English grammar explained in plain language simple enough to be understood.
The words after and before are often used as subordinating conjunctions. You can begin a complex sentence with either of these two words:Before we eat dinner, I have to fire up the grill.After the rain stops, we can go to… Read more887. When it’s not a Complex Sentence
A complex sentence contains a simple sentence and a subordinate clause. The subordinate clause must be attached to a simple sentence or it is a sentence fragment. Look at these examples of a subordinate clause written as a sentence. Each… Read more888. A Subordinate Clause without a Complete Clause is a Fragment
The word but is a coordination conjunction – one of the FANBOYS. Always use a comma before but when starting a second complete thought. Today is sunny, but tomorrow it will rain. I like milk, but my dad prefers soda.Two… Read more889. Comma before But – No Comma before Because
In writing, quotation marks (“) are placed on either side of spoken words. Quotation marks are always used as a pair. We place one set of quotation marks at the beginning of someone’s words, and we place a second set… Read more901. Using Quotation Marks with Speech
A phrase is a group of words with no action. An adjective phrase is a group of words that describe a noun.Look at these examples:The larger-than-life statue is very realistic. I found an extremely smooth stone at the beach.The completely… Read more978. The Adjective Phrase
A preposition is a word that shows the position of an object in relation to other objects nearby. A preposition is always the first word of a prepositional phrase. Here are some prepositions: in, over, under, on, beside These sentences… Read more981. Prepositions and the Prepositional Phrase
A prepositional phrase always begins with a preposition. The last word in a prepositional phrase is a noun. That noun is called the object of the preposition. Look at these prepositional phrases. In each phrase, the first word is a… Read more982. Object of the Preposition
A preposition is a word that shows the position of an object. A preposition is always found at the beginning of a prepositional phrase. The phrase ends with an object of the preposition. These are some common prepositions in the… Read more983. Prepositions
A preposition shows position. A preposition is always the first word of a prepositional phrase. Sometimes a preposition is made up of two words. Look at these examples of a preposition:next to, underneath, without, inside of, out of, in front… Read more984. Two-word Prepositions
Sometimes a preposition uses two words together to show position. These prepositions combine the word to with a second preposition: due to, close to, next to, back to. Here are some sentence examples showing two-word prepositions:We drove back to the… Read more1021. Two-word Prepositions