Did you know that grammar mistakes can ruin your credibility and put readers off even if you have the best story?
As a writer, following the right grammar tips is essential to ensure that your written work is appealing for a person to get through from start to finish.
If you want to inspire people with your words, you must put them down correctly. Here are the best writing tips for good grammar to help you learn how to write better.
How to Write Better
The first step is to write in an active voice. This is one of the most essential grammar rules to embrace if you want to engage readers. The goal is to choose the active tense of the verb you want to use.
Then the subject of your sentence should be acting instead of having the action done to it. The opposite of this is known as passive voice. This occurs when you combine a past tense action verb with a being verb.
For instance, a sentence like “The orange was peeled by my dad” shows that the dad is doing the action, even if your subject is the orange. To change this to an active voice, you need to say, “My dad peeled the orange.”
Combining Ideas With Colons
If you want to combine two ideas into a complete sentence, you must embrace a semicolon, conjunction, or comma. A semicolon should be used when two concepts are closely linked.
Then you can also join your ideas with a coordinating conjunction or a comma. This can be a bit tricky to get used to, but they structure your sentence to guide the reader more effectively.
Correct Subject and Verb
Remember that all sentences have a predicate or verb clause and a subject. If you are describing a plural subject, you must use the plural form of your verb.
Otherwise, a singular subject will need a singular verb form. For instance, “Claire goes to the store” is right since “Claire” and “goes” are singular words.
Building Your Sentence
The primary building block of writing is a sentence. To create a sentence, you need a verb and a subject. Then you also need a complete thought to end the sentence with.
Sentences should always begin with capital letters. Then they should end with a question mark, exclamation point, or a full stop.
You can form a sentence with any group of words, a couple of words, or even a single word. For example, “Run!” can be a sentence even though it is one word. For more tips, check out this page.
Correct Apostrophes
You need apostrophes for two reasons. The first reason is to state possession. For example, you can say, “Jake’s pizza is getting cold.” The apostrophe and s in front of Jake show that the pizza belongs to him.
However, if you want to use an apostrophe for plural sentences, you must write it after the whole word. For example, “The kids’ parents are asleep.”
Master Grammar Tips Today
Now that you know the best grammar tips, it is time to start writing like a pro. Remember to structure your sentences with a complete thought, and do not be afraid to use commas and colons to combine ideas.
If you enjoyed reading this grammar guide, check out some of our other posts for more information.
