End Marks
* Use a period after a declarative or imperative statement:
I went to the library.
Sign your name here.
* Use a question mark after a direct question or to indicate uncertainty:
What is your name?
Chaucer's dates are 1340?–1400.
Do not use a question mark after an indirect question: I asked them what time they were leaving.
* Use an exclamation point after an exclamatory or emphatic sentence or an interjection:
Give me a break!
Hey! Ouch! Wow!
Comma
Use a comma:
* To separate words in a list or series:
The baby likes grapes, bananas, and cantaloupe.
* To separate two or more adjectives that come before a noun when and can be substituted without changing the meaning:
He had a kind, generous nature.
The dog had thick, soft, shiny fur.
Do not use the comma if the adjectives together express a single idea or the noun is a compound made up of an adjective and a noun:
The kitchen had bright yellow curtains.
A majestic bald eagle soared overhead.
* To set off words or phrases in apposition to a noun:
George Eliot, the great 19th-century novelist, was born in 1819.
Do not use commas when the appositive word or phrase is essential to the meaning of the sentence:
The novelist George Eliot was born in 1819.
* To set off nonessential phrases and clauses:
My French professor, who has an odd sense of humor, has been teaching for some 30 years.
Do not use commas when the phrase or clause is essential to the meaning of the sentence:
The professor who teaches my French class has an odd sense of humor.
* To separate the independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence:
He lives in New York, and she lives in London.
Some people like golf, but others prefer tennis.
* To set off interrupters such as of course, however, I think, and by the way from the rest of the sentence:
She knew, of course, that he was lying.
By the way, I'll be away next week.
* To set off an introductory word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of a sentence:
Yes, I'd like to go with you.
After some years, we met again.
Being tall, she often gets teased.
* To set off a word in direct address:
Thanks, guys, for all your help.
How was your trip, Kathy?
* To set off a tag question:
You won't do that again, will you?
* To introduce a short quotation:
The queen said, “Let them eat cake!”
* To close the salutation in a personal letter and the complimentary close in a business or personal letter:
Dear Mary, … Sincerely, Fred
* To set off titles and degrees:
Sarah Little, Ph.D.Robert Johnson, Jr.
* To separate sentence elements that might be read incorrectly without the comma:
As they entered, in the shadows you could see a figure lurking.
* To set off the month and day from the year in full dates:
The conference will be held on August 6, 2001.
Do not use a comma when only the month and year appear:
The conference will be held in August 2001.
* To set off the city and state in an address:
Sam Green
10 Joy Street
Boston, MA 02116
If the address is inserted into text, add a second comma after the state:
Cincinnati, Ohio, is their home.
Colon
Use a colon:
* To introduce a list, or words, phrases, and clauses that explain, enlarge upon, or summarize what has gone before:
Please provide the following: your name, address, and phone number.
“No honest poet can ever feel quite sure of the permanent value of what he has written: He may have wasted his time and messed up his life for nothing.”—T. S. Eliot
* To introduce a long quotation:
In 1780 John Adams wrote: “English is destined to be in the next and succeeding centuries more generally the language of the world than Latin was in the last or French is in the present age…”
* To separate hour and minute(s) in standard time notation:
The train arrives at 9:30.
* To close the salutation in a business letter:
Dear Sir or Madam:
Semicolon
Use a semicolon:
* To separate the independent clauses in a compound sentence not joined by a conjunction:
Only two seats were left; we needed three.
The situation is hopeful; the storm may lift soon.
* To separate two independent clauses, the second of which begins with an adverb such as however, consequently, moreover, and therefore:
We waited an hour; however, we couldn't hang around indefinitely.
* To separate elements already punctuated with commas:
Invitations were mailed to the various professors, associate professors, and assistant professors; the secretary of the department; and some of the grad students.
Dashes & Hyphens
* Use a dash to indicate a sudden break in continuity or to set off an explanatory, a defining, or an emphatic phrase:
The sky grew dark—where were the kids?
Dairy foods—milk, cheese, yogurt—are a good source of calcium.
* Use a hyphen to join the elements of a compound word or to join the elements of a compound modifier before a noun:
* Use a hyphen to divide a word at the end of a line:
Rasputin is one of history's most enig-
matic and intriguing figures.
Brackets & Parentheses
* Use brackets to set off words or letters in quoted matter that have been added by someone other than the author:
“She [Willa Cather] is certainly one of the great American writers of the 20th century.”
