Articles about grammar
Find inconsistencies in your writing
by ProWritingAid Jun 18, 2018
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If inconsistencies plague your writing, your work can seem unpolished and unprofessional. ProWritingAid helps find and identify such errors automatically.
Read More »Amazing Alliteration in Tongue Twisters
by ProWritingAid Jun 18, 2018
Tongue twisters are a great way to illustrate the idea of alliteration. In fact, the term "tongue twister" is a great example of alliteration in itself!
We've created a practice sheet of some of our favorite alliterative tongue twisters.
Read More »7 Grammar Rules the Best Writers Break
by ProWritingAid Jun 18, 2018
In life, writers must obey a single rule: write for your audience. If you’re writing fiction, your dialogue must be natural. So you write in conversational English, which is less than grammatical at times. And if you’re writing for academia or other stuffy audiences, your prose must be formal.
If you’ve learned the many rules of English usage and are adept at wielding them properly, feel free to break these seven rules now and then.
Read More »10 Websites to Help Improve Your Grammar
by Hayley Milliman Jun 06, 2018
Learning grammar doesn't have to be difficult! With these free tools, you'll be mastering your comma usage in no time.
Read More »Me or I: Setting the Record Straight
by Justin Cox Jun 01, 2018
When to use “me” instead of “I” is an important rule to learn. Selecting the wrong pronoun will ruin your writing and turn readers against you. Unlike “who” vs. “whom”, learning when to use “me” or “I” is very easy to learn.
Read More »3 Awful Oxford Comma Bloopers
by Gregory Heilers Jun 01, 2018
Are you a staunch defender or opposer of the Oxford comma? Regardless of where you stand, these three tales of Oxford comma woe will make you think twice the next time you debate the little mark's usage.
Read More »Let’s Get Possessive
by Justin Cox May 19, 2018
Defining possessive nouns is tricky. There are several unique rules that can confuse even the most seasoned writer.
Read More »The Apostrophe: When to Use It and When to Avoid It
by Liz McMahon May 19, 2018
The apostrophe, when used correctly, can add clarity to a piece of writing. But when misused, the results can be confusing. We take a look at getting it right.
Read More »Which Should You Use: Home or Hone?
by ProWritingAid May 19, 2018
People sometimes think they can use "home in on" and "hone in on" interchangeably, but the truth is much more gray. Let’s look at when to use each.
Read More »Commonly Misspelled Words
by ProWritingAid May 15, 2018
Here at ProWritingAid, we have discovered that our editing tool catches the same words over and over again!
Even the best writers have those words that they just can’t seem to get right.
Read More »To ‘to’ or not to ’too’: that is the question!
by Justin Cox May 09, 2018
Getting tripped up on the differences between “to” and “too” happens often. When do you use a single “o” and when do you use two? While this is one of the most common grammar mistakes, the rule is easy to master.
Read More »Repeating Yourself is Redundant: or, A Pleonasm For Your Thoughts?
by Justin Cox Apr 30, 2018
Pleonasms are common in speech but should be avoided at all costs. Do you have what it takes to diagnose and eliminate them from your writing?
Read More »Know Your Acronyms
by Justin Cox Apr 30, 2018
While acronyms add a colloquial flair to writing, they are easy to misuse. If we’re not careful, improper usage will cause readers to cringe in pain.
Read More »To vs. Too vs. Two
by Hayley Milliman Apr 20, 2018
To, too, two. We teach you how to decide which of these pesky little words to use in specific situations.
Read More »Than vs. Then
by Hayley Milliman Apr 20, 2018
"Then" and "than" are two pesky words that sound alike but have very different meanings. We explore when to use each term.
Read More »Why an Editing Tool is Like a Hovering Librarian
by Kathy Edens Mar 28, 2018
Imagine a kindly, bespectacled woman with fresh, minty breath hovering over your shoulder as you pour words out on the screen. Her critical task is to help you make every word choice the best and to guide you to clearer, more concise sentences. She has your literary best interests at heart.
Read More »Using Adverbs: An Easy Guide
by Kathy Edens Mar 28, 2018
Here’s the truth about adverbs. They aren’t inherently good or bad: it’s all in how you use them. Let’s unpack when you should—and shouldn’t—use adverbs.
Read More »When it’s Right to be Wrong
by Dr. Marlene Caroselli Mar 14, 2018
The definition of grace, as ascribed to Jacqueline Kennedy, is making others feel comfortable.
We don’t typically associate “grace” and “grammar,” but there are those occasions when it’s perfectly acceptable to be grammatically incorrect. To do otherwise may make you appear elitist.
This article looks at correct usage of pronouns and prepositions, followed by a quick glance at those instances when, grammatically speaking, it’s right to be wrong.
Read More »It’s vs. Its: Let’s Get It Straight
by ProWritingAid Mar 06, 2018
Contractions. Possessives. When do you use an apostrophe? Follow these rules on it’s versus its and self-edit with confidence.
Read More »Spice Up Your Writing
by Dr. Marlene Caroselli Mar 02, 2018
Variety, as we all know, is the spice of life. It’s also the spice of good writing. There’s an easy way to find out if your sentences have variety. Take a paragraph you’ve written—one of eight or so sentences. Then, write down the first word in each sentence. Next, identify the part of speech for each word. If most of your sentences begin with the same part of speech, you don’t have variety. It’s as simple as that.
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