Grammar Help
Overview
English grammar can be hard! There are so many rules and so many exceptions! We have put together lists of different topics below to answer the most common grammar questions and concerns of multilingual writers. We hope these resources will help you learn more about these common issues so you can communicate clearly, feel more comfortable with your English, and improve your writing overall.
A, an, the: Definite and Indefinite Articles
"He gave her a book" or "He gave her the book?" "Does she like the book?" or "Does she like a book?" It can be confusing when you aren't certain when to use a, an, or the, which are called articles. Here are some resources that might help you understand definite and indefinite articles better.
Writing Center Resource
External Resources
Can, could, should, must, and more
"People tell her that one must study more, but that would be hard with such a busy schedule." Both must and would in the above sentence are modal verbs, also known as a type of auxiliary verb. They are used with other verbs to express that something is possible or necessary. Modals are not like other verbs, and sometimes they can be confusing. However, the good news is that there are only nine modals in English, so you can memorize them. (Grouping them together makes memorization easy: can, could, will, would, shall, should, may, might, must.) Here are some resources that will help you better understand modals.
External Resources
Most Common Grammar and Punctuation Errors
This webpage addresses some of the most common grammar issues that tutors see among multilingual students, but the resources below generally cover some of the most common grammar errors in writing.
Writing Center Resource
External Resources
Phrasal Verbs
Phrasal verbs can be hard to understand; it looks like they are just a verb with a preposition, but usually, if you look closely, the meaning of the words by themselves don't match the meaning of the phrasal verb. "Does your teacher want you to make up a story?" "Do you have to make up a homework assignment?" Note that in the two sentences above, the phrasal verb make up means two completely different things. Here are some resources that might help you start to understand phrasal verbs.
External Resources
Verb Tenses
Knowing when to use the right verb tense can be difficult sometimes, especially the past tense versus the present perfect. Would you say, "He lost his keys'" or "He has lost his keys."? Are his keys still missing? It can be difficult to decide which verb tense to use. Here are some resources that will help you understand when to use the right verb tense.
Writing Center Resource
External Resources
Subject-Verb Agreement
If a sentence has a singular or plural noun, it must have the corresponding singular or plural verbs. For example, "She write an essay" should instead be "She writes an essay." This is called a subject-verb agreement error if your subject and verb do not agree. If you want to learn more, here are some resources that will help.
Writing Center Resources
External Resource
Commonly Misused Words
The special effects definitely affected the mood of the movie! Do you know the difference between effects and affects? No matter who you are, all English speakers have difficulty remembering which word to use when they are so similar! However, there are other words that don't sound the same, but can be just as confusing. Here are some resources that you will find helpful as you work to ensure that you're using the correct words.
Writing Center Resources
External Resources
"Do" vs. "To Do" vs. "Doing": When to Use the Gerund or Infinitive of a Verb
English is weird! Sometimes you can put a gerund (verb in {-ing} form that is functioning as a noun) after a verb, but sometimes you can't. "I enjoy to read" should instead be "I enjoy reading." There are a few rules that can help you remember when to use an infinitive verb (the word "to" + the base form of a verb) and when to use a gerund, and here are some resources that might help.
Writing Center Resource
External Resources
That, Who, Whom, Which, and More
Don't know the difference between who and whom? Or that and which? Here are some resources that can help you better understand relative clauses--a type of dependent clause that begins with these words.
Writing Center Resources
External Resources
The Many Uses of 'That'
The word that can be used in many different situations. "I want that cupcake over there, not this one." "I hope that you have a good day." "This is the book that I was talking about." Sometimes that can turn invisible! "She said that she loved the book" = "She said she loved the book." Here are some resources that talk about the many uses of the word that.
Usage of 'That'
'That' as a Demonstrative
'That' with Reporting Verbs
'That' in Relative Clauses
Parallelism
"I like reading, to listen to music, and strawberry pie." Does that sentence sound a little awkward? Well, that's because it doesn't have a parallel structure. This concept is sometimes called parallelism, and it means that words in a list have to be in the same form (e.g., all {-ing} words). For example, "I like reading, listening to music, and eating strawberry pie." See! That sounds so much better. Problems with parallelism can greatly impact the clarity of your writing, so here are some resources that you might find helpful if you want to learn more.
Writing Center Resource
External Resource
Not finding what you're looking for? If you want to know more information about the parts of a sentence (nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc.), click here.