Grammar Guide

A singular noun names one person, place, thing, or idea; a plural noun names more than one person, place, thing, or idea. ​

Most singular nouns form the plural by adding -s.​

• Examples: penguins, donkeys, cats​

A singular noun ending in s, x, z, ch, sh makes the plural by adding-es. ​

• Examples: buses, pitches, boxes​

A singular noun ending in a consonant and then y makes the plural by dropping the y and adding-ies.​

• Examples: pennies, bunnies, daisies​

There are some irregular noun plurals. ​These don't follow specific rules and just need to be memorized.

• Examples: women, elves, data

A singular nouns takes a singular verb while a plural nouns takes a plural verb.​

Examples:

• My dog always growls at the cat.
• These shoes are too small for me.

Affect vs Effect

Be careful with effect vs affect. Affect is the action while effect is the result. ​

Examples:

• That was the effect of evolution. ​
• That affected me deeply.

A/An vs The

When we are referring to any member of a group we use a/an. In this case, it is not important which one we are talking about.​

• E.g., I bought a new car.​

If it is a specific member of a group, we need to use the.​

• E.g., I bought the brown dog.

Their/There/They're

Their refers to ownership of something.

• That is their book.

There refers to a place that isn’t here.

• The book is over there.

They’re is a contraction for "They are".

• They're going to be late.

Your vs You're 

Your indicates possession (it tells that something belongs to you). 

You’re is a contraction for “You are”. 

A sentence fragment is a group of words that looks like a sentence, but actually isn’t a complete sentence. Sentence fragments are usually missing a subject or verb. A sentence fragment does not form a complete thought and therefore can't stand on its own.

Here are some common issues with sentence fragments:

1. It is missing a subject
   • Example: Danced all night. (Who danced?)
2. It is missing a verb or has the wrong verb form
   • Example: My favorite  teacher.  (What did the teacher do?)
3. It is a leftover phrase
   • Example: For better or worse.  (What is better or worse? What is it modifying?)
4. It is an abandoned clause
   • Example: When my aunt went to the mall with my uncle.  (What happened when “my aunt went to the mall with my uncle?”)
5. It is a misuse of “such as, for example, especially,” etc.
   • Example: Such as, my sister was reading.  (It is unclear; did something happen when my sister was reading?)

Here are some ways to fix a sentence fragment:

1. Attach
   Attach the fragment to a nearby complete sentence
   • Incorrect: Willie Wrangler. Went to the rodeo.
   • Correct: Willie Wrangler went to the rodeo.
2. Revise
   Revise the fragment by adding whatever is missing, usually a subject or verb
   • Incorrect: Likes to lie around in the sun. (A subject is missing. Who loves to lie around?)
   • Correct: My cat likes to lie around in the sun.
3. Rewrite
   Rewrite the fragment or the entire passage that contains the fragment.

• Incorrect: Our new landlord was supposed to update the property. Such as fixing the air conditioning, installing a new oven, and replacing the locks. Has not done any of it yet and months have passed. 
• Correct: Our new landlord was supposed to update the property, such as fixing the air conditioning, installing a new oven, and replacing the locks. Months have passed, yet he has not done any of it.

A run-on sentence occurs when two or more independent clauses are not joined correctly, which makes the information lose its clarity.  

Example: The bear ate the honey the dog ate the steak. 

Use a period. The easiest way to fix a run-on is to split the sentence into smaller sentences using a period.

Example: The bear ate the honey. The dog ate the steak.

Use a semicolon. Adding a semicolon is a potential option. Just make sure the two sentences are closely related.

Example: The bear ate the honey; the bear did not eat the steak.

Use a comma and coordinating conjunction. A comma, paired with a coordinating conjunction (e.g., "and," "but," or "or"), corrects a run-on sentence. 

Example: The bear ate the honey and the dog ate the steak.

Use a subordinating conjunction. Turn one of the independent clauses into a dependent clause. Then, use a subordinating conjunction (e.g., "because," "unless," and "although"), which connects two clauses.

Example: Because the bear ate the honey, the dog ate the steak.