grammarterms

Adjectives

What Is an Adjective?

Adjectives are words that modify or describe nouns.

Adjectives can describe the qualities of nouns. For example:

The dog is big.

The word “big” describes a quality of the dog.

Adjectives can also describe the quantity of nouns. For example:

There were many dogs.

The word “many” describes the quantity of dogs.

Adjectives only modify nouns – they do not modify verbs, adverbs, or other adjectives.

Adjectives come in three forms: absolute, comparative, and superlative.

Absolute Adjectives

Absolute adjectives describe something that either cannot be or is not being compared. For example:

My brother is cool.

The absolute adjective “cool” describes the subject, “my brother.” My brother is cool in his own right – he’s not being compared to anything else.

Comparative Adjectives

Comparative adjectives do just what it sounds like they do – compare two or more things. For example:

My brother is cooler than me.

The comparative adjective “cooler” is used to compare my brother’s cool factor to my own. Unsurprisingly, he comes out on top.

You can turn most one-syllable adjectives into their comparative forms by adding the suffix “-er” to them; if you’ve got a two-syllable adjective that ends with “-y” (e.g. happy), drop the “-y” and add “-ier” (happier). For other multi-syllabic adjectives, add the word “more” as a modifier.

This is the English language though, so there are always exceptions!

Superlative Adjectives

Superlative adjectives are adjectives that show that something has the highest degree of the mentioned quality. Let’s return to our example:

My brother is the coolest person in the world.

See? The superlative adjective “the coolest” shows that my brother has achieved peak levels of cool. You simply can’t be any cooler than he is!

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Adverbs

Adverbs are modifiers. They alter the meaning of words ‒ verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, and even whole sentences. Writers use adverbs to add color and refine meaning.

Examples of Adverbs

Helen walked quickly to her next meeting. “Quickly” modifies the verb “walked.”
She looked very comfortable in her knit dress. “Very” modifies the adjective “comfortable.”
Unfortunately, we can’t make it to your wedding. “Unfortunately” modifies the entire sentence.

Most (but not all) adverbs end in -ly. Examples include quickly, helpfully, apprehensively, grumpily. The adverb adds more nuanced information to the verb.

He gave her a ride home.
He helpfully gave her a ride home.
He apprehensively gave her a ride home.
He grumpily gave her a ride home.

Each of those sentences paints a different picture because of the adverbs.

Types of Adjectives

As you check your adverbs, you may decide that some will stay. Make sure those adverbs are in the right place in the sentence.

An adverb in a sentence with two verbs may be placed incorrectly.

Example:

Readers will connect the adverb with the closest verb, so you want to make clear to your reader who is meditating.

Correction:

One adverb that needs careful attention for placement is only. Use it after the verb and place it as close to the word it modifies as possible.

Grammar Girl uses grammarian James Kilpatrick’s example of how placing only changes the meaning of a sentence.

Only John hit Peter in the nose.

John hit only Peter in the nose.

John hit Peter only in the nose.

John only hit Peter in the nose.

The first sentence means John was the only person who hit Peter in the nose. In the second sentence, Peter is the sole recipient of the blow. In the third, Peter was hit in the nose but received no other blows or actions. And the fourth is open to interpretation. It could mean that John hit Peter in the nose but didn’t take any other actions or John hit Peter in the nose but did nothing else to it like pinch it.

When using only, make sure you know what you want to emphasize, then use the correct placement so that it’s clear to your reader.

When to Use Adverbs

Adverbs aren’t inherently good or bad: it’s all in how you use them. Let’s unpack when you should-and shouldn’t-use adverbs.

Use an adverb when…

1. It adds context or new information. For example, adverbs help you show time and place.

They went early to the nearby cinema to get tickets to the premiere.
The teacher rarely gives an “A” to anyone in her class.

A well-placed adverb can give emphasis to your meaning. Consider how a woman being late to her wedding differs from one who is intentionally late.

CLUNKY: He patted her cheek in a rough manner.
SMOOTHER: He patted her cheek roughly.

