English Grammar for Writers: Be Polished and Professional

Structure sentences with a grammar refresher that builds on building blocks to ensure complete, grammatically correct writing, addressing fragments, run-ons, and common fixes for professional style.

Introduce subjects and predicates as parts of a complete sentence, showing how the complete subject and complete predicate express who or what acts, with examples like Samantha writes.

Explore predicates in depth, identifying verbs that serve as predicates and how compound predicates link multiple verbs with conjunctions. Learn how verb phrases extend the predicate, as in will read.

Identify and explain subjects in sentences, including noun and pronoun subjects, compound subjects with conjunctions, and the implied subject in commands like fetch.

Explore tricky subjects and predicates, including reverse-order sentences where the predicate precedes the subject, and analyze prepositional phrases and objects of prepositions that reveal subject placement.

Identify sentence fragments in writing by checking for missing subject or predicate, then fix them with predicates or a dash, balancing brevity and clarity.

Identify independent and dependent clauses, and recognize subordinating conjunctions that join them. Learn to fix fragments by removing the conjunction or merging clauses, and master relative pronouns for clear sentences.

Identify when sentence fragments enhance writing, such as in advertising copy, direct quotes, informal writing, and especially dialogue, where natural speech prevails.

learn to fix run-on sentences with punctuation by using periods, semicolons, colons, and dashes, and understand comma splices and style-guide guidance on capitalization after colons.

Explore advanced fixes for run-on sentences, including comma plus coordinating conjunction (fanboys) and the semicolon plus conjunctive adverb plus comma method, to create varied, flowing prose.

Rewrite run-on sentences by using subordinating conjunctions to make one clause dependent on the other, or join closely related independent clauses with the same subject to form a single sentence.

Develop your grammar mastery by exploring advanced parts of speech, focusing on verb tenses and pronoun usage to write professional, polished prose.

Explore verb forms as the backbone of good writing, focusing on person, tense, voice, and mood—the five ideas that shape how verbs convey meaning.

Discover how person and number determine English verb forms, with first, second, and third person and singular and plural usage, plus practical examples.

Explore verbs through tense, voice, and mood, matching present, past, and future tenses with active and passive voices. Learn indicative, imperative, and subjunctive moods with practical examples.

Explore the simple tenses, including regular verbs with base forms, third person singular, past and future forms, and irregulars like be and say, plus supplemental material.

Master how perfect tenses show when actions occur relative to others using have. Distinguish regular and irregular verbs as past participles guide past, present, and future perfect forms.

Explore advanced pronouns and how their form hinges on acting as a subject, a compliment, or an object, with upcoming lessons tackling each category.

Master how antecedents and complements link to personal pronouns, distinguish subject and complement forms through linking verbs, and see examples with George, Priyanka, and other pronouns.

This lecture covers compound subjects and partner pronouns, showing pronouns must be in their subject form (I, we) in examples like Anthony and I are authors.

Master object pronouns in their object form after prepositions or transitive verbs, with examples like to her, for it, and the ball hit her.

Explore possessive pronouns that stand alone as subjects or objects—mine, his, hers, theirs, yours, ours—and their use as modifiers with my, your, his, her, its, our, their; gerunds like driving.

Master relative pronouns, including who, whom, that, which, what, whatever, and whichever, to link dependent clauses to people, animals, and things, with rules for subject and object usage.

Explore interrogative pronouns such as who, what, which, and whose, and clarify their function in questions and relative clauses.

Understand indefinite pronouns that stand on their own, conveying vague references without antecedents, using examples like all, any, many, no one, someone, and others.

Explore reflexive pronouns that mirror the subject and cannot be the subject, while intensive pronouns add emphasis. See examples like herself, himself, myself, and my mom and I.

Explore demonstrative pronouns, their functions as subjects, modifiers, or pointers, and the near and far distinctions of this/that and these/those.

Explore reciprocal pronouns such as each other and one another, and learn when to use them with two things versus groups; see examples with departments and bunnies.

Master advanced sentence structure and complex forms, using creative techniques to fix common problems. Extend your grammar beyond correctness to meaning, ensuring sentences express what you intend.

Explore subject verb agreement for collective nouns, noting when a group acts as a unit with a singular verb and when its members act as individuals with a plural verb.

Explore subject-verb agreement for compound subjects that represent a single unit or a plural concept, including each or every case.

Examine subject verb agreement with plural forms, including items like pants and scissors that remain plural, while some s-ending words like mathematics and news require third-person singular verbs.

