Grammar slammer
"Because" modifies a verb.
"Because" modifies a verb. Example: The umpires delayed the game because of the weather.
Personification
Avoid treating inanimate objects or abstractions as if they are human.
Parallel form
Every item in a series must take the same grammatical form. Not parallel: She enjoys writing, researching and reading her published work is great fun, too. Revised:She enjoys writing, researching and reading her published work.
"Due to" modifies a noun.
Example: The game's delay was due to the weather.
Confused words
Lay, laid Set/Sit Hanged/Hung Rise/Raise
Noun-pronoun agreement
Nouns and pronouns must agree with their antecedents.
Misplaced Time Element
Put the time element closest to the verb when something happened. Weak: The city council voted to build a new parking garage on Monday. Improved: The city council voted Monday to build a new parking garage.
Compound adjectives
Remember compound adjectives require hyphens: 21-year-old college student Well-read teacher 10-foot snowdrift
Prepositions
Shows the relationship between a word that comes before it (antecedent) and the word that follows (object)
"Whom"
he object of a verb or a preposition
Adverbs
modify verbs, adjectives and other adverbs. They show degree, direction, cause, affirmation, negation, frequency, time or place. Many end in -ly
"Who"
the subject of a clause
If the subject is plural
the verb must be plural.
If the subject of the sentence is singular
the verb must be singular.
If the sentence is read without the subordinate clause and the meaning does not change use
which or otherwise use that
When referring to people use
who or whom, not that
Conjunctions
words and phrases that connect other words, phrases, clauses or sentences.
Interjections
words and short phrases that express strong emotion.
Modifiers
words that limit, restrict or qualify some other words or phrase. They should appear as close as possible to the word or phrase they modify.