English grammar explained in plain language simple enough to be understood.
We’ve talked all week about compound nouns. Yesterday we studied hyphenated compound nouns. It’s important to know that some hyphenated compound words are not compound nouns. These hyphenated compound words are used as adjectives to modify a noun: two-week vacationten-minute… Read more269. Other Hyphenated Compound Words
An exclamatory sentence shows very strong emotion – usually excitement, fear, or anger.Use an exclamation point (!) to end an exclamatory sentence. These exclamatory sentences show excitement:I won the prize for best costume!Today is my birthday!Look at that! It’s a… Read more243. Exclamatory Sentences
We know that a clause is a group of words that includes a subject and a verb. A phrase is a group of words without a verb. A clause has action. A phrase has no action. A prepositional phrase is… Read more238. A Phrase is Different from a Clause
An adverb modifies a verb by telling more about the action. Be sure to put the adverb as close to the verb as possible. Sam walked to his room dejectedly. In this sentence, the adverb dejectedly is separated from the… Read more177. Mistakes with Using Adverbs
A comma is used as a piece of pause punctuation. A comma is not stop punctuation. Therefore, you cannot use a comma to stop a complete thought. When you use a comma between two complete thoughts, we call that a… Read more401. Mistake: The Comma Splice
Whenever you write a city’s name and then a state’s name, you need a comma between them.I was born in Chicago, Illinois.We visited Dallas, Texas.The Grand Ole Opry is in Nashville, Tennessee. When a city’s name and a state’s name… Read more386. Use a Comma Between City and State
An indefinite pronoun has no antecedent. We don’t know which noun is being replaced by the pronoun. That’s what makes them indefinite pronouns. Here are three more indefinite pronouns: everyone, no one, someoneThese indefinite pronouns are singular. They each take… Read more377. More Indefinite Pronouns: Everyone, No one, Someone
A prepositional phrase is a group of words that begins with a preposition. There is no action in a phrase.I’ll set the table before dinner. Let’s take a walk after lunch.Your dog can stay here until tomorrow. He has been… Read more349. Phrases and Clauses