English grammar explained in plain language simple enough to be understood.
A complex sentence has two parts: a subordinate clause and an independent clause.The subordinate clause always begins with a subordinating conjunction. Let’s look at what that means. The word since is a subordinating conjunction. When you begin with the word… Read more218. Complex Sentences Using Since and Because
Today we will talk about using italics for the names of certain means of transportation. 1- We always italicize the name of ships. The Titanic sank on its tragic maiden voyage from Europe to the United States. The USS Arizona… Read more188. Italicize the Names of Certain Vehicles
The word to is a preposition. In the prepositional phrase to me, the word me is an object of the preposition. Things happen to me. Mary told a joke to me.Mom sent a letter to me.Dad is giving advice to… Read more436. The Pronoun as an object – to me
The semicolon (;) is a form of stop punctuation. We use a semicolon at the end of a complete thought, just as we do with a period. A period comes at the end of a sentence. A semicolon goes in… Read more411. Using the Semi-colon
We sometimes begin a sentence with a prepositional phrase. This is called an introductory phrase. Always use a comma after an introductory phrase. Here are some sentence examples:After breakfast, Meg did the laundry.Before dinner, Sam practiced his piano piece.At the… Read more392. Put a Comma after an Introductory Phrase
Section A: Find the word or words in each sentence that should be capitalized.1. We celebrated memorial day last month.2. The kids like to dress up in costumes on halloween.3. We like to eat turkey and stuffing on thanksgiving day…. Read more360. Practice With Capitalization
A participle looks like a verb and acts like an adjective. Words with an -ing ending are often verbs. The boy is swimming. The baby is crying. Swimming and crying are verbs that show show action. But we can also… Read more288. Participles as Adjectives
An imperative sentence gives an instruction, an order, or a direct command. This type of sentence begins with a verb. The speaker is talking directly to someone, so there is no subject in the sentence. Look at these examples of… Read more244. Imperative Sentences
A direct object receives action from the verb. To put that another way, the direct object gets acted upon. Look at these sentences. The direct object in each sentence is the dark bolded word.Notice that each dark bolded word is… Read more198. The Direct Object is a Noun
Italics are most often used for titles and names. However, we sometimes use italics when we want to emphasize certain words in our writing. Italicizing the words makes them stand out to the reader. Here is an example of using… Read more189. Use Italics to Emphasize Words