Download The Brainfuse Writing Lab Essential Grammar Guide

The Brainfuse Writing Lab
Essential Grammar Guide
A Quick Reference for Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics
Please Click on the Area That You’d Like to Work On …
Part I. Grammar
1.
2.
3.
4.
Run-on Sentences
Sentence Fragments
Rambling Sentences
Subject-Verb
Agreement
5. Verb Tense
6. Pronoun Agreement
7. Pronoun Case
8. Ambiguous Pronouns
9. Dangling Modifiers
10. Preposition
11. Parallelism
Part II. Usage
1. Commonly Confused
Words: Homophones
2. Commonly Confused
Words: Similar Word
Parts
3. Commonly Confused
Words: Definition
Mix-Ups
Part III. Mechanics
1. Comma Usage
2. Punctuating
Quotations
3. Possession
4. End Marks
5. Colons
6. Semicolons
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Grammar
Run-on Sentences: When writers join two or more independent clauses together without a
conjunction, they have formed run-on sentences. These are hard to follow and need to be revised.
Incorrect: The grate outside the bakery seemed to rise with the sun its windows
revealed all of the cakes that had been made the day before.
Revised: The grate outside the bakery seemed to rise with the sun, and its windows
revealed all of the cakes that had been made the day before.
or
The grate outside the bakery seemed to rise with the sun. Its windows revealed all of the
cakes that had been made the day before.
Sentence Fragments: A complete sentence needs to be a complete thought, and that thought
needs to include both a subject and a predicate.
The subject = Who/what the sentence is about.
The predicate = What the subject does, or what the subject seems to be.
o
o
o
The leaves fell.
The leaves turned brown.
Look at the leaves. (For requests and commands, “you” is understood to be the
subject.)
A sentence fragment lacks 1 of those 3 qualities.
Fragment: Broke the window on our new car.
Where is the subject in the sentence above? Who or what broke it?
Complete: A fly ball broke the window on our new car.
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Fragment: Parallel parking.
Where is the predicate?
Complete: Parallel parking can be difficult
Fragment: When I step on the brake.
How can you make this a complete thought?
Correct: When I step on the brake, the car squeals.
Rambling Sentences: These sentences go on and on and on ...
Read your paper out loud and see if any of the sentences make you run out of breath or forget the
point that you were trying to make. If so, that sentence probably needs to be broken into two or
more sentences. Rambling sentences are often made up of long strands of clauses and
parenthetical statements.
Caution: You may run out of breath if you read these sentences out loud.
Hard to Follow: The guided tour, which started at the drawbridge, lasted for more than two
hours, during which time my uncle, cousin, and I walked through a lot of dark rooms and learned
about the history of the castle, which had endured at least a dozen attacks, but it turned into a
tourist attraction with a gift shop in the dungeon after the fall of the monarchy.
One Possible Revision: My uncle, cousin, and I went on a guided tour of a castle, and it lasted
for more than two hours. As we walked through dark rooms, our guide told us that the castle had
endured at least a dozen attacks. After the fall of the monarchy, however, the site was turned into
a tourist attraction. It even has a gift shop in the dungeon.
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Subject-Verb Agreement: Subjects and verbs need to agree in number.
If a subject is singular, its verb needs to be singular..


The shoe fits. (singular)
My vote is cast. (singular)
If a subject is plural, its verb needs to be plural.


The shoes fit. (plural)
The votes are cast. (plural)
Compound subjects include more than one noun. They are often joined by one of these
conjunctions: and, nor, or … or.
o When a compound subject uses "and" to join two words together, it requires a plural
verb.
o When a compound subject uses "nor" or "or" to join two words together, the verb
should agree with the noun that is closest to it.