Explore how subject-verb agreement handles plural forms that go both ways, using examples like ethics, politics, and statistics to show when is versus are.

Master subject-verb agreement with correlative conjunctions such as either or, neither nor, and not only but also, by locating the closest subject to determine the verb.

Master subject-verb agreement by identifying the subject despite intervening clauses, prepositional phrases, or parenthetical phrases. Learn to remove these phrases to verify that the verb agrees with the subject.

Discover how verb before subject influences subject-verb agreement, including signals here, there, and it, when 'it' takes a singular verb and rewording clarifies.

Master subject-verb agreement for singular and plural pronouns by examining antecedents to determine whether verbs should be singular or plural.

Explore pronoun-antecedent agreement, ensuring pronouns match antecedents in person, number, and gender. Learn how collective nouns, compound subjects, correlative conjunctions, demonstratives, and relative pronouns govern verb agreement.

Learn how to use shifts in person while maintaining a foundation of first, second, and third person and their singular or plural forms across past, present, and future tense.

Master shifts in tense and person by selecting a foundation tense and staying consistent, with clear transitions when changing perspective, as illustrated by present, past, and future examples.

Learn parallel structure, or parallelism, an organizational system that keeps words and phrases in a consistent form to boost clarity, with examples using lists, imperatives, and gerunds.

Identify and fix mixed constructions by ensuring the subject, predicate, and complement connect logically, using rewriting strategies to place illogical elements in the independent clause.

Identify and fix incomplete comparisons by balancing both sides, using the seesaw analogy to ensure every comparison has equally weighted elements and avoids ambiguity.

Explore how syntax orders words to shape meaning and avoid ambiguity by correcting misplaced, dangling, and ambiguous modifiers.

Explore faulty references by understanding ambiguous and dangling pronouns and how unclear antecedents disrupt meaning; rewrite with dialogue to clarify.

Eliminate wordiness by cutting unnecessary words, phrases, adverbs, and clauses, using concise substitutes like 'because' instead of 'the reason is that' and stronger verbs.

Explore diction as word choice and its impact on clarity and audience; compare informal, scientific, formal, poetic, and highfalutin styles.

Explore how logic ensures your sentences convey the intended meaning, not just correct grammar, and learn to rewrite ambiguous lines clearly.

Explore capitalization and punctuation rules, tackling each punctuation mark individually to ensure your writing stays polished and professional.

Master capitalization rules, including the first word of a sentence, pronoun I, names, titles, days, places, religions, and organizations, to ensure consistent, polished writing.

Master end punctuation by using periods, question marks, and exclamation points correctly. Apply one space after periods to keep writing professional and concise.

Master punctuating sentence fragments for dialogue and emphasis, using period, exclamation point, or question mark as you would with complete sentences, and recognize their dramatic impact.

Explore using periods beyond end of sentences, such as punctuating initials like P.T. Barnum and U.S., branding like FAO Schwarz, and abbreviations such as 6:00 a.m. and Michigan Ave.

Explore internal punctuation, focusing on the comma, semicolon, and colon as partial stops that mirror spoken pauses, and learn the rules governing their use.

Master comma rules for readability, including the Oxford comma's optional status, and use consistent punctuation across lists, clauses, and interruptions.

Learn to use semicolons to join related independent clauses and to separate long list items with internal commas, enabling clear editorial commentary.

Review the colon rule to signal that important information follows in a sentence, reinforcing correct punctuation for writers seeking clarity and professionalism.

Learn how to use parentheses to create an aside and offset text in sentences. Maintain consistency, as some guides favor either parentheses or dashes, depending on style.

Master the use of ellipses—three periods used to indicate omitted words, with spacing before and after—and ensure the meaning remains intact when simplifying quotes.

Use brackets for editorial commenting to clarify quoted material without changing meaning. Reserve brackets for parenthetical clarity inside parentheses to prevent reader confusion.

Clarify hyphen and dash usage by contrasting length and function, and show how hyphens connect two or more words to form a single unit, as in forty five people.

Use the forward slash to indicate an either-or concept, as in 'movie or dinner.' On forms, slash helps cut wordiness, for example 'his or her leash' becomes shorter.

Master quotation marks for exact quotes and dialogue, signal irony with air quotes, and apply punctuation rules—commas and periods inside, colons outside, italicize foreign terms when needed.

Finish the final grammar refresher to polish every email, resume, and manuscript, and access Writing Academi resources, blog, newsletter, and reference texts.