GrammarTips.net - Weekly Tips on English Grammar

Ambiguous / Ambivalent

17 Mar 09
Both ambiguous and ambivalent are adjectives.
Ambiguous = unclear, vague, unspecified, open to many interpretations
Ambivalent = torn between two sides; inability to make a choice due to the desire to do two conflicting things at the same time

Writing Better Emails

01 Nov 08
Whether your emails are for your family, friends, work or business, it is always possible to improve your writing and make your emails more interesting to read and of a better quality. Emails are often written very quickly and time isn’t taken to reflect on what you are trying to say or how you are saying it. Certainly, you can get away with not having perfect grammar or spelling, but if you take the time and trouble to make your emails free from errors, then they are much easier to read: so ensure that you pass them through an online grammar and spell checker.

What is hyperbole?

25 Oct 08
Hyperbole is a figure of speech that is a complete exaggeration and which denotes extremes. So to say, ‘I laughed so much I nearly died’ is an example of hyperbole. It denotes that something was very funny and that someone laughed a lot, but it is extremely unlikely that someone laughed so much that they almost died. However, the phrase gives us a sense of just how funny something was.

Is Written English the Same as Spoken English?

17 Oct 08
In theory, the answer to this question should be a resounding ‘Yes’. However, the reality is that there may well be differences between written and spoken English. As a language, spoken English is quite relaxed. This means that there may well be occasions where someone speaks and their English grammar is not quite correct. Often people say things like, ‘If I was a millionaire’ which does not sound too grammatically incorrect, but in written form it looks slightly odd. This is because ‘if’ is a ‘wishing word’ and, as such, needs the subjunctive tense to be used. So the correct written form of this sentence is, ‘If I were a millionaire….’.

What is a Split Infinitive?

10 Oct 08
An infinitive is split when the verb, which in English will have a ‘to’ accompanying it, is not placed next to the actual doing word. So we could say ‘I am going to wash my hair with a different shampoo.’ Here the infinitive is ‘to wash.’ However, if we split the infinitive then the sentence would read, ‘I am going to always wash my hair with a different shampoo.’ Here the word ‘to’ and the word ‘wash’ have been separated by the word ‘always’, which has effectively split the infinitive.

How to Proofread Your Work

08 Oct 08
Proofreading your work sounds terribly easy. All you have to do is to read through your work, identify any spelling mistakes and any grammatical errors or errors in punctuation, then correct the mistakes and change any words that do not seem to fit in and your written work is complete and correct.

Why is Syntax Important?

03 Oct 08
Syntax is the grammatical tool that deals with how sentences are put together and the relationship between words. It is a very methodical and logical sequence, ensuring that sentences are put together using subject, verb and object and that the words in the sentence all have agreement, so that the correct forms of words are used. Without syntax to structure the language, it would simply be a string of words that makes no sense.

What is a double negative?

30 Sep 08
A double negative is a sentence that contains two negatives (with a negative being a ‘not’ or a ‘no’ word). So the sentence, ‘I am not going to no party’ is a double negative and is an unfortunate use of language, since a double negative effectively cancels out the negative meaning of a sentence and gives it a positive meaning. So to say, ‘I am not going to no party’ actually means, ‘I am going to a party.’

What is a Tense in English Grammar?

25 Sep 08
A tense is a means of putting a sentence into a timeframe. So if something is happening now we use the present tense. If something was happening, but it is not clear if it has finished, or something else happened whilst this was going on, then we use the imperfect tense. If something happened in the past and is now over, then we use the past tense (sometimes referred to as the perfect tense). If something happened some time ago and then something else took place after that, we would use the pluperfect tense. The future tense is used to denote something which will happen.

Parenthesis in English

17 Sep 08
The word ‘parenthesis’ originates from the Greek: something placed in besides. Parenthesis is a phrase that will be qualifying, or in some way explanatory, which has been entered into a sentence with which it has no grammatical connection. To illustrate that this is the case, the phrase is enclosed in round brackets. The best way to demonstrate this is to use an example. ‘The boy arrived early, (he was always too scared of the consequences to arrive late) quickly took his place and hoped no one had noticed him.’ In this sentence, the parenthesis is obviously the phrase ‘he was always too scared of the consequences to arrive late’.