* Use parentheses to set off nonessential information:
We spent an hour (more or less) cleaning up.
Apostrophe
Use an apostrophe to indicate:
* The possessive case of singular and plural nouns, indefinite pronouns, and proper nouns:
my sister's son
somebody's lunch
my two sisters' sons
Charles's house
the children's toys the Rosses' friends
* The plural of letters, numbers, symbols, and words used as such:
too many thus's
ten 5's in a row
spelled with two e's
delete some &'s
* Missing letters in contractions and missing numbers in dates:
I'm (I am)
class of '95
ma'am (madam)
winter of '97–'98
Quotation Marks
Use quotation marks:
* To set off direct quotations:
“Let's go to the beach,” she suggested.
* To set off titles of short stories, articles, chapters, essays, songs, poems, and individual radio and television programs:
Chapter 9, “The New Englishes”
sang the “Star-Spangled Banner”
“The Apparent Trap” episode of Frasier
* To set off words and phrases that are being used in an unusual or questionable way or might be preceded by so-called:
Mari's “fine” was a day's volunteer work.
According to the article, bees appear to “remember” landmarks
14 Common Grammatical Mistakes in English – And How to Avoid Them
1. Misplaced apostrophes
Apostrophes aren’t difficult to use once you know how, but putting them in the wrong place is one of the most common grammar mistakes in the English language. Many people use an apostrophe to form the plural of a word, particularly if the word in question ends in a vowel, which might make the word look strange with an S added to make it plural.
The rules:
Apostrophes indicate possession – something belonging to something or someone else.
To indicate something belonging to one person, the apostrophe goes before the ‘s’. For instance, “The girl’s horse.”
To indicate something belonging to more than one person, put the apostrophe after the ‘s’. For example, “The girls’ horse.”
Apostrophes are also used to indicate a contracted word. For example, “don’t” uses an apostrophe to indicate that the word is missing the “o” from “do not”.
Apostrophes are never used to make a word plural, even when a word is in number form, as in a date.
How not to do it:
The horse’s are in the field
Pen’s for sale
In the 1980’s
Janes horse is over there
The girls dresses are ready for them to collect
How to do it properly:
The horses are in the field
Pens for sale
In the 1980s
We didn’t want to do it
Jane’s horse is over there
The girls’ dresses are ready for them to collect
2. Your/you’re
We covered this one before in our post on homophones, but it’s such a widespread problem that there’s no harm in covering it again.
The rules:
“Your” indicates possession – something belonging to you.
“You’re” is short for “you are”.
How not to do it:
Your beautiful
Do you know when your coming over?
Can I have one of you’re biscuits?
How to do it properly:
You’re beautiful
Do you know when you’re coming over?
Can I have one of your biscuits?
3. Its/it’s
We said earlier that apostrophes should be used to indicate possession, but there is one exception to this rule, and that is the word “it”. Unsurprisingly, this exception gets lots of people confused.
The rules:
“It’s” is only ever used when short for “it is”.
“Its” indicates something belonging to something that isn’t masculine or feminine (like “his” and “hers”, but used when you’re not talking about a person).
If it helps, remember that inanimate objects can’t really possess something in the way a human can.
How not to do it:
Its snowing outside
The sofa looks great with it’s new cover
How to do it properly:
It’s snowing outside
The sofa looks great with its new cover
4. “Could/would/should of”
This common mistake arises because the contracted form of “could have” – “could’ve” – sounds a bit like “could of” when you say it out loud. This mistake is made frequently across all three of these words.
The rules:
When people write “should of”, what they really mean is “should have”.
Written down, the shortened version of “should have” is “should’ve”.
“Should’ve” and “Should have” are both correct; the latter is more formal.
How not to do it:
We could of gone there today
I would of done it sooner
You should of said
How to do it properly:
We could’ve gone there today
I would have done it sooner
You should’ve said
5. There/their/they’re
We’ve met this one before, too; it’s another example of those pesky homophones – words that sound the same but have different meanings.
The rules:
Use “there” to refer to a place that isn’t here – “over there”.
We also use “there” to state something – “There are no cakes left.”
“Their” indicates possession – something belonging to them.
“They’re” is short for “they are”.
How not to do it:
Their going to be here soon
We should contact they’re agent
Can we use there boat?
Their is an argument that says
How to do it properly:
They’re going to be here soon
We should contact their agent
Can we use their boat?
