Rules

When it comes to grammar, there are not many rules to follow. However, depending on which you choose to follow, some will make your writing look better or worse. With these simple steps, you can ensure your writing looks its best. If you find yourself in a pickle, use a spell or grammar checker, or download Grammarly on your device. Now, without further ado, let us embark on this journey, and hopefully, we will learn something.

## 11 Grammar Rules For Effortless Writing

### Subject-Verb Agreement

Finding the right subject and verb will help correct subject-verb agreement errors.

Rule #1. A singular subject takes a singular verb, and the same applies vice versa.

**Ex**: The artefact is/are on display.

**Explanation**; In this example, the word "artefact" is singular; thus, the verb is singular. If there is more than one artefact, then choose the plural verb.

**Exception**; The first-person pronoun "I" takes a plural verb. For example, "I drive cars for a living".

Rule #2. A subject will come before a phrase starting with "of". This is a crucial rule for understanding subjects—the word "of" is the culprit in many subject-verb mistakes.

Speedy writers, speakers, readers, and listeners may miss the common mistake in the following sentence;

**Wrong**: A bouquet of red roses give a room colour and fragrance.

**Right**: A bouquet of red roses gives... (gives, not give).

Simple rule #3. Two singular subjects connected by "either/or" or "neither/nor" require a singular verb.

**Ex**: A cake or cookie is baked in the oven.

**Ex:** Neither Jimmy nor Kate can make it to work today.

**Ex:** Either Harry or Megan is coming to the city next week.

The verb in an "or", "either/or", or "neither/nor" sentence agrees with the nearest noun or pronoun.

**Ex**: He lost on either the fruit or penny machine.

He won neither on the fruit nor the penny machine.

This rule can lead to potholes. For instance, if "I" is one of two (or more) subjects, it could lead to this bizarre sentence;

**Awkward**; Neither he, she, nor I am going to the wedding.

Where's possible, it is best to reword such awkward but grammatically correct sentences.

**Improvement**:

Neither she, I, nor he is going to the wedding.

**Or**

She, he, and I are not going to the wedding.

A singular verb has an "s" added to it in the present tense, such as walks, runs, or drives, and uses forms such as is, was, has, and does. A plural verb does not have an "s" added, such as dance, swim, or play, and uses forms such as are, were, have and do.

### First, Second and Third Person

A grammatical person is someone's point of view. But it depends on who is speaking or being spoken about.

* The First-person is the I/we perspective.
* The second person is the you perspective.
* The third person is the he/she/it perspective.

The sentence below is written in the first person.

**Ex:** I am going to the cinema.

If the pronoun "we" was added, it would still be written in the first person but include someone else. However, if the first-person pronouns were omitted, the sentence would transform into the second or third-person. In the former, it could become a question.

**Ex:** Are you going to the concert (with Suzy)?

OR

**Ex:** She and Suzy are going the concert.

When someone speaks about themselves, their opinions, or what happened to them, they usually speak in the first-person perspective. The first person includes the first person pronouns. A vital sign that a sentence is written in the first person is the pronouns used. The first person is called such because it refers to oneself and perhaps somebody else. If "I/we" were omitted from the sentence, it would make it second or third person depending on the pronouns used. Other first-person pronouns include "me/my/mine/myself" - these are singular, while "us/our/ourselves" is plural. The pronouns "they/their/theirs" are exceptions to the rule, as they merely refer to the second or third person but never the first.

First-person point-of-view examples

**Ex:** **I** am going away for Christmas. Usually, **I** would spend it with **my** family, but **I** need some time to **myself**.

**Ex:** **We** are heading to the States. **Our** flight departs the airport at midnight. This holiday will do **us** both good.

Second-person point-of-view examples

The second-person singular pronouns are "you/your/yourself", while the plurals are "you/yourselves".

**Ex:** If **you** come to our house at nine O'clock, **you** can go with us.

**Ex:** **You** made an excellent dinner. I can't recall the last time I had such a delicious meal. **You** should feel proud of **yourself**.

Third-person point-of-view examples

The third-person singular pronouns are "he/she/it"; to pluralise them, use the first-person pronouns.

