English grammar explained in plain language simple enough to be understood.
We use an apostrophe (‘) to show that a noun owns something. We call it “having possession.” Bob owns a car. The car is Bob’s car. We attach an apostrophe to the noun Bob to show his ownership of the… Read more488. Common Mistakes: Possessive Nouns
A possessive noun shows ownership. Bob has a bike. The bike is Bob’s bike. We add an apostrophe s (‘s) to show that it’s a possessive noun. However, possessive pronouns do not use an apostrophe. Here are some common possessive… Read more489. Possessive Nouns vs. Possessive Pronouns
When we put two simple sentences together, we form a compound sentence. We use a coordinating conjunction along with a comma to join two simple sentences. The word conjunction means “to join.” There are seven coordinating conjunctions. If we list… Read more531. Two Simple Sentences Make a Compound Sentence
Here are two simple sentences: I play the piano. Jenna plays the trumpet.We can make these two simple sentences into a compound sentence by adding a comma and the conjunction and: I play the piano, and Jenna plays the trumpet…. Read more532. Compound Sentence or Not?
A compound sentence is formed by joining two simple sentences together. Each independent clause is a simple sentence, We join the two simple sentences with a comma and a coordinating conjunction. There are seven coordinating conjunctions: for, and, nor, but,… Read more533. Always Use a Comma in a Compound Sentence
An appositive phrase is a group of words in a sentence that adds more information. Because this is extra information, it could be left out and the sentence would still make sense. Here is a simple sentence: Bob has a… Read more636. Comma Rules – The Appositive Phrase
Quotation marks (“) are placed at the beginning and at the end of words that are spoken. We often use a speech tag to tell who spoke the words. Look at this example of a quotation:“Give me liberty, or give… Read more656. Using Quotation Marks with Speech
When a sentence ends with quoted words, the end punctuation goes inside the final quotation marks.Dad said, “I’ll be home soon.” Notice how the period ending the sentence goes inside the final quotation mark. We end the sentence with a… Read more657. End Punctuation with Quotation Marks
We put quotation marks on both sides of a poem title. “Stopping by Woods on Snowy Evening”“The Road Not Taken”“O Captain! My Captain!” We also put quotation marks on both sides of a short story title:“The Tell-Tale Heart”“The Monkey’s Paw”“The… Read more658. Quotation Marks with Poems and Short Stories
We sometimes use quotation marks around a word or group of words to show emphasis. The quotation marks cause the reader to hit the word or words a little harder for emphasis. Look at this example:My mother always tells me… Read more659. Quotation Marks for Emphasis