There is an argument that says
6. Fewer/less
The fact that many people don’t know the difference between “fewer” and “less” is reflected in the number of supermarket checkout aisles designated for “10 items or less”. The mistake most people make is using “less” when they actually mean “fewer”, rather than the other way round.
The rules:
“Fewer” refers to items you can count individually.
“Less” refers to a commodity, such as sand or water, that you can’t count individually.
How not to do it:
There are less cakes now
Ten items or less
How to do it properly:
There are fewer cakes now
Ten items or fewer
Less sand
Fewer grains of sand
7. Amount/number
These two work in the same way as “less” and “fewer”, referring respectively to commodities and individual items.
The rules:
“Amount” refers to a commodity, which can’t be counted (for instance water).
“Number” refers to individual things that can be counted (for example birds).
How not to do it:
A greater amount of people are eating more healthily
How to do it properly:
A greater number of people are eating more healthily
The rain dumped a larger amount of water on the country than is average for the month
8. To/two/too
It’s time to revisit another common grammar mistake that we also covered in our homophones post, as no article on grammar gripes would be complete without it. It’s easy to see why people get this one wrong, but there’s no reason why you should.
The rules:
“To” is used in the infinitive form of a verb – “to talk”.
“To” is also used to mean “towards”.
“Too” means “also” or “as well”.
“Two” refers to the number 2.
How not to do it:
I’m to hot
It’s time two go
I’m going too town
He bought to cakes
How to do it properly:
I’m too hot
It’s time to go
I’m going to town
He bought two cakes
9. Then/than
Confusion between “then” and “than” probably arises because the two look and sound similar.
The rules:
“Than” is used in comparisons.
“Then” is used to indicate something following something else in time, as in step-by-step instructions, or planning a schedule (“we’ll go there then there”).
How not to do it:
She was better at it then him
It was more then enough
How to do it properly:
She was better at it than him
It was more than enough
We’ll go to the baker first, then the coffee shop
10. Me/myself/I
The matter of how to refer to oneself causes all manner of conundrums, particularly when referring to another person in the same sentence. Here’s how to remember whether to use “me”, “myself” or “I”.
The rules:
When referring to yourself and someone else, put their name first in the sentence.
Choose “me” or “I” by removing their name and seeing which sounds right.
For example, with the sentence “John and I are off to the circus”, you wouldn’t say “me is off to the circus” if it was just you; you’d say “I am off to the circus”. Therefore when talking about going with someone else, you say “John and I”.
You only use “myself” if you’ve already used “I”, making you the subject of the sentence.
How not to do it:
Me and John are off to the circus
Myself and John are going into town
Give it to John and I to look after
How to do it properly:
John and I are off to the circus
John and I are going into town
Give it to John and me to look after
I’ll deal with it myself
I thought to myself
11. Invite/invitation
This mistake is now so common that it’s almost accepted as an alternative, but if you really want to speak English properly, you should avoid it.
The rules:
“Invite” is a verb – “to invite”. It refers to asking someone if they’d like to do something or go somewhere.
“Invitation” is a noun – “an invitation”. It refers to the actual message asking someone if they’d like to do something or go somewhere.
How not to do it:
I haven’t responded to her invite yet.
She sent me an invite.
How to do it properly:
I haven’t responded to her invitation yet.
She sent me an invitation.
I’m going to invite her to join us.
12. Who/whom
Another conundrum arising from confusion over how to refer to people. There are lots in the English language!
The rules:
“Who” refers to the subject of a sentence; “whom” refers to the object.
“Who” and “whom” work in the same way as “he” or “him”. You can work out which you should use by asking yourself the following:
“Who did this? He did” – so “who” is correct. “Whom should I invite? Invite him” – so “whom” is correct.
“That” is often used incorrectly in place of “who” or “whom”. When referring to a person, you should not use the word “that”.
How not to do it:
Who shall I invite?
Whom is responsible?
He was the only person that wanted to come
How to do it properly:
Whom shall I invite?
Who is responsible?
He was the only person who wanted to come
13. Affect/effect
It’s an easy enough mistake to make given how similar these two words look and sound, but there’s a simple explanation to help you remember the difference.
The rules:
Affect is a verb – “to affect” – meaning to influence or have an impact on something.
Effect is the noun – “a positive effect” – referring to the result of being affected by something.
There is also a verb “to effect”, meaning to bring something about – “to effect a change”. However, this is not very commonly used, so we’ve left it out of the examples below to avoid confusion.