3. Other words won’t work. Sometimes an adverb is exactly what you need. As smart as algorithms and machine learning code are, they cannot pick the right word every time. Only a writer or her editor can do that. That’s why writing is an art and not a science. Make sure you use adverbs sparingly and thoughtfully.

Replace an adverb when…

She whispered quietly to herself. Whispering is a quiet activity, so this adverb is redundant.
Tom gently caressed Sara’s shoulders. Caressing is always gentle, never rough.

WEAK: Joshua called loudly for help as the water level rose quickly.

You can easily replace “called loudly” and “rose quickly” with stronger verbs that are more emotive.

STRONGER: Joshua screamed for help as the water gushed in.

3. You use “very” or “really.” What does “very” mean? Nothing solid, right? So whenever you feel obliged to drop in a “very” or a “really,” find a stronger word than these weak amplifiers.

instead of very large, try humongous or titanic
in place of really small, use minuscule or microscopic
replace very soft with faint or whispered
rather than really loud, replace with piercing or cacophonous

The absolute adjective “cool” describes the subject, “my brother.” My brother is cool in his own right – he’s not being compared to anything else.

Comparative Adjectives

Comparative adjectives do just what it sounds like they do – compare two or more things. For example:

My brother is cooler than me.

The comparative adjective “cooler” is used to compare my brother’s cool factor to my own. Unsurprisingly, he comes out on top.

This is the English language though, so there are always exceptions!

Superlative Adjectives

Superlative adjectives are adjectives that show that something has the highest degree of the mentioned quality. Let’s return to our example:

My brother is the coolest person in the world.

See? The superlative adjective “the coolest” shows that my brother has achieved peak levels of cool. You simply can’t be any cooler than he is!

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Anaphora

Anaphora is the deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of a clause to achieve an artist effect. Anaphora has a long history, dating all the way back to Biblical Psalms, where phrases like “O Lord” were repeated at the beginning of each line of a prayer.

Anaphora is a popular rhetorical device because it adds emphasis. The repetition gives your writing a powerful cadence and rhyme so it’s easier to read (no getting tripped up on changes at the beginning) and remember.

Using anaphora in your work helps you appeal to the emotions of your readers. The repetition sharpens your words and creates more urgency. Consider how the examples in the next section use anaphora to increase the power of the message.

Examples of Anaphora in Literature, Speech and Music

Writers, poets, and speakers have used anaphora for centuries to add emphasis to their work. Here are some of the most famous examples of anaphora from history.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: “I Have a Dream” Speech

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.” I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state, sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.”

Literary Definition

Charles Dickens: A Tale of Two Cities

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was theepoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was thespring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”

Winston Churchill: “We Shall Fight on the Beaches” Speech

“We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender.”

The Police: Every Breath You Take

Every breath you take

Every move you make

Every bond you break

Every step you take

I’ll be watching you

Anaphora: Final Thoughts

Anaphora is a powerful way to make your work resonate with readers. If you want them to remember your words, consider using repetition to add consequence to your work.

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Articles

Articles are determiners that help show if a noun is general or specific.

Some common articles are a and an which are indefinite articles. They are used with a singular noun when that noun is non-specific.

For example:

Cara bought a car.

In this example, Cara bought a car. But we don’t have any further information to tell us about which car Cara bought. Thus, the noun is non-specific.

The is a definite article. The shows a specific reference point. It can be used with both plural and singular nouns, as well as both countable and uncountable nouns.

They went to the park.

In this example, the word “the” indicates that the author is talking about a specific park.

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Bad Adverbs

Bad adverbs modify weak verbs and adjectives. They say in many words what a strong adjective or verb can say in one word. For instance:

The dog ran quickly to its owner.
The dog raced to its owner.

“Raced” is a stronger, more emotive verb than “ran.” It also says in one word what “ran quickly” says in two.

We recommend using less than 15 bad adverbs in your writing. You can fix bad adverbs by replacing them with stronger verbs, nouns, or adjectives.

Why Bad Adverbs Hurt Your Writing

Adverbs are a part of speech, just like any other. There’s nothing inherently wrong with using an adverb. They are grammatically correct. However, overusing adverbs is a sign of lazy writing.