**Ex:** **He** knew **himself** that **he** was as tight as a gnat's chuff.

**Ex:** The **crowd** went wild when the stuntman drove his dirt bike through the flaming hoop.

### Comparative versus Superlative

Comparative adjectives end in -er or use the words more or less, while superlative adjectives end in -est or use the words most and least. For instance, more substantial is a comparative adjective, and most vital is a superlative adjective.

#### Comparative

Comparing things is what happens in everyday language. It could be reaching people, books, shoes, or films. But how do we create the comparatives and superlatives?

We use comparatives and superlatives to say how people or things are different. We use a comparative adjective to express how two people or things are different, and we use a superlative adjective to show how one person or thing is different from all others. For example,

Comparative: Kylie is taller than her siblings.

Superlative: Kylie is the tallest member of her family.

Comparative adjectives enable us to express the difference between two people or things. Use more to say that someone or something has superior quality, size, or characteristic. Use less to say something has an inferior quality, size, or characteristic.

Ex: The book is more expensive than any other book in the collection.

Ex: The book contains less words than any other book in the collection.

#### Superlative

Superlatives compare someone or something to several others.

Ex: Winchester is the most expensive place to live in the UK.

This means that compared to other places in the UK, the city of Winchester is the most expensive place to live.

Corresponding to comparatives, we use superlatives in two ways. Use 'the most' when someone or something is superior to anything else in a group. Use 'the least' when someone or something is more inferior to anything else in a group.

For long adjectives, use 'the most.'

Ex: On the day of her wedding, she was the most beautiful lady in the church.

For short adjectives, use 'est.'

Ex: December is the coldest month of the year.

Put 'the least' before any adjectives.

Ex: Custard creams are my least favourite biscuit.

### Avoid Sentence Fragments

A sentence fragment means a sentence is missing its subject or main verb. Some sentence fragments result from simple typographical errors or omission of words. To avoid fragments, start every sentence with a person, place or thing. Do not use gerunds or present participles (words that end in -ing) unless you know what you are doing.

Take the following as examples of sentence fragments.

Incorrect: Had to visit the dentist.

Incorrect: Every morning, the gym. It is my life.

There are multiple ways to correct the sentences above. To fix them, add the subject to the first and the main verb to the second.

Correct: I had to visit the dentist.

Correct: Every morning, I go to the gym. Exercise has become my life nowadays.

Putting typographical errors aside, the two common causes of fragments are the misuse of subordinators and prepositions. To understand how these errors occur, it is first necessary to define clauses in English. A clause is a unit that contains both a verb and its subject. As the following examples illustrate, a sentence may have a single clause or may include many clauses:

One clause: I enjoy going to the theatre.

Two clauses: The children were happy because their favourite teacher returned to school.

Three clauses: The police caught someone speeding, decided to chase after them, and arrested them for the offence.

Four Clauses: Sally was cross when she found texts from another woman on her husband's phone, so she confronted him at work and embarrassed him in front of his colleagues.

To count the number of clauses in a sentence, identify the verbs and their related subjects.

Phrase fragments

Incorrect: Once I had eaten my meal, I pushed the plate away from me. Waiting for the waiter to come and collect it.

Unattached phrases must be made part of a complete sentence. We can join them either using a comma or a conjunction.

Correct: Once I had eaten my meal, I pushed the plate away from me, waiting for the waiter to come and collect it.

Correct: I had finished my meal, pushed the plate away from me, and waited for the waiter to come and collect it.

Subordinate clause fragments

Incorrect: The children were happy. Their favourite teacher returned to the school.

Incorrect: The police caught someone speeding. Decided to chase after them. And arrested them for the offence.

A sentence fragment occurs because the subordinate clause is separated from the main clause and cannot stand independently. Two clauses can be combined using a subordinating conjunction or an adverb to show the dependence of one clause on the other.

Correct sentence fragments by joining two fragmented parts with a conjunction or an adverb. A correct clause has to express a complete thought.

Correct: The children were happy because their favourite teacher returned to school.

Correct: The police caught someone speeding, decided to chase after them, and arrested them for the offence.