How not to do it:
He waited for the medicine to have an affect
They were directly effected by the flooding
How to do it properly:
He waited for the medicine to have an effect
They were directly affected by the flooding
14. I.e. and e.g.
These two abbreviations are commonly confused, and many people use them interchangeably. However, their uses are very different.
The rules:
I.e. means “that is” or “in other words”. It comes from the Latin words “id est”.
E.g. means “for example”. It comes from the Latin words “exempli gratia”.
Only use “i.e.” and “e.g.” when writing informally. In formal documents, such as essays, it is better to write out the meanings (“for example” or “that is”).
How not to do it:
He liked many different cheeses, i.e. cheddar, camembert and brie.
He objects to the changes – e.g. he won’t be accepting them.
How to do it properly:
He liked many different cheeses, e.g. cheddar, camembert and brie.
He objects to the changes – i.e. he won’t be accepting the
Rules to Improve Your Spelling
1. Use a (good) dictionary:
An English dictionary designed for English language learners, such as Longman’s Dictionary of Contemporary English or Oxford’s Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, can be very helpful for non-native speakers. These dictionaries give more information and often many more examples of words in context to help students select and use words appropriately.
2. Always check certain "troublesome" suffixes in your dictionary.
Some English suffixes confound even the best spellers. Make it a habit always to check these types of words when you are editing or proofreading your work.
-able or -ible (-ably/-ibly; -ability/-ibility)
responsible / dependable; responsibly / dependably; responsibility / dependability
-ent or -ant
apparent / blatant
-ence or -ance
occurrence / importance
-tial or -cial
influential / beneficial
3. Create your own "difficult-to-spell" lists.
If you notice that you routinely misspell certain words, consider learning from your mistakes by creating your own personal "difficult words" list. Keeping this list close at hand as you write will save you time and probably eliminate many of your common spelling errors.
4. Learn the standard pronunciations for frequently misspelled words.
Some common misspellings derive not from difficult combinations of letters but from pronunciations that do not reflect the word’s spelling. The word mischievous, for example, is often misspelled because of the common pronunciation "miss CHEEVY us." Learning the standard pronunciation "MISS chiv us" will aid you in properly spelling the word.
5. Watch out for homophones, near-homophones, and other easily confusable words.
Many English words have identical or similar pronunciations but different spellings. Using the wrong word of a homophone pair is one of the most common spelling pitfalls for all writers. Learn to check these types of commonly misspelled words carefully during your proofreading.
6. Become familiar with English spelling rules.
Contrary to common perception, English spelling does often follow certain rules. Becoming aware of these rules can help you avoid some common spelling errors. Many writing handbooks and style guides contain a complete list of spelling rules. Below are four of the most helpful.
Rule 1: i before e except after c, or when sounded like /ay/ as in neighbour or weigh.
This simple rhyme helps explain the difference between the spellings of believe (i before e) and receive (except after c). In general, when the long /e/ sound (ee) is spelled with the letters i and e, the order is ie: shield, field, fiend. Common exceptions are leisure, seizure, and weird.
When the letters i and e are used in words with a long /a/ sound, they are usually spelled ei: sleigh, feint, heinous.
When the sound is neither long /e/ nor long /a/, the spelling is usually ei: their, seismic, foreign. Some exceptions to this rule are friend, sieve, and mischief.
Rule 2: When adding suffixes that begin with a vowel (-able, -ible, -ous, etc.) to words ending in silent e, drop the final e.
This rule explains why a word like desire contains an e and a word like desirable does not. Other examples include response → responsible, continue → continuous, argue → arguing.
We do, however, retain the final e when a word ends in -ce or -ge in order to maintain the distinctive "soft" pronunciation of those consonants:
notice → noticeable, courage → courageous, advantage → advantageous.
For reasons of pronunciation, the final e is also retained in words ending in a double e,
e.g. agree → agreeable, flee → fleeing.
Rule 3: When adding suffixes to words ending in y, change the y to an i.
This rule explains the spelling shift that occurs in the following word pairs:
happy → happier, plenty → plentiful, body → bodily.
As English spelling does not generally allow an i to follow another i, the y is retained when the suffix itself begins with an i: carry → carrying, baby → babyish.
Rule 4: When adding suffixes, double the final consonant of a word only if any of the following conditions apply.
The final consonant is preceded by a single vowel: bar → barred. When there is more than one vowel before the final consonant, the consonant is not doubled: fail → failed. When the final consonant is preceded by another consonant, the consonant is not doubled: bark → barking.