Adverbs are often used in instances when a stronger verb would do a better job of conveying meaning:

He walked swiftly towards the window.
He dashed towards the window.

“Dashed” is a stronger, more evocative verb. “Dashed” also says the same thing in one word that “walked swiftly” says in two. Since published writing is concerned with conciseness, stronger verbs are better for your work than adverbs and weak verbs.

The same goes for adjectives: a strong noun or single adjective is better than a string of adverb descriptors.

Examples of Bad Adverbs

There are three main categories to watch out for:

#1: When the adverb is redundant with the verb it modifies

Amy whispered quietly to her mom.

In this example, “quietly” is a bad adverb because it’s redundant when used with “whispered.” Whispering is already quiet. No need to say so again.

Here are some more examples of redundant adverbs:

When she pressed “undo,” the document reverted back to its original state.
The baseball fans screamed loudly when their star shortstop hit a home run.

#2: When the adverb modifies a weak verb or adjective

Not all adverbs are created equal. Neither are all verbs. For example:

When Joshua saw his sister fall, he called loudly for help.

You can replace “called loudly” with a stronger, more emotive verb:

When Joshua saw his sister fall, he screamed for help.

Much better!

Here are some more examples of weak verbs:

Daniel drove quickly to his mother’s house.
Martha walked slowly to the store after practice.

#3: When the adverb doesn’t add any solid information

Certain adverbs don’t provide any value to your text. These include adverbs like extremely, definitely, truly, very, and really.

Think about it: what does “very” mean, anyway? Nothing solid! So if you’re tempted to use “very” (or another of these adverbs), it’s better to replace it with a stronger verb or adjective.

Not All Adverbs Are Created Equal: What Makes a Good Adverb

Some adverbs add needed clarity and meaning to your writing. Here are some examples of good adverbs:

#1: Adverbs that add context or new information

Adverbs of time, for instance, give context to when something happened:

They went early to the game to get better seats.

The adverb “early” helps the reader understand when the subjects of the sentence left.

#2: Adverbs that replace clunky phrasing

Sometimes, adverbs can fix phrasing that feels strange or clunky. Consider:

He threw the bags into the corner in a rough manner.
He threw the bags into the corner roughly.

The second option is clearer and easier to read.

Not all adverbs are bad. Not all adverbs are good. As the author, you have the power to decide whether or not to include adverbs in your writing.

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Clauses

A clause is a group of words containing both a subject and a verb. Examples of clauses are:

The bells are ringing
She ran away

What are the Types of Clauses?

Independent Clauses

An independent clause can actually stand alone as a complete sentence with appropriate punctuation.

The bells are ringing.
She ran away!

Dependent Clauses

A dependent clause can’t stand on its own as a complete sentence. It’s a clause that supplies an independent clause with more information.

Since the bells are ringing.
Because she ran away.

It needs an independent clause to make it a complete sentence. Dependent clauses are joined to independent clauses with a subordinate conjunction (e.g., although, since, if, when, because, etc.).

Since the bells are ringing, we must be late for church.
We’re searching for Audrey because she ran away.

Using Clauses in a Sentence

Clauses can also act as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb.

I can’t remember what I did yesterday.

The clause “what I did yesterday” acts like a noun. Compare this example to “I can’t remember my actions.”

My daughter, who is afraid of heights, is flying across the country today.

The clause “who is afraid of heights” describes “my daughter.”

I dropped my bag when the dog lunged at me.

The clause “when the dog lunged at me” tells us when I dropped my bag.

Take-Aways

Now that you know the difference between a dependent and independent clause and how to use clauses as nouns, adjectives, and adverbs, you can structure better sentences for your reader’s enjoyment.

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Conjunctions

Conjunctions are words that link other words, phrases, and clauses together.

There are three main kinds of conjunctions: coordinating conjunctions, correlative conjunctions, and subordinating conjunctions.

Coordinating Conjunctions

Coordinating conjunctions are words like but, and, or, yet, and so. They join together two parts of a sentence that have equal grammatical rank.

I would eat pizza and mozzarella sticks for lunch.

