning "do not" ; is used with plural nouns and pronouns like you, we, and they (Don't you have something better to do?)
doesn't
contraction meaning "does not" is used with singular nouns and pronouns like he, she, and it (It doesn't matter to me)
loose
free or not fitting tightly; adjective (after gaining so much weight, my ring was no longer loose)
there
location (Go over there and get away from me)
rode
past tense of ride (We rode the 4 wheeler)
said
past tense of say (He said she was a horrible cook)
chose
past tense; to pick or select (I chose my pictures for the slide show yesterday)
this kind
singular and is used with singular words (This kind of ice cream is my favorite)
as
subordinating conjunction and introduces a subordinate clause (The kite flew freely as could be)
two
the number of ( I have two dogs)
effect
the result; noun (The effect of the storm was disaster)
says
third person singular of verb say (She says the movie is really good)
let
to allow or to permit (My mom let me stay out until midnight)
sit
to be seated (Sit down in your desk)
bring
to carry from a distant place to a closer one (Bring me your homework)
take
to carry from a nearby place to a more distant one (Take your books to your locker)
affect
to cause a change; verb (The storm affected the entire east coast)
raise
to cause to move up (Please raise your hand to answer the question)
proceed
to continue or move along (Please proceed with what you were saying)
immigrate
to enter a country in order to live (He immigrated to the United States)
rise
to get up or to move up (Please rise for the honorable Judge Taylor)
teach
to give knowledge (My teacher teaches me English)
leave
to go away or to depart (Leave me alone)
precede
to go or come before (The bridesmaids precede to walk down the aisle)
lose
to misplace; to fail to win; verb (Did you lose your book? John's attitude will cause us to lose the game)
emigrate
to move from one country to another (Sarah emigrated from Spain to England)
lay
to place or to put (Lay the body on the bed)
set
to put or place ( Set the items on the counter)
accept
to receive (We accept all major credit cards)
learn
to receive knowledge (I learn English)
lie
to recline or to be positioned (If you don't feel well, go lie down)
amount
undetermined number (The amount of rainfall was minimal)
different from/ different than
use different from is preferable to different than. (Boys are different from girls)
reason is because
use either reason is that OR because (The reason Grandma called is that today is my birthday. Grandma called because it's my birthday.)
hanged/hung
use hung unless the meaning is "to put to death by hanging" (The outlaws were hanged for the crimes)
an
when a word starts with a vowel sound (an elephant, an apple, an hour)
a
when a word with a consonant sound (a cat, a dog, a box)
respectfully
with respect (Respectfully yours, Rachel )
bare
without something (I went bare foot in the sand)
where at
avoid using at after where (Where are you? NOT Where are you at?)
this here/ that there
avoid using here and there after this and that
ain't
avoid using unless it's part of a direct quote
can't hardly/ can't scarcely
avoid; double negatives (I can hardly keep my eyes open)
then
adverb used to refer to time (The audience sighed and then cheered)
too
also (I want to go too)
all right
always two words/ NEVER spelled alright (Everything will be all right)
bear
animal; to hold or carry (I killed a bear in the woods)
strait
barring strait
already
before or by this (I've already finished my homework)
except
but or then (Everyone except me got to go to the ballgame)
past
can be a noun, adj, preposition, or adverb (The word lost is past tense. The past can be very interesting. It is five past noon.)
number
can be counted (The number of people in the crowd was 2,574.)
altogether
completely or on the whole; adverb (I was altogether too tired to play softball today)
all ready
completely prepared (We're all ready to go on the trip)
desert
dry hot land (The desert has a lot of sand)
dessert
food (I had to eat my dessert first)
dinner
food (Let's eat dinner at 5)
a while
for a time; used after a presposition (We went to town for a while)
awhile
for a time; used as an adverb (We talked awhile after the game)
can
implies ability (Can you speak Spanish?)
may
implies permission to do it (May I go to the restroom?)
all together
in a group (When our choir teacher says, "All together now" she wants us to sing as a group)
besides
in addition to (Besides John, there are twelve other people in line)
respectively
in the order named (Please write down nouns, verbs, and pronouns, respectively.
in
indicated a location inside (We're in the building)
into
indicates movement or direction from outside to inside (We went into the building)i
passed
is used only as the past tense of the verb pass (We passed our English test)
road
pathway (The road was very curvy)
these kinds
plural and is used with plural words (These kinds of flavors all sound good)
its
possessive (The cat licked its paws)
their
possessive (Their mother took them to town)
whose
possessive (Whose coat is this?)
like
preposition and introduces a prepositional phrase (The kite flew like a bird)
to
preposition noun following it (to town)
choose
present tense; to pick or select (Choose your pictures for the slide show)
further
refers to degree or time (If you further your college education, you will be a postgraduate)
farther
refers to physical distance (Move farther away from my desk)
less
refers to quantity that can't be counted (There is less air on Mars than on Earth)
fewer
refers to things that can be counted (There were fewer white cars than black cars on the lot)
irregardless/regardless
regardless is the correct term; -less and ir- are both negatives so irregardless is a double negative
among
relationship between more than two (I graduated fifth among my classmates)
between
relationship of one person or thing to another (That secret is just between you and me)