Guide to Grammar and Punctuation

On this site, students will find information on the major elements of English grammar and punctuation, with links to style quizzes and other useful sources.

1. Sentences
A sentence is a sequence of words made up of one or more clauses.

1.1. Clauses and phrases
A sequence of words that contains at least one subject and one verb is called a clause.

1.2. Compounds and complex sentences
A sentence may contain multiple subjects and multiple verbs. That is, the sentence contains more than one clause (each with its own subject and verb).

1.3. Run-on sentences
Failure to separate two independent clauses results in the error known as a run-on sentence.

1.4. Comma splices
Using a comma to separate two independent clauses, instead of a semi-colon, is an error known as a comma-splice. Only full-stops and semi-colons can be used without conjunctions to separate independent clauses.

1.5. Sentence fragments
A sentence fragment is a group of words that is not a complete sentence yet has been punctuated as if it were a complete sentence.

2. Parenthetical expressions
Expressions that are not really part of the main idea of the sentence, or that interrupt the main sentence, are known as parenthetical.

3. Commas
Commas are placed between each item in a series (three or more items) in order to separate them from each other.

4. Singular and plural subjects and verbs
Singular means ?one'; plural means ?two or more'. Matching singular subjects with singular verbs and plural subjects with plural verbs is called subject-verb agreement.

5. Modifiers
Modifiers are words, phrases, or clauses that are used to describe other words in a sentence.

6. Correlative conjunctions
Correlative conjunctions are conjunctions that occur in pairs (e.g., both ? and; either ? or; neither ? nor; not only ? but also) and are usually used to compare two ideas.

7. Parallel structure
Parallel structure means that similar ideas should be expressed in similar grammatical structures. This issue is one of style.

8. Pronouns
Like nouns, pronouns may be either singular or plural. Just as a subject must agree in number with its verb, the pronoun must agree in number with its antecedent (the noun to which the pronoun refers).

9. Using "this"
In academic writing, a sentence beginning with ?This' should also include a specific subject.

10. Apostrophes
Apostrophes are used to represent contractions and to show ownership (possessive apostrophes). Some contractions occur when two words are shortened to form one. The apostrophe signals the shortening.

11. Capital letters
Generally, capitals are used at the beginning of proper nouns (names of specific persons, places, or things) but not of common nouns (names of general persons, places, or things).

12. Colons
Use a colon after a clause to introduce a list, an appositive, an amplification, or an illustrative quotation. The colon signals to the reader that what follows is closely related to the preceding clause.

13. Hyphens, dashes and when to use them
A hyphen is used to separate the components of a compound word.

14. Gender-neutral language
You should aim to use gender-neutral language. That is, avoid the use of gendered pronouns, like his or hers, when referring to people of both genders.

15. Confusing words
Quizzes to test appropriate word usage.

16. Style quizzes
Quizzes to assess correct writing style.