Whether you're a native English speaker or an English language learner, English grammar can be tricky to master. Take the examples below:
- The young boy loved cooking, his dog and going outside.
Cute.
- The young boy loved cooking his dog and going outside.
Eek! With the simple omission of a properly placed comma, that sentence goes quickly from cute to macabre.
No matter how long you've been writing, you can always freshen up your grammar skills. Thankfully, there are numerous sites online that exist purely to help you write correctly. Here are 10 of our favorites.
1. The ProWritingAid Blog
From quick lessons on commonly misspelled words to in-depth examinations of pleonasms, the ProWritingAid blog is a great place to dive into the intricacies of the English language.
Here, you'll find articles, videos and quizzes that teach and examine common grammatical errors, with plenty of contextual examples to help you learn.
Practice always makes perfect, so once you're done perusing the blog, hop over to ProWritingAid's Editing Tool and input your work. ProWritingAid's in-depth reports will check your work and see how well you've mastered your study.
Try ProWritingAid's free grammar checker for yourself below:
2. Writing Forward
The Writing Forward blog, created by a passionate writer, offers tons of posts on creative writing, grammar and more. The "Grammar Tips" section will walk you through tons of pesky grammar rules, from whether or not you can end a sentence with a preposition to figuring out subject-verb agreement.
The blog also offers great advice about every part of the writing process from plotting to publishing, so be sure to check out the rest of the site's informative content.
3. 5 Minute English
What 5 Minute English lacks in style, it more than makes up for in quick, useful lessons. 5 Minute English's lessons are designed for non-native speakers, so they cover some of the trickiest language topics, such as parallel verbs and reflexive pronouns.
Visit 5 Minute English if you're looking for a fast, fun review of some of the most complex and confusing English language topics.
4. Grammar Girl: Quick and Dirty Tips
Winner of the 2017 "Best Education Podcast" Award, Grammar Girl (aka Mignon Fogarty) exists to help "you do things better." Like grammar, for instance.
Articles on Grammar Girl cover all sorts of topics (such as the weird history of oxymorons or the meaning of the phrase "in the doldrums") so you can visit to not only brush up on your grammar skills, but get a lesson in English language history. The articles are snappy and fun to read, so you don't feel like you're engaging with boring material.
5. Daily Grammar
A self-described "fun, convenient way to learn grammar," Daily Grammar is a comprehensive teaching tool for anyone needing to polish up their English grammar skills.
Daily Grammar is more a course curriculum than a blog, with over 400 free lessons and over 80 free quizzes for you to learn and then test your knowledge. You can visit the site to access topics or have them delivered to your inbox through their complimentary email service. By visiting Daily Grammar, you'll be on your way to grammar mastery in no time.
6. Lousy Writer
Lousy Writer's main goal is to help you become a better writer, fast. Lousy Writer focuses on how to communicate effectively by breaking down word usages and sentence construction into clear, easy-to-understand tips.
Of particular use on Lousy Writer are the cheat sheets, which help you understand tricky concepts like possessive nouns or homonyms. These cheat sheets are great refreshers on difficult topics for English language speakers and English language learners alike.
7. The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL)
The Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab) offers over 200 free resources on writing, teaching writing, grammar and mechanics, English as a Second Language, and style guides. Sponsored by Purdue University, this website is a great resource for people looking to teach and learn.
In addition to their grammar lessons, you can find formatting guides for styles such as MLA and APA, as well as suggestions on how to avoid plagiarism in your work.
8. FluentU
One of the best ways to learn English grammar is to hear English being spoken aloud. FluentU's library of real-world English houses videos that are timely, fun, and useful for people looking to master the English language.
While FluentU does have a subscription fee, you can access a limited free trial to see if you like the service and find it useful before deciding to commit to pay.
9. English Grammar 101
Are you one of those people who simply loves learning from a textbook? If so, English Grammar 101 is the site for you!
English Grammar 101 is basically a grammar textbook, only digital, so you don't have to worry about hurting your back lugging it around every day. You'll go through hundreds of in-depth lessons on everything from nouns to capitalization, with quizzes, reviews, and tests for each topic to assess your mastery.
10. Grammar Ninja
Who says learning grammar can't be fun? With Grammar Ninja, you'll play games that help reinforce the grammar rules you've been learning.
Playing games is one of the best ways to improve your understanding and mastery of concepts, and grammar is no exception! If your eyes are going a bit crossed after studying one of the more serious lessons, pop on over to Grammar Ninja for an exciting, refreshing take on the same concepts.
You CAN Master English Grammar
No matter how tricky or frustrating it might seem, you can master English grammar! The free resources listed in this article will help you become a stronger writer in no time.
Have we missed one of your favorite sites? Tell us in the comments!
The ProWritingAid Youtube Channel has loads of grammar tips and tricks
Check out our video on split infinitives below, and subscribe to our channel for more.
Be confident about grammar
Check every email, essay, or story for grammar mistakes. Fix them before you press send.