The word has only one syllable or has the stress on the last syllable: fit → fitted, commit → committed, prefer → preferred. For words with more than one syllable where the stress does not fall on the last syllable, the final consonant is not doubled: benefit → benefited, offer → offered.
The suffix begins with a vowel: prefer → preferred. But if the syllable stress changes because of the addition of the suffix, then the consonant is not doubled: prefer → preference. Final consonants are also not doubled if the suffix begins with a consonant: prefer → preferment.
If the word ends in l or p, then the consonant is usually doubled in Canadian spelling:
travel → travelled; worship → worshipped. Note: American spelling does not follow this rule.
Some Commonly Misspelled Words
accelerate
fiery
pastime
accessible
fluorescent
pejorative
accessory
fluoride
penultimate
accommodate
foresee
perennial
acknowledge
fulfill / fulfil
perseverance
acquaint
government
persuade
acquire
grammar
phenomenon
across
grievous
pneumonia
aficionado
guarantee
Portuguese
aggressive
handiwork
preeminent
amphitheatre
handkerchief
prerogative
anecdote
harass
privilege
anomaly
heinous
pronunciation
apparent
hemorrhage
proverbial
arctic
hygiene
pursue
asphalt
hypocrisy
quandary
auxiliary
idiosyncrasy receive
bachelor
indispensable
remuneration
berserk
inedible
rendezvous
besiege
innocuous
renowned
bizarre
inoculate
repertoire
bookkeeper / bookkeeping
intercede
restaurateur
caffeine
invigorate
rhyme
camaraderie
iridescent
rhythm
Caribbean
irresistible
sacrilegious
category
laboratory
seize
collaborate
leisure
seizure
committee
liaison
separate
concede
manoeuvre / maneuver
sergeant
consensus
mayonnaise
silhouette
corollary
medieval
smorgasbord
curriculum
Mediterranean
solely
deceive
memento
soliloquy
de rigueur
millennium
sophomore
desiccate
minuscule
subtle
dilapidated
miscellaneous
supersede
diphtheria
mischievous
susceptible
diphthong
misspell
synonymous
dissension
non sequitur
tariff
duly
noticeable
tenterhook
dysfunction
nuptial
threshold
ecstasy
occasion
tortuous
embarrass
occurrence
tragedy
exaggerate
offered
Ukrainian
excerpt
ophthalmology
vaccinate
exhilarate
pageant
vacillate
experiential
parallel
vague
February
parliament
weird
English Grammar Terms
Active Voice
In the active voice, the subject of the verb does the action (eg They killed the President). See also Passive Voice.
Adjective
A word like big, red, easy, French etc. An adjective describes a noun or pronoun.
Adverb
A word like slowly, quietly, well, often etc. An adverb modifies a verb.
Article
The "indefinite" articles are a and an. The "definite article" is the.
Auxiliary Verb
A verb that is used with a main verb. Be, do and have are auxiliary verbs. Can, may, must etc are modal auxiliary verbs.
Clause
A group of words containing a subject and its verb (for example: It was late when he arrived).
Conjunction
A word used to connect words, phrases and clauses (for example: and, but, if).
Infinitive
The basic form of a verb as in to work or work.
Interjection
An exclamation inserted into an utterance without grammatical connection (for example: oh!, ah!, ouch!, well!).
Modal Verb
An auxiliary verb like can, may, must etc that modifies the main verb and expresses possibility, probability etc. It is also called "modal auxiliary verb".
Noun
A word like table, dog, teacher, America etc. A noun is the name of an object, concept, person or place. A "concrete noun" is something you can see or touch like a person or car. An "abstract noun" is something that you cannot see or touch like a decision or happiness. A "countable noun" is something that you can count (for example: bottle, song, dollar). An "uncountable noun" is something that you cannot count (for example: water, music, money).
Object
In the active voice, a noun or its equivalent that receives the action of the verb. In the passive voice, a noun or its equivalent that does the action of the verb.
Participle
The -ing and -ed forms of verbs. The -ing form is called the "present participle". The -ed form is called the "past participle" (for irregular verbs, this is column 3).
Part Of Speech
One of the eight classes of word in English - noun, verb, adjective, adverb, pronoun, preposition, conjunction and interjection.
Passive Voice
In the passive voice, the subject receives the action of the verb (eg The President was killed). See also Active Voice.
Phrase
A group of words not containing a subject and its verb (eg on the table, the girl in a red dress).