The reels and the projector are damaged.
Either the reels or the projector is damaged.
Neither the projector nor the reels are damaged.
Verb Tense: When you are discussing events that took place in one time frame, do not shift
from one verb tense to another.
Incorrect: The llamas were resting in the barn, and I do not want to disturb them.
Revised: The llamas were resting in the barn, and I did not want to disturb them.
Verb Tense (literary essays): Most literary essays refer to events from works of literature in the
present tense. Describe the event that you are focusing on in the present.
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Incorrect: In Edgar Allen Poe's poem, "The Raven," the bird had persistence.
Revised: In Edgar Allen Poe's poem, "The Raven," the bird has persistence.
Pronoun Agreement: Make sure that all pronouns clearly agree with their antecedents.
A singular subject has a singular pronoun:

The player will end her training soon.
A plural subject has a plural pronoun:

The players will end their training soon.
Pronoun Case: Pronouns can act as subjects, objects, and words that show possession.

Use subjective pronouns to replace the subjects of clauses.
(I, you, he/she/it, we, they, who)

Use objective pronouns to replace any objects in a clause. They might include direct
objects, indirect objects, or objects of the preposition.
(me, you, her/him/it, us, them, whom)

Use possessive pronouns to replace nouns that show possession.
(my, your, his/her/its, our, their; mine, yours, ours, theirs)
Ambiguous Pronouns: Make sure that each pronoun clearly represents a noun.
Incorrect: The producers said that nine bands had entered the contest, but they did not
have a drummer.
-
Who did not have a drummer?!
The producers? Every band? One band? … "They" is unclear.
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One Revision: The producers said that nine bands had entered the contest, but one of
those bands did not have a drummer.
Dangling Modifiers: Phrases are often used to describe people or things. When it is difficult to
identify who/what a phrase is modifying, then you might have a dangling modifier.
When placed at the beginning of a sentence, a participial phrase should precede the noun it
modifies. So, if an introductory phrase describes a noun, the noun that it’s describing should
follow that description. These two parts of a sentence are separated by a comma:
Incorrect: Running for the train, the hat was lost.
Hats do not usually run for trains.
Correct: Running for the train, the passenger lost his hat.
Prepositions: These words are often ignored, but they are important. Prepositions show location,
time, or a relationship between words. Writers often forget prepositions or use the wrong one,
and this can cause confusion.
Incorrect: We were accepted for the school.
Correct: We were accepted by the school.
or
We were accepted into the school.
If you are not sure which preposition should follow a verb, try looking that word up in an online
dictionary. These publications often have sample sentences that show you how to use the word.
Because prepositions show relationships between words, some style guides recommend that
writers avoid ending sentences with prepositions. Since this is not a convention that all style
guides follow, you can ask your instructor for his/her preference.
Parallelism: Make sure that a list of similar phrases includes similar constructions.
Incorrect: To finish the triathlon, I needed to run, bike, and was swimming.
Correct: To finish the triathlon, I needed to run, bike, and swim.
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Usage
If you use the wrong word in a sentence, Spellcheck cannot always catch that. However, you can
look over the list of commonly confused words below to make sure that you did not make any of
these errors.
How Can You Memorize All Of These Words?



Use the context clues to figure out the meaning of each word.
Create Flashcards on Brainfuse Flashbulb.
Use your knowledge of word roots or come up with tricks you can use to remember the
differences between these words.
Commonly Confused Words: Homophones
(Words that sound the same.)
ACCEPT/EXCEPT


I will accept the position of event planner and look forward to developing unforgettable
gatherings.
He liked every kind of animal except for geese.
Memory Trick: “Ex” means “out of” in Latin (like “exit”). The word “except” tells us that
something is about to be left out of a group.
CAPITAL/CAPITOL


The capital was moved from Philadelphia to Washington D.C.
The capitol building rises over one end of the mall in Washington D.C.
COUNCIL/COUNSEL



The Council on Aging set up computer literacy classes for senior citizens.
She sought counsel from a lawyer before speaking to the press.
The parents counseled their son to quit his job and focus on school.
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ITS/IT’S


It’s made out of plastic.
Its handle broke when we were moving.
PASSED/ PAST



The vacation had passed far too quickly.
When a child on a tricycle passed his car, the driver knew traffic was bad.
The dog was afraid to go outside, and we wondered if something had happened to her in
the past.
PRINCIPAL/PRINCIPLE



He would rather lose his job based on principle than give up his beliefs to remain in a
high tax bracket.
The principal ingredient in that muffin is sugar.
The principal started the school year with a stirring speech.
STATIONERY/STATIONARY


