Advice and Articles tagged with grammar
Which Versus That
Contrary to popular belief, "which" and "that" do not function in a similar capacity. Although "which" and "that" are both pronouns, they are not interchangeable. "Which" is used for non-restrictive phrases and "that" is used for restrictive phrases. Continued...
Adjectives or Adverbs?
Are you constantly confusing adverbs and adjectives? What if the English editing professionals here at Scribendi.com could help cure your confusion for good. Continued...
All About Adjectives
Are adjectives causing you aggravation? Are you unsure how and when to use a descriptive word? Perhaps you are unclear about what, exactly, an adjective is. Whatever the case, our English proofreading professionals are here to help! Continued...
All About Verbs
When it comes to constructing a sentence, the verb is widely considered to be one of the most integral elements. In the simplest of definitions, a verb is an action. Drink, walk, talk, drive, and dive are all verbs. But as with everything English, it can't possibly be this easy, can it? Continued...
Using Articles—A, An, The
Put simply, an article is a word that combines with a noun. Articles are actually adjectives because they describe the nouns that they precede. In English, there are only three articles: the, a, and an. Continued...
All About Adverbs
The adverb belongs to a large class of words that add information by qualifying or modifying a verb, an adjective, another adverb, a preposition, or a clause, indeed anything except nouns and pronouns (which are modified by adjectives). Continued...
Improve Your Understanding of Appositives
An appositive is a noun or a pronoun (often with modifiers) that is beside another noun or pronoun, usually with the purpose of explaining or modifying. Now don’t get nervous—the English editing experts at Scribendi.com are ap-positive that you’ll be able to figure this out… Continued...
All About Nouns
The English word “noun” comes from the Latin nomen, meaning “name.” We use nouns to name something, that is, a person, animal, object, place, action, or abstract idea, such as an event or quality (boy, koala, block, farm, invasion, or kindness). Nouns can be defined more precisely by the other words that go with them. In particular, nouns often have the definite article "the" in front of them. Continued...
The Preposition Proposition
Prepositions: ESL writers are endlessly frustrated by these small but significant words, and it’s no wonder—there are more of them in English than in any other language! But don’t give up your writing ambitions just yet; our ESL editing and proofreading experts are here to help. Continued...
All About Pronouns
Are pesky pronouns causing you grief in your ESL English writing? Relax—our ESL editing and proofreading experts are here to help explain this troublesome part of speech. Continued...
Avoiding Redundancies
While literary geniuses are free to flout style conventions, we mere mortals must adhere to them. So how do you purge your paper of redundancies? Continued...
Improve Your Essay: Great Writing Is in the Details
Even the best writing needs good editing before it really shines. If you've been told time and again that you have great ideas but your writing needs polishing, you aren't alone. The following suggestions can help you buff up your prose. Continued...
Homophones
Grappling with the complexities of two/to/too and write/right/rite is not so amusing for those learning English as a foreign language or those not so confident with spelling. Continued...
ESL Writing Tips
You are a professional and are very proficient at academic writing in your first language, but when it comes to translating your work into written English, suddenly you don't know your "ifs" from your "ofs." Continued...
Editing versus Proofreading
It's common for many people, including business professionals and first-time Scribendi.com clients, to be a bit unclear about the differences between editing and proofreading. Continued...
Hyphenation
Are hyphens causing havoc in your humanities papers? Have dashes destroyed your dissertation? Don't let punctuation puzzle you any longer; Scribendi.com's editing and proofreading services are here to help. Continued...
Editing and Proofreading Tips—Part One
One of the most common weaknesses that pervades many documents submitted to Scribendi.com's editing and proofreading services, especially academic papers, is the overuse of passive voice. Continued...
Editing and Proofreading Tips—Part Two
This is the second in a series of articles addressing several common grammatical issues. This article explains phantom or one-sided comparisons, which might be the most prevalent issue of all, particularly in academic papers. Continued...
Editing and Proofreading Tips—Part Three
This is the third article in a series that addresses several commonly repeated issues and problems noted in papers submitted to Scribendi.com for proofreading and editing. The article explains what Scribendi.com editors call the wandering or misplaced only. Continued...
The Comma—Part One
The comma is the most important punctuation mark for ensuring clarity in a sentence, but it is often incorrectly used, sometimes with comical results. Continued...
