― proofreading and editing ―
Clause, Conjunction, Independent, Subject [print-me]
“FANSBOY” is an acronym for the seven coordinating conjunctions: “for,” “and,” “nor,” “so,” “but,” “or,” “yet.” Each of these requires a comma when combining two independent clauses. (Not every FANSBOY begins an independent clause.) Examples: The king, his horses, and his men tried to pick up all the pieces, for Humpty Dumpty had fallen from […]
Questions come in two different types: yes/no questions and questions that seek information. ? Questions usually end in a question mark (?). Yes/No questions “Yes/no” questions seek a simple one-word answer, which may or may not be expanded. Many “yes/no” questions are formed with the verb “do” before the subject and […]
Adjective, Adverb, Clause, Comma, Conjunction, Contraction, Past, Period, Preposition, Present, Question, Statement, Subject, Verb [print-me]
Negative sentences A negative in a sentence gives the opposite of the statement. (The book is here. >> The book is not here.) noIn most instances, using two negatives in a sentence creates a double negative, which is a grammatical “no-no.” (:>) Many sentences can be made negative by using a negative prefix to an […]
Apostrophe, Clause, Conditional, Contraction, Future, Negative, Noun, Past, Present, Pronoun, Question, Subject [print-me]
English verbs use helpers (auxiliary verbs) to create tenses other than simple present and past. The helping verb “do” is used to create questions. Other helping/auxiliary verbs identify necessity/obligation/advice, permission/possibility/ability, or habitual past actions. To create a negative sentence, insert “not” (or its contraction “n’t”) between the helping verb and the main verb. Tenses: […]
Apostrophe, Noun, Past, Present, Pronoun, Question, Subject, Verb [print-me]
Shortened forms of words Contractions begin with a noun or pronoun and attach a shortened form of a verb (replacing the initial letters with an apostrophe) or “not” (abbreviated as “n’t”). ‘ Contractions should only be used in informal writing or in conversation/dialogue. Names and other nouns use the third person of the verb, singular […]
Apostrophe, Contraction, Negative, Statement, Subject [print-me]
Simple Past tense In English past tense, regular verbs do not change their form according to the subject. The past tense refers to something that happened and was completed before now. Most verbs simply add “-ed” to the verb (or just “-d” if they end in a single consonant followed by a silent “e.”) This […]
Contraction, Ending Mark, Negative, Past, Present, Statement, Subject, Verb [print-me]
Questions In writing, a question ends with a question mark (“?”). ?In speech, most types of questions raise the voice at the end. Yes/No questions Many questions are formed expecting a simple “Yes” or “No” for an answer. Questions created with a form of “do” One common method is to use a […]