Correlative Conjunctions

Correlative conjunctions are pairs of conjunctions like either/or, neither/nor, and not only/but also.

I would like to eat either pizza or Chinese food for lunch.

Subordinating Conjunctions

Subordinating conjunctions join independent and dependent clauses. Subordinating conjunctions can show a cause and effect or a contrasting relationship.

Although I wanted to go out for dinner, I stayed home and cooked.

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Coordinating conjunctions

Coordinating conjunctions connect words, phrases, and clauses that are of equal value to the sentence. The clauses that are connected by coordinating conjunctions are called independent clauses.

Subordinating conjunctions connect clauses and phrases that have a relationship. These clauses somehow depend on one another; they are dependent clauses. Subordinating conjunctions include words like because, while, as, and since, to name a few.

The 7 Coordinating Conjunctions

The good news about coordinating conjunctions is that there are only seven you need to remember. They are for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so. Together, they spell the acronym FANBOYS. Let’s look at each of them and how to use them.

For

For can be used as either a preposition or a conjunction. When used as a conjunction, it loosely means because or seeing as. For is typically used in more formal writing.

I will overcome this obstacle, for I am not weak.
Do not walk through the neighborhood alone, for it is not safe after dark.

And

And is a conjunction with multiple purposes. It shows addition or quantity when listing items. It can also be used much like the subordinating conjunction then or also, but only when the phrases or clauses are equally important.

I ate eggs and bacon at brunch.
We went to the store and the flea market.

Nor

Nor is used in negative phrases. It can show subtraction or exception in a series of words or phrases. In these cases, it is often accompanied by the word neither. It can also continue the emphasis of a preceding negative phrase. If the preceding clause or phrase includes a negative word like not or never, nor can make the sentence more poignant.

He is neither hungry nor thirsty.
I will not support the proposed measure, nor will the rest of my community.

But

But is a common little word that means many things. As a conjunction, it can mean yet or on the contrary. It can mean except, unless, and if not. Again, it replaces these words by emphasizing parts of sentences equally instead of conditionally. That’s what makes it a coordinating conjunction.

Mary loved her little lamb, but she couldn’t take it to school.
The little boy loves swimming but hates taking baths.

Yet

While several of the coordinating conjunctions have a myriad of uses, yet is a lot simplers. It means though, still, or nevertheless. However, if you are using yet to talk about time or an amount (e.g. yet another hour), that’s not a coordinating conjunction. In those cases, yet is an adverb.

The play had a great beginning, yet it fell flat in Act Three.
My terrier fears other dogs yet loves my sister’s poodle.

So

So is a special conjunction because it can be both coordinating and subordinating. To know which role so is playing, you must determine the types of clauses it’s connecting. If the two clauses are equal, as in two independent clauses, so is acting as a coordinating conjunction. In this case, so can often be replaced by therefore. If so connects an independent and dependent clause, it is a subordinating conjunction.

My cat was hungry, so I fed her.
I am allergic to wheat, so I can’t eat that sandwich.

Using Coordinating Conjunctions

The way you structure your sentence affects how you use coordinating conjunctions. The rules regarding punctuation vary, and sentence structure is the main determiner.

You can use coordinating conjunctions to connect two words, whether they are nouns, verbs, adjectives, or adverbs. You do not need commas in this case.

Nouns: Would you like brownies or cupcakes for dessert?
Verbs: The dolphins chirped and dove into the water.
Adjectives: It was small but deadly.
Adverbs: We will walk quickly yet quietly to exit the building.

When connecting two phrases of equal value, a comma is also unnecessary before the coordinating conjunction. For example:

Commas are necessary when coordinating conjunctions connect two independent clauses. The comma will always go before the coordinating conjunction, not after.

I love to eat ice cream, yet I am lactose intolerant.
My sister told me about almond milk ice cream, so I went to the store to find some.
I was surprised to find it tasted great, and it was very affordable.

The sentence structure for these types of sentences will always be independent clause + comma + coordinating conjunction + independent clause. Remember, this is only for coordinating conjunctions. The rules for subordinating conjunctions and commas are different.