The stationary bike would not go far.
Her grandmother wrote love letters to her grandfather on light blue stationery.
THAN/THEN


They ate the dinner and then the dessert.
That dinner was better than the dessert.
THEIR/THEY’RE/THERE




Their board game night drew a large crowd.
They’re thinking of hosting one again.
There are so many board games we could play.
I have checkers over there.
THROUGH/THREW/THOROUGH



The cat jumped through the hole in the fence.
The pitcher threw a knuckleball.
That painter was thorough: he even painted the electric outlets and the light switch.
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WHOSE/WHO’S




Who’s knocking at the door?
The actor who’s able to play that part best is Charlie Chaplin.
Whose hat is on my chair?
The person whose name cannot be spoken is standing in the driveway.
YOUR/ YOU’RE




You’re asking good questions.
You’re accomplished.
Your multi-colored beverage is ready.
Will they take your advice?
Commonly Confused Words: Word Parts
(Words with Similar Prefixes and Roots)
CONSCIENCE/CONSCIOUS


The football player was still conscious after being tackled.
He wanted to be a part of the prank, but his conscience made him realize that he might
embarrass his friend.
PRECEDE/PROCEED:


May precedes June.
After the first dive, he proceeded to shiver.
Commonly Confused Words: Definition Mix-Ups
(Words that seem to have a similar meaning, but there are some key differences!)
AMONG/BETWEEN


We kept the secret between my best friend and me.
He did not feel judged when he was among friends from his team.
LIE/LAY

The garden will lie by the brick wall.
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
He started to lay the bricks in the yard this morning.
FEWER/LESS




If you have 15 items or fewer, you may use the express lane at my grocery store.
There were fewer violent attacks in the school after the social worker started her conflict
resolution class.
I have less energy than I did when I was sixteen.
There is now less interest in the proposal to build a new bridge.
Mechanics
Comma Usage:
Use commas …

after introductory phrases.
After listening to several hours of testimony, the jury needed a break.

to separate two independent clauses that are joined by a conjunction.
The exhibit on dinosaurs is no longer at the museum, but you can still see the
skeleton of a giant T-Rex in the lobby.

to introduce short quotations.
The narrator says, "hello world!"
(Use colons to introduce longer quotations of 40 or more words. They should follow a complete
sentence.)

to separate two different adjectives that modify a noun.
Heavy, gray clouds hung over the village.

to set off parenthetical comments within a sentence.
The candidate, who was featured on the news, is now ahead in the polls.
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Punctuating Quotations:

Before a short quotation, add a comma after an introductory phrase.
The author states, "The world is round."

Before a block quotation, you should use a colon.
Abraham Lincoln began to address the crowd:
Four score and seven years ago …
Possession:
Make sure to add apostrophes to show possession.
o The parents' parking lot was filled at 3:00 p.m.
o One parent's meeting with a teacher needed to be rescheduled.
o The Reyes's garden wins awards every year.
In many style guides, names from ancient texts do not have the extra “s” after the
apostrophe:
o Socrates' questioning style is still used by many professors.
End Marks:
Reread your sentences and make sure that you have chosen the correct way to end each one.
Periods: Use a period to end declarative sentences. They state facts and opinions.
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Books are becoming artifacts.
Question Marks: Use a question mark for interrogative sentences. They pose questions.
Will people read printed books in one hundred years?
Exclamation Points: Use an exclamation point to show excitement or urgency. Note that these
should rarely be used in academic papers because they do not show objectivity.
These rare books need to be preserved!
Colons: When a colon introduces a list, it needs to be preceded by a complete sentence, not a
phrase.

The supply closet contains the following items: legal pads, pens, paper for the
printer, and binders.
Semicolons: Semicolons are often used to join together two closely related sentences without
using a conjunction.

I did not go to the gym today; there was a last-minute task that I needed to complete
instead.
They are also used in a list of phrases that contain one or more commas. It prevents confusion.

I actually met many new people at the reunion: the new principal, who had just
accepted the position; the class president, with whom I had never spoken; and a
judge from the class of 1956.
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