Articles about grammar questions

Know Your Tenses: Past Progressive

by ProWritingAid Aug 02, 2017

How do you build the past progressive tense? Simply use the "to be" helping verb in the past tense and add on the present participle of the verb with an "-ing" on the end.

If this sounds complicated, it's actually not. Here are some examples:

What the Heck are Auto-Antonyms? And Why Should You Worry About Them?

by ProWritingAid Jul 21, 2017

Auto-antonyms are words with multiple meanings of which one contradicts or reverses another. What, you say, how can that be? Let's go through a couple examples.

Licence vs. License: Which One is Right?

by ProWritingAid Jun 28, 2017

Well, it depends on which side of the pond you're on.

If you're American, license is both a noun and a verb, and licence is not used at all.

If you're anywhere else speaking English, licence is the noun meaning a permit from an authority figure to do something particular, like driving, and license is the verb form.

Why Every Writer Needs A Writing Mentor (And Where To Find One)

by Jesse Barnett Jun 14, 2017

When I began working for Charlie, I knew he was talented. He's the writing partner of a well-known leadership expert and together they've authored over 100 books. Several have become New York Times best sellers.

I embraced the job with a learner's mindset. I determined every day to improve my writing skills. My first professionally edited draft looked like a murder scene. Red letters covered the page with countless words crossed out, rearranged, and rewritten.

Affect vs. Effect: When to use each

by ProWritingAid Jun 12, 2017

When to use "affect" or "effect" is so confusing that people are switching to "impact" to use in its place.

Never fear—it's not difficult to use "affect" and "effect" properly. Here is what you need to know:

End Hunger by Practicing Grammar? Sign Us Up!

by Monica Puerto Jun 12, 2017

Did you know that if you spend 15 minutes a day improving your grammar and vocabulary on freerice.com, you will be helping end hunger?

Wrestling Run-On Sentences Into Shape

by Kathy Edens May 26, 2017

ProWritingAid's sentence length check is one of the most important reports I use for every piece of writing. I have a tendency to write long, flowing sentences that meander around, trying to connect numerous ideas together that perhaps don't belong. (The latter sentence a case in point.)

But did you know that's not a technical run-on sentence? It's more of a run-off-at-the-mouth sentence.

10 Writing Issues that Your Grammar Checker is Missing

by Lisa Lepki May 15, 2017

An editing tool checks for writing issues that go far beyond mere grammar problems.

Gender Neutral Pronoun Consistency—Is This Still a Thing?

by ProWritingAid Apr 10, 2017

How many times have you written a sentence using a gender-neutral antecedent (the word a pronoun replaces) and stumbled? Which pronoun do you use—he or she?The student may borrow whichever book he (or she?) needs. The Traditional Solution

Hyphenation: When Nouns Become Adjectives

by ProWritingAid Feb 20, 2017

Compound adjectives are made up of a combination of noun plus adjective, noun plus participle, or adjective plus participle. More often than not, these are hyphenated. Let’s look at a few.

"Which" or "That": Know When to Use Each

by ProWritingAid Jan 25, 2017

Do you use "which" and "that" as interchangeable words in sentences because they mean the same?

That couldn't be further from the truth. We're here to help you determine when to use each word.

Writing for a British Audience

by Heather Baker Nov 16, 2016

As someone who lives and runs a business in the UK and has travelled extensively in the US, I can tell you from first-hand experience that there’s a world of difference between the way Americans and Britons do things.

And I’m not just talking about the fact that we drive on the ‘wrong’ side of the road (though, you know, obviously remember that if you decide to visit).

There’s the whole ‘s’ versus ‘z’ argument, the fact that we prefer spelling colour with a ‘u’ and grey with an ‘e’. And of course, let’s not forget about our penchant for the imperial system.

Grammar and measurements aside though, when it comes to marketing across the pond the differences are both vast and nuanced. We’re all speaking English, but that doesn’t mean it’s the same language.

Cut “That” Out—Seriously

by ProWritingAid Oct 28, 2016

You want clear, concise writing, so make every word count. Cut out extraneous words, especially “that,” taking up space without adding value. This practical post is full of examples where the word "that" could be cut, and other times when it should be included for clarity.

Do Your Subjects & Verbs Always Agree?

by ProWritingAid Oct 24, 2016

We know that a singular subject goes with a singular verb, and a plural subject goes with a plural verb. This is fairly straight forward and won’t throw most people off balance.

There are some instances, however, when you might confuse what is the actual subject of the sentence and choose the wrong verb.

Infographic: 13 Grammar Mistakes Beautiful People Don't Make

by Rachael Lui Oct 07, 2016

With social media and messaging apps being used daily, grammar and writing skills have taken a back seat.

These errors are transferring into resumes, emails, articles and anything you could possibly imagine. However,considering that what you write is a direct reflection on you, you do not want to come across as lazy, unintelligent or even worse, unattractive.

The question is: How can you avoid making grammar mistakes that you don’t know you’re making in the first place?

What are Word Classes?

by ProWritingAid Aug 31, 2016

Word classes are parts of speech. They’re the building blocks that form every sentence ever uttered. They are categorized by the role they play in your sentences.

Everyone agrees on the following four main word classes: 1. Noun 2. Verb 3. Adjective 4. Adverb

There are varying opinions as to whether the following five categories are word classes or word forms. So we went straight to the experts: the Oxford and Cambridge Dictionaries. Per these two highly learned sources, the following are considered word classes also:

Pronoun (e.g. I, you, me, we, mine, someone, he, she)
Preposition (e.g. at, in, on, across, behind, for)

Are Your Adjectives Powerful?

by ProWritingAid Aug 02, 2016

An adjective is a word that names an attribute of a noun. Some are strong and paint clear, specific pictures of the thing they are describing. Some are weak and vague and don’t tell us much. Let’s start with an example...

Infographic: What are Homophones, Homographs, and Homonyms?

by ProWritingAid Jul 27, 2016

Check out this great infographic to understand the difference between a homophone, a homograph and a homonym.

When Do I Need to Hyphenate?

by ProWritingAid Jul 06, 2016

Depending on who you subscribe to, you may hear some very different ideas concerning when and how to hyphenate. We’re here to set the record straight:

When in doubt, look it up.

Yep. This is the one form of punctuation that you’re best off looking up if you’re unsure. And another complication is that various style manuals conform to different rules. Add to that the state of fluctuation around certain words that can either be hyphenated, two separate words, or written together as one. Click through for some practical examples.