The Oxford Comma Debate

There are few grammar issues more divisive than the Oxford comma or serial comma. This is the comma that comes before a coordinating conjunction in a list of three or more items. Here is an example:

See that little comma after bacon? That’s an Oxford comma. It is not required to be there. It’s more commonly used in American English than British English, and it is considered more of a modern trend. Depending on when you went to school, you might have learned that you don’t need the comma before and.

I will wear blue, black, or purple tomorrow.
I will wear blue, black or purple tomorrow.

Both are correct! This is a stylistic choice for writers or editors. If you’re writing for work or school, be sure to check your style guide for its preference on the Oxford comma.

Coordinating Conjunctions: Not Just for the Middle of the Sentence

Your grade-school teachers might have told you to never start a sentence with and or but. But you can start a sentence with a coordinating conjunction! Just make sure that everything that follows the conjunction makes a complete sentence instead of being a sentence fragment.

Now that you know all about coordinating conjunctions, go forth and write with plenty of sentence variety!

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Dangling modifiers

A modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that gives you more information about a subject or concept.

Examples of dangling modifiers

Take a look at the following sentence:

Genuinely mortified, Janie smoothed down her skirt, which had blown up in a gust of wind to expose her Spanx.

There are a couple modifiers in this sentence: one at the beginning to let the reader know about Janie’s emotions (Genuinely mortified), and the second at the end to let us know what happened with her skirt (it had blown up).

A modifier needs to be placed directly before or after its intended target. In the above case, we know who was mortified and what the wind blew.

MORE EXAMPLES

Sometimes an inexperienced writer will dangle those modifiers and change the meaning of the sentence. Consider the following:

Genuinely mortified, a gust of wind had blown up Janie’s skirt, exposing her Spanx.

In that version, it reads as though the wind was mortified rather than Janie.

Genuinely mortified, the skirt was smoothed down by Janie, which had blown up in a gust of wind

In that version, the skirt was mortified and Janie was blown up by the wind.

In both examples, there is a lack of clarity and your reader will probably need to go back and try decipher the sentence.

So how do you make sure your modifier is not dangling?

When you use a phrase or clause at the beginning of a sentence, identify the subject of your main clause. Does your phrase or clause describe it? If not, it’s dangling. Use the same test for any clause or phrase that comes after your subject. Another example:

To get his free pizza, a coupon was used when ordering.

Rewriting this sentence to combine the phrase and the main clause makes it much more accessible and easy to read:

He got a free pizza by using a coupon when ordering.

A final example:

Having finished their homework, video games were the next item on the agenda.

Video games don’t do homework. At least, not yet. The following rewrite helps you clarify whose homework was finished.

Having finished their homework, the boys turned to video games, the next item on their agenda.

Now that you understand dangling modifiers, you’ll be able to catch those danglers and make them clearer. Good luck!

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Exaggeration

Exaggeration is any statement that creates a worse, or better, image or situation than it really is. It’s used to highlight points and add emphasis to a feeling, an idea, an action, or a feature. Using exaggeration in your writing lets you describe something in a heightened way to make it more remarkable. Poets use exaggeration through similes and metaphors.

And often, exaggeration is paired with sarcasm and irony to create a humorous narrative.

Types of exaggeration

There are two types of exaggeration that writers use to create effect.

Overstatement

A writer crafts a statement that slightly exaggerates something to make his or her meaning more prominent. For example, a poet could overstate the actual truth of his beloved’s beauty and charisma by comparing her to famous people, works of art, or even opulent locations.

Hyperbole

Hyperbole takes it over the top. It’s an extreme and extravagant exaggeration that’s impossible to believe. When you say your grandmother is as old as the hills or a bag of groceries weighs a ton, you’re using hyperbole.

Exaggerations are common

We use exaggerations every single day such as:

His brain is the size of a peanut.
My dog is the only one I talk to anymore.
She would rather die than wear thrift store clothes.
That baby will drown in his own tears.
This car is older than Methuselah.