Predicate
Each sentence contains (or implies) two parts: a subject and a predicate. The predicate is what is said about the subject.
Preposition
A word like at, to, in, over etc. Prepositions usually come before a noun and give information about things like time, place and direction.
Pronoun
A word like I, me, you, he, him, it etc. A pronoun replaces a noun.
Sentence
A group of words that express a thought. A sentence conveys a statement, question, exclamation or command. A sentence contains or implies a subject and a predicate. In simple terms, a sentence must contain a verb and (usually) a subject. A sentence starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop (.), question mark (?) or exclamation mark (!).
Subject
Every sentence contains (or implies) two parts: a subject and a predicate. The subject is the main noun (or equivalent) in a sentence about which something is said.
Tense
The form of a verb that shows us when the action or state happens (past, present or future). Note that the name of a tense is not always a guide to when the action happens. The "present continuous tense", for example, can be used to talk about the present or the future.
Verb
A word like (to) work, (to) love, (to) begin. A verb describes an action or state.
Top 10 Student Writing Mistakes
1. Spelling mistakes
Many spelling mistakes occur when incorrect homophones (words with the same pronunciation, such as “right,” “rite,” and “write”) are used in a sentence.
Incorrect: Watch you’re words! Spell-check may not sea words that are miss used because they are spelled rite!
Correct:Watch your words! Spell check may not see words that are misused because they are spelled right!
2. Run-on sentences (no comma before a coordinating conjunction)
A coordinating conjunction connects two clauses that could be sentences on their own. You can use the acronym FANBOYS to remember the most common coordinating conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so. Unless the clauses are very short and closely related, you need a comma before the conjunction. If you forget to put a comma before the conjunction, it becomes a run-on sentence.
Incorrect:My dog barks at the mailman but she’s too lazy to chase him.
Solution: Check to see if the clauses before and after the conjunction could be sentences on their own. If so, insert a comma before the conjunction.
Correct:My dog barks at the mailman, but she’s too lazy to chase him.
3. Sentence fragments
A sentence fragment is a sentence that’s missing a subject (the thing doing the action) or a verb (the action).
Incorrect:An epic all-nighter!
Solution: Add a subject or verb to the fragment, as needed.
Correct:I pulled an epic all-nighter!
4. No comma after an introductory phrase
An introductory phrase provides some background information and is usually followed by a comma. The comma is optional when the phrase is very short.
Incorrect:While a Thanksgiving commercial played on the TV she was at the library trying to study for her final exams.
Correct:While a Thanksgiving commercial played on the TV, she was at the library trying to study for her final exams.
Correct:At long last I made it home. OR: At long last, I made it home.
5. Wordiness
A sentence is wordy if it uses more words than necessary to convey meaning. Wordiness often makes writing unclear.
Incorrect:Jessica ended up having to walk all the way home due to the fact that she missed the last train leaving Central Station.
Solution: Identify long phrases that can be replaced with a single word. Eliminate words that have the same meaning. Eliminate weak words, such as “basically” and “sort of.” Eliminate nonessential information.
Correct:Jessica walked home because she missed the last train.
6. Comma splicing
A comma splice occurs when you use a comma to connect two clauses that could be sentences on their own.
Incorrect:He bought back-to-school clothes, his mom bought a scarf.
Solution: Add a coordinating conjunction (remember: FANBOYS) after the comma, or change the comma to a period, semicolon, or colon.
Correct:He bought back-to-school clothes, and his mom bought a scarf. OR: He bought back-to-school clothes. His mom bought a scarf.
7. Comma misuse (inside a compound subject)
A compound subject uses a conjunction to connect more than one noun phrase.
Incorrect:My roommate, and his brother, went to see a movie.
Correct:My roommate and his brother went to see a movie.
8. No commas around interrupters
Interrupters are phrases that break the flow of a sentence to provide additional detail. Put commas around interrupters.
Incorrect:It was unfortunately the end of winter vacation.
Correct:It was, unfortunately, the end of winter vacation.
9. Squinting modifiers
A squinting modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that could modify the word before it or the word after it.
Incorrect:Students who study rarely get bad grades.
Solution: Put the modifier next to the word it should modify.
Correct:Students who rarely study get bad grades. OR: Students who study get bad grades rarely.
10. Subject-verb agreement
Singular subjects take singular verbs and plural subjects take plural verbs.
Incorrect:Michael study at the library every day.
Correct:Michael studies at the library every day.
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