Grammar: A Writer's Tools pt.1

5 ways to improve your grammar:

1-Become a slow reader, analyze as you read

2-Be aware of sentence construction

3-Notice the spelling of long words

4-Be aware of active and passive verb tenses

5-Avoid overuse of slang (unless in dialogue or thoughts)

Here I’ve compiled a list of…

Common Grammar mistakes:


Loose = ie; spare change, something coming away


Lose = ie; something lost



 Your: This word means belonging to you.


Examples:


Correct: "Here's your coat."


Incorrect: "Here's you're coat."


You're: A contraction of the words "you are"


Examples:


Correct: "You're not serious!"


Incorrect: "Your not serious!"



The words Affect and Effect:


Affect is a Verb.


Ex. "How does this affect that."


Effect is a Noun.


Ex. "How does the effect of this change that."


Notice that there's a 'The' in front of the word effect; you can identify it as a noun easily that way.



You use than to compare two things. For example:


"I'd rather use smooth peanut butter then chunky peanut butter."


You are comparing the two peanut butters by listing which one you'd rather use, therefore you use than.


You use then as an order of time. Example:


"If we can't get in through the front, then we'll try going through the back."


Towards and Toward:

Both toward and towards are technically correct, according to most English language stylebooks.



Blond (without the e ) is used to describe males. Blonde refers to women or female gender.
In modern use, blond is sometimes used for female as well as male, but blonde is preferred for female.

Grammar: A Writer's Tools pt.1