Examples of exaggerations in literature

If you haven’t read it yet, check out Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal. He uses his writing talent to make quite the social and political statement. This amusing read exaggerates a political solution to save Ireland from poverty: kill the children of poor Irish families and feed them as a delicacy to Ireland’s nobles. He even explains how their skin could make wonderful handbags and gloves.

The poem Song by John Donne is a list of impossible to achieve tasks. The opening line tells the reader to Go and catch a falling star which, if possible, children all over the world would already have done. He also says it takes a journey of ten thousand days and nights to find a faithful woman. Beyond being an obvious exaggeration, this is an example of misogyny in literature.

Finally, Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions by Daniel Wallace was adapted into a film by Tim Burton. In this story, Edward Bloom is dying of cancer. His son Will hasn’t spoken to him for years because he finally got sick of his father’s exaggerated stories as nothing more than lies. It’s on Edward’s deathbed that he relives the stories he told and Will finally comes to understand the truth in them. Surprise ending (read the book or watch the movie).

Final thoughts

Consider how you can use exaggeration in your next story. For example, a character may use exaggeration as manipulation, much like a child uses big eyes, tears, and sobs to get attention. Another character could use exaggeration to deliberately skew the facts about someone’s reputation as character assassination. There are as many ways to use exaggeration in your WIP as your imagination can think them up.

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Infinitives

Infinitives are verbs preceded by the word “to” that function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs in a sentence. Examples include:

to walk
to purchase
to achieve
to grind
to cater
to destroy
to read
to savor
to delight

An infinitive does not function as a verb. This means you can never add s, es, ed, or ing to the end.

Examples of Infinitives in English Grammar

Infinitives as Nouns

How can an infinitive function as a noun?

To walk to work is a requirement for her in locating a suitable apartment.

In this sentence, “To walk” functions as the noun because it’s the subject of the sentence.

She refuses to cater to his every whim.

“To cater” in this sentence functions as the object of “refuses.”

Infinitives as Adjectives

How can an infinitive function as an adjective?

Whenever Sandra goes to the book store, she always finds a book to purchase.

The infinitive “to purchase” is an adjective that modifies the noun “book.”

Infinitives as Adverbs

How can an infinitive function as an adverb?

She agreed to travel with the group on holiday.

The infinitive “to travel” tells us what was “agreed,” functioning as an adverb modifying a verb.

When can you split an infinitive?

According to a strict grammarian, never. It’s been written in stone for decades that “thou shalt not” split infinitives.

Incorrect: Robert tries to quickly finish his English paper so he can spend more time gaming.
Correct: Robert tries to finish his English paper quickly so he can spend more time gaming.

That said, sometimes a sentence reads better with a split infinitive, especially in informal writing. Consider the impact of the following sentences:

To boldly go where no man has gone before. (Thank you, Star Trek.)

It wouldn’t have the same impact if they’d said:

To go boldly where no man has gone before.

Consider it your literary license to boldly titillate your audience with carefully placed split infinitives. Just not too many, eh?

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Interjections

You most likely know several interjections, but did you know the word comes from the Latin inter, which means “between”, and jacere, which means “to throw”? So you’re literally throwing a word or phrase in between sentences or thoughts to signify your feelings. It’s a word bomb to get someone’s attention.

More often than not, you’ll use an interjection to express surprise or excitement.

Examples of interjections:

“Wow! I can’t believe you found it.”
“Ouch! Stop pinching; you’re hurting me.”
“Terrific! I’ll be right there.”

When should you use an interjection?

Most people use interjections today in the form of emojis. For example, you might type:

The burrito is vegan 🙁

The burrito is vegan 🙂

Your emoji signifies how you feel about that vegan burrito.

Your character in your manuscript, however, won’t communicate in emojis unless you’re writing an entire story in text messages. (Let’s hope not.)

Instead, your character might say:

“Ew, the burrito is vegan.”

“The burrito is vegan. Yum!“

While most conversations between human beings include interjections, you don’t want to pepper your dialogue or narrative with them. Why? Because more careful word choice leads to a better mental picture in your readers’ minds than an interjection.

For example:

My eyes took in the vegan burrito, and all saliva instantly dried up. How could they present that hideous concoction as a meal entrée? Don’t these people know their customers need meat to survive?

