Improve Your English Grammar

Want to improve your English grammar?

“Definitely!”

I understand how you feel, believe me… I feel it too.

One of the greatest draw backs for aspiring writers is fretting about whether their writing meets the standards; whether or not their English is flawless…

We all want to get everything just right! But if English is not your mother tongue (as is the case with me), or if you did not go all the way with your education, that can be a mighty challenge!

Perhaps you have had this experience:

You give your story to a friend to read. As she reads, she keeps sighing at almost each and every sentence.

Meanwhile your heart is thumping wildly, and your head racing with thoughts such as, “Does she like it? Then why that frown? God it must be boring!”

Finally, after a few excruciating moments, your friend, with a cold expression on her face, says, “Nice story, but it has a lot of mistakes…”

Her words cut you like a knife and dejectedly, you toss it aside.

“I am not cut out for this!” you mutter.

Ugh! It is discouraging indeed! And if you are a perfectionist, you had sooner stop writing than produce substandard work.

It goes without saying that there are a lot of talented writers out there letting their wonderful talent go to waste because they think they just don’t measure up!

But worry no further; you can improve your writing! I am very certain that the guidelines given here will give you just the help you need to improve your English grammar.

However, let me get real with you: if all the writers were flawless in their writing, there would be no editors at all. But since editors are creeping all over the place, doesn’t that tell you that no one gets it right the first time?

So lay off the perfectionism. Just write, write and write more...

Worrying too much about the grammar will only hamper your imagination and stop those juices from flowing.

Finish your story, or your book, and then afterwards you can hand it over to your finicky friends to correct the errors.

Yet, it is a good idea to improve your English. It reduces the cost of editing, and if you can edit the work yourself, the better!

I promise I will put up here every nugget that I come across to help improve your writing.

So stick around and check out these guidelines every once in a while.

You will be on your way to writing almost flawlessly!

I sincerely hope that this grammar guide will do more than improve your writing. I hope that it will be the answer to your prayers!

 

1. Place the Comma in the right places
   One of the peskiest little problems I face is the comma. I don’t really know where to place it in my sentences....


2. Properly use Contractions
   Contractions are shortened forms of a word or phrase, but more so of phrases....


3. Don't Misuse those Question Tags
   Question tags are part of everyday speech. They are short questions that are placed at the end of statements....


4. Proper Use of the Hyphen
   What is a hyphen and how can you use it in your writing?
   It is a punctuation mark that appears like this: -


5. Properly Use the Dash
   The dash is a punctuation mark that appears like this: -. Yeap, it is a horizontal line that is used for punctuation purposes. It consists of two types....


6. Use the colon right!
   The colon (:) is a punctuation mark that you simply can't do without. You need to use it in all aspects of writing....


7. Proper use of the Semicolon
   The Semicolon (;) is a punctuation mark that is used for linking sentences or parts of sentences that have a relationship between them or that are closely related.


8. Is it WHO or WHOM?
   Is it who or whom? That is the question a lot of people ask. You have probably asked it before, but like most people, you have just let it pass without pursuing the issue further.


9. The Proper Use of Modifiers
   Irksome stuff, modifiers, huh? Don’t you worry an ounce. If you follow the basic rules I have outlined above, you will hardly misuse them.

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