Using Grammar Worksheets

10 Sep 08
The use of grammar worksheets may not seem like the most exciting way to learn a language, but in fact this is one of the best ways you can learn the structure of English and all its little rules and regulations, which are often simple in theory but complex in reality. The use and worth of grammar is often ignored. Yet grammar forms the foundations upon which any language is based. It is the rock which supports the language and, as such, needs to be given careful consideration.

How to Structure a Sentence

07 Sep 08
When we are having a conversation with another person we convey our message using not only words, but also gestures, facial expressions and body language. When reading a message in a written sentence we do not of course have those useful aids to meaning available to us; the sentence therefore has to make complete sense, be grammatically correct and unambiguous. A sentence must always begin with a capital letter and end with a full stop or an equivalent punctuation mark. Sentences can be questions, an instruction or a straightforward statement.

Writing English to Impress

04 Sep 08
English is a very fine language, which has a long history of literature and creativity. Some of the English literary works are amongst the finest in the world; Shakespeare is still revered hundreds of years after his death. English can therefore be used to impress an audience, whether the audience is made up of people who are your customers, your employers, potential employers or just people that you wish to be impressed by your command of the English language.

Using Online Grammar Checkers

01 Sep 08
Sometimes people are wary of using an online grammar checker, since they feel that it may make them reliant on the checker as opposed to thinking for themselves; this is simply not true. The online grammar checker will quickly highlight any areas where you have made a mistake, point out why you have made the mistake and then allow you to rectify it. It is a bit like having a tutor or teacher looking over your shoulder. However, soon you will be able to pick up on any mistakes that you make repeatedly and you will be able to rectify them yourself, so you will actually learn from the grammar checker.

What is a Metaphor?

27 Aug 08
A metaphor is a descriptive term; basically, it is a way of expressing an understanding about something by using nouns to compare or even contrast this with something else, thereby giving a more descriptive sense to a passage. Remember that a metaphor, never uses the words ‘like’ or ‘as’, since the use of either of these would transform the figure of speech into a simile. So a metaphor might read, ‘His face was paler than a sheet.’ This uses the noun ‘sheet’ to illustrate just how pale that person was looking.

English - Formal or Informal?

24 Aug 08
English is a complicated language and strangely it is complicated by the lack of a very formalised grammar when it is being used on a day to day basis. The rules of grammar are there, but they are so unspoken or unrecognised that to anyone learning the language it can all seem very illogical.

English Grammar - General Tips

18 Aug 08
The rules of English grammar are not as rigorous as some other languages, such as German or the dreaded Latin. However, there are still grammatical do’s and don’ts which you must become familiar with. Every sentence needs a subject, a verb and an object. The subject is the person or thing which is doing something. The ‘doing’ part of the sentence is the verb and the object is someone or something involved in the sentence. So you can construct a sentence in the following way: Holly (subject) runs (verb) towards the dog (object).

Creative Writing in English

11 Aug 08
Creative writing gives you the opportunity to express yourself, to give your own unique slant on life and to express your innermost thoughts and ideas. But it is also a way to learn communication tools. To write creatively is not just about crafting a story or a poem, it is about trying to write in such a way that it engages your reader and makes them want to read on and find out how the story ends. Once you can successfully draw in your reader and grab their attention then you have achieved a great deal.

How to Proofread Your English

04 Aug 08
It may seem an impossible task to proofread your own English. After all, if you do not know that you have made a mistake then how will you pick up on it when you proofread? Well, the chances are that you will be able to pick up on quite a few mistakes. The key is to ensure that you leave your piece of writing for a few minutes then you can look at it with more refreshed eyes that are more likely to pick up on any mistakes made when you were writing.

Correct Use of the Hyphen in English

28 Jul 08
The correct use of the hyphen is something that is not commonly understood, and it is very typical to see words with a hyphen when they should not have one and vice versa. Some people claim that it doesn’t really matter and is simply not important, whereas for others it is a sign of either good or poor use of English or a good or poor understanding of written English. However, there are times when it is a very important part of English grammar.