The English language is filled with rules that seem to be rigid but are actually flexible. For example, you’ve probably heard that you aren’t supposed to start a sentence with a conjunction. But the truth is that starting a sentence with a conjunction is perfectly acceptable and actually quite common.
Another rule you may have heard is that split infinitives are grammatically incorrect. Is this true? The simple answer is that in formal settings, writers should avoid split infinitives, but only because they’re controversial, not necessarily because they’re grammatically incorrect. If you’re writing in an informal, casual, or creative setting, a split infinitive might better suit the flow of your writing. In other rare cases, a split infinitive is the best option.
Below, we’ll explain what split infinitives are and why they should be avoided most of the time. LanguageTool’s Grammar Checker can also help you catch and fix mistakes like comma splices.
Get is an extremely common verb. At one point or another, you’ve probably found yourself having to use the past participle form of this word and have asked yourself, “is it got or gotten?” This post will go over if gotten is a word, and whether you should use got or gotten.
The LanguageTool Grammar Checker can help ensure you use either got or gotten consistently in your writing.
There are a few comma guidelines to keep in mind while writing. This blog post will discuss commas and the conjunction “and.”
A comma signals a pause between parts of a sentence.
When writing a list of three or more, the use of an Oxford comma before and is optional, but often recommended.
They visited Portugal, Spain, and France.
They visited Portugal, Spain and France.
When and connects two independent clauses, a comma should be placed before it.
Catalina stayed with her uncle, and her cousin Ramon stayed with his cousin.
The only time a comma isn’t required before and is if the two independent clauses are short and closely related or when a list contains only two entities.
Verbs are as essential to a sentence as bread is to a sandwich. Without verbs, sentences wouldn’t be, well, sentences! This quick guide will teach you the basics about these vital words.
The LanguageTool Grammar Checker can help you use verbs and other parts of speech correctly in your writing.
What Are Verbs?
A verb is the action word of a sentence but can also describe a state of being.
There are a seemingly endless number of verbs, but a few examples are (to) jump, (to) sat, (to) walked—and the less obvious: (to) be, can, and, will.
Like verbs and nouns, adjectives are a part of speech. We’ll further explain what adjectives are and provide examples.
Like verbs and nouns, adjectives are a part of speech. Below, we’ll further explain what adjectives are and provide examples.Examples of adjectives: red, pretty, costly, ginormous, high-pitched, cheap, colorful, hairy, sleek, tough, fast, shy, ambitious, small, massive, dazzling
The LanguageTool Grammar Checker can help you use adjectives and other parts of speech correctly in your writing.
English is unique in that it’s the only language that capitalizes its first-person singular, “I.” This word is derived from the German word ich. Many variations of this word flourished during Middle English, including “ic.”Eventually, the “c” was dropped, leaving “i” by its lonesome.
But why we started capitalizing “I” is a bit of a mystery. Historians and linguists have theorized the following:
A capital “I” denotes the importance of the writer.A lowercase “I” is difficult to read.
Unless at the beginning of a sentence, me, myself, and mine don’t need to be capitalized, and neither do the rest of the personal pronouns—you, he, she, it, we, they, me, him, her, us, them.
LanguageTool’s Grammar Checker can help ensure your writing is free of capitalization errors.
There’s a time and place for “persons” and “people.” We’ll teach you when each of these words should be used.
There was a time when persons was the favored plural form of the word person. But in Modern English, people has become the more common word to use when referring to person in plural.
So many people donated gifts to the charity.
Use people when referring to a group of individuals from a signal ethnic group or nationality.
The American people flock to the voting stands every four years to vote in the presidential elections.
The American persons flock to the voting stands every four years to vote in the presidential elections.
The use of persons is most often seen in legal writing, and in established expressions like “missing persons.”
If you’re in doubt, the safest bet is to always use people when referring to a group of individuals.
There’s a time and place for “could” and “can.” This blog post will teach you more about the meanings and uses of these modal verbs.
Can and could are modal verbs that express possibility or ability. They’re also used to make a request or ask for permission.
When referring to ability or possibility, can is used for present scenarios, whereas could is used in the past tense.
I can translate that for you
I could have gone to Harvard, but I preferred to attend Howard University instead
When you’re talking or writing about the future, use can when referring to something that is certain (or very likely) to happen. Could implies that something might happen in the future, but there’s still a possibility it won’t.
You can get an infection if you keep picking at your wound.
You could win first place in the marathon if you keep up with this rigid training schedule.
Both could and can are used to ask for permission; however, can is often considered colloquial and could is seen as more polite.
