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There are mistakes that people commit quite frequently when speaking or writing in English, three of which are listed here. Watch out for these three, and you are on your way to better English grammar.

• 1.Use of the Dangling Participle

  This is a common mistake. The dangling participle or misplaced modifier can change the meaning of a sentence entirely. Check out these examples:
  A: After falling from the tree, my uncle picked up the apple.
  B: My uncle picked up the apple after it fell from the tree.
  In example A, the dangling participle makes it seem as if the uncle fell from the tree. Example B shows the proper position of the modifier, which describes that the apple fell from the tree.

• 2.Confused Use of Homophones

  Homophones are words that sound alike but are spelled and used differently. Examples of commonly misused homophones are the words “its” and “it’s”. See the following examples:
  A: I put the laptop back in it’s case.
  B: I put the laptop back in its case.
  Example A uses “it’s”, the contracted form of “it is”. In effect it says, “I put the laptop back in [it is] case”, which is totally wrong. Dropping the apostrophe makes the sentence correct, as in example B.

• 3.Using a Non-Parallel Sentence Structure When Giving Lists

  A: She likes taking long walks, baking cakes, and books.
  B: She likes taking long walks, baking cakes, and reading books.
  Use parallel sentence structure when you are enumerating something. Example A shows a non-parallel sentence structure. Example B shows a correct parallel sentence structure wherein all the items in the list begin in the ‘-ing’ form: taking, baking, reading.

Do not be overwhelmed by all the rules you have to remember. One thing you can do to improve your grammar is to get WhiteSmoke's software for English writing. Writing software will show you the basic steps towards perfect English grammar. In addition, English writing software is easy to use. So go get a software program, avoid these three common mistakes, and you are on your way to having perfect English grammar.
This post belongs to the WhiteSmoke Blog - the original article can be viewed here - 3 No-Nos in English Grammar

The apostrophe is perhaps one of the most misused punctuation marks in the English language. If you are not sure how this punctuation mark should be used, then check out these three tips on how to use apostrophe properly.

 

• 1. Indicating the Possessive Form of Nouns

  The apostrophe is used when writing the possessive form of nouns. Examples of these are: Mary’s house, Ray’s painting, and Agnes’ garden. The apostrophe in these examples indicates ownership; the house belongs to Mary, the painting to Ray, and the garden to Agnes.

• 2. In Place of Omitted Letters in Contractions

  Contractions are words that have a letter or some letters omitted, oftentimes when in the act of combining two words together. Examples of these are: can’t, haven’t, it’s, who’s, and I’m. These contractions stand for: cannot, have not, it is, who is, and I am, respectively. Note that the apostrophes in these examples were placed where the omitted letters used to be.

• 3. When Not to Use an Apostrophe

  The apostrophe is never to be used in possessive pronouns. Therefore, it is wrong to write possessive pronouns this way: their’s, her’s, it’s, your’s. The correct way of writing these pronouns is: theirs, hers, its, and yours, respectively.

Also, the apostrophe should not be used when writing plural nouns, such as in: market share’s, table’s and chair’s, book’s for sale. These should be correctly written as: market shares, tables and chairs, and books for sale, respectively.

 

You can remedy your apostrophe errors by consulting the WhiteSmoke online punctuation checker or the full desktop application, which features an English punctuation checker. Remember these three tips, apply them, and use a punctuation checker to polish your work, and you’ll be good to go.

This post belongs to the WhiteSmoke Blog - the original article can be viewed here - 3 Tips for Correct Use of the Apostrophe