How to punctuate interjections

If you’re writing interjections, know how to punctuate them correctly. When using an interjection to relay a strong emotion, set the interjection off as a separate sentence with an exclamation point.

“Ugh! They’re serving reheated vegan burritos today.”
“Yes! Vegan burritos again today for lunch.”

If you want to capture your character’s alarm or surprise, follow your interjection with a question mark.

“Huh? You want to go out on a date with me?”
“Really? You want to eat vegan burritos again?”

When you’re not expressing intense emotions, a comma will suffice.

“Hey, what’s the answer to the second question?”
“Meh, I couldn’t care less about vegan burritos.”

Final thoughts

Writers use interjections because people use them in speech all the time.

“Um, so, like, would you maybe, um, want to, like, go out sometime?”

How many times have you read in a book or watched on film as the nervous, shy guy stumbles over his own words when trying to ask out the gorgeous supermodel? But if you’d rather not be cliché, you can still use interjections to define certain characters. One character might start all of his sentences with, “Okay, then.” Or some other interjection because real-life people have these little idiosyncrasies that show up in their speech, right? (Mine is dropping in “right?” at the end of sentences.)

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Nouns

What Is a Noun?

A noun is a person, place, or thing. The first two are clear-the last one’s a bit nebulous. A “thing” can be a feeling, or a concept, or an object, or a unit of measurement. If you’re not sure, consult your dictionary (or better yet, your ProWritingAid app).

What Is a Noun’s Function in a Sentence?

Every sentence needs a subject and a verb. A noun is most often the subject of a sentence. For example:

Wilson ruled his kingdom so well they wrote a song about him.

“Wilson” is the subject of this sentence, and also a noun. The verb is “ruled,” and it tells you what Wilson is doing. Let’s try another example.

The astronaut moonwalked across the surface of the planet.

We’ve got three nouns here: astronaut, surface, and planet. However, only “astronaut” is the subject, since she’s the one doing the moonwalking. (By the way, surface is one of the “things” covered by our definition.)

Types of nouns

Common Nouns

These are any old regular noun. They refer to people, places, or things in general.

teacher
school
education

Proper Nouns

These refer to a specific person, place, or thing. To signify their importance, proper nouns are always written with initial capital letters.

Mary Shelley
South America
Instagram

Concrete Noun

This type of noun refers only to things that interact with our senses. That is, they can be touched, seen, smelled, tasted, or heard.

paper
coffee
pencil

Abstract Noun

Abstract nouns refer to things which cannot be observed by the senses. For example:

time
confusion
happiness

Yes, you can look at someone’s face and see that they’re happy. However, happiness is still considered abstract because happiness itself is not an observable object.

Collective Nouns

Collective nouns refer to a particular group of people, places, or things.

parliament
flock
audience

Countable and Uncountable Nouns

These are self-explanatory. Countable nouns are those that can be counted:

decade
book
car

Uncountable nouns, on the other hand, have an indefinite or undefinable value, and therefore cannot be counted:

water
snow
light

You’ll notice that many abstract nouns end up being uncountable as well.

Singular and Plural Nouns

Many nouns have multiple forms: singular and plural. Singular nouns refer to one person, place, or thing, while plural nouns refer to multiple people, places or things.

Some examples of singular nouns:

ox
bookshelf
nation

Now here are the plural forms of these same verbs:

oxen
bookshelves
nations

We can often turn a singular noun into a plural simply by adding an “s” on the end. Others, like “oxen”, are a bit trickier. As always, if you’re unsure, check your dictionary.

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Participles

Take a common verb like jump. It can be used as a noun as in:

Jumping over the hedgerows is exhausting.

It can also be used as an adjective:

The jumping bean held the children’s attention far longer than the teacher expected.

Examples of present participles

An easy way to distinguish is present participles always end in ‘ing’.

Adding
Carrying
Enjoying
Boiling
Barking
Gasping
Enjoying a good ice cream cone with my best friend is excellent therapy.

Examples of past participles

Most common verbs ending in ‘ed’ form the past participle, such as:

Added
Carried
Enjoyed
Boiled
Barked
Gasped
The boiled potato was rather mushy and dank.

