English grammar explained in plain language simple enough to be understood.
A complex sentence is made up of an independent clause and a subordinate clause. It matters not whether you begin with the subordinate clause or the independent clause. The meaning of the sentence will remain the same. Here is a… Read more234. Reordering Clauses in a Complex Sentence
Today is Veterans Day, a day of remembrance. We pause today to honor, acknowledge, and thank all the people in the armed forces of the United States – those presently serving our country, and those who have served in the… Read more214. Highlight on Writing – Veterans Day
Section A: Read each group of words. If the words tell a complete thought with a subject doing something, write SENTENCE. If the words do not tell a complete thought, write FRAGMENT.1. Over the roof of the house. 2. The… Read more210. Practice Simple Sentences
We know that a simple sentence is one complete thought. A period should go at the end of the complete thought. When a writer uses a comma between two complete thoughts, we end up with a run-on sentence. Here are… Read more208. Avoid Run-On Sentences and the Comma Splice
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
Parentheses ( ) are a type of punctuation. Parentheses always come as a pair – in twos. We put parentheses around words and information that are not of major importance. The words in a parentheses can be left out and… Read more172. Parentheses
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
A period is used as stop punctuation. Every time you reach the end of a statement sentence, you should put a period. Today is Thursday.I bought a new sweater yesterday.Sam’s brother is a teacher.Although it is raining, the sun is… Read more404. The Period
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
When you describe a noun with multiple adjectives, you need a comma between the adjectives. Look at these sentence examples:The Amazon driver delivered a big, heavy box to our front door. The word box is described with two adjectives: big… Read more387. Use a Comma Between Two Adjectives