Examples of irregular past participles

Some past participles are a little trickier. Thanks to irregular verbs, you have words like:

Brought (from the verb bring)
Rung (from the verb ring)
Risen (from the verb rise)
Built (from the verb build)
Broken (from the verb break)
Swollen (from the verb swell)
Jeff’s two swollen eyes and broken nose looked even more ghastly the next day.
Brought by Claire, the hummus was an instant hit at the party.

So there isn’t a hard and fast rule that you can use to form past participles from irregular verbs. That’s why it’s so hard to teach young children to say “brought” instead of “brung.”

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Plurals

You probably don’t need our help with these. For most words, simply add an “s” to the end of the singular form to make a plural. For instance:

Singular: paper / Plural: papers
Singular: cat / Plural: cats
Singular: tree / Plural: trees

Easy enough. Things are slightly complicated when the word already ends with an “s,” or with a “ch,” “sh,” “x,” or “z.” In this case, it’s often correct to add “es” instead.

Singular: grass / Plural: grasses
Singular: bench / Plural: benches
Singular: radish / Plural: radishes

What about words like “memory”? To pluralize a word ending in a consonant and the letter “y,” replace the “y” with “ies.”

Singular: memory / Plural: memories
Singular: baby / Plural: babies
Singular: glory / Plural: glories

Now let’s advance to the truly tricky stuff.

Irregular Plurals

As the name implies, irregular plurals don’t follow the rules of their regular counterparts. The best way to learn these is to memorize them. Here are a few examples:

Calf and Calves

One might think calfs is the right words, but it’s actually calves. There are a few others with a similar construction, including leaf and leaves, knife and knives, and life and lives.

Hoof and Hoofs (or Hooves)

Some irregular plurals are actually acceptable in multiple forms, as in the case of the word hoof. The logical plural hoofsactually works here. Yet using hooves is also valid. As the writer, it’s your choice which you use, so long as you’re consistent.

Just don’t get tripped up with words that sound similar. For example, hooves is an acceptable plural of hoof. However, prooves is not the plural of proof. The correct plural is proofs. It’s just one of those things you have to remember.

Person and People

This is certainly one of the stranger ones on this list. The preferred plural of person is not persons. It’s people.

However, you’ve probably heard the word persons used before, such as in the phrase “Missing Persons Case.” That’s because persons is a formal version of the plural and therefore used almost exclusively in legal settings. So unless you’re a law enforcement official, you should opt for people.

What about peoples? In the words of Jane Mairs, Director of English Language Learning Publishing, “the only time you will want to use the word ‘peoples’ is when you are referring to groups of people from multiple ethnic, cultural, racial, or national backgrounds.” For example:

“The American people.” (We use people because we’re referring only to Americans.)
“The American, Chinese, Mexican, and English peoples.” (We use peoples because we’re referring to many folks from many countries.)

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Prepositional Phrases

A prepositional phrase is a group of words including a preposition, an object and any modifiers.

Most prepositional phrases modify a noun or verb, often called adjectival or adverbial phrases, respectively.

Examples of prepositions

A prepositional phrase contains a preposition and an object. The object can be a noun, a gerund (a verb ending in -ingthat acts like a noun), or a clause.

Here are a few examples, with each prepositional phrase in bold:

She caught the bus on time.
Mary plays the girl in the middle.
Before going shopping, get out cash.
John is really going steady with that silly girl.
After the play is the perfect time to congratulate Annie.

Notice how prepositions can modify nouns or verbs.

Ending sentences with a preposition

Some of us learned that ending a sentence with a dangling preposition was bad form. The Oxford Dictionary states that’s no longer the case: what used to hold true in years past for Latin isn’t how we use English today.

It’s perfectly acceptable to end some sentences with a preposition:

Did you turn the TV off?
Her car had not even been paid for.
Joe must understand the responsibility he is taking on.

If you tried to rewrite the above sentences to avoid ending with a preposition, they would be awkward at best:

Did you turn off the TV?
For which her car had not even been paid.
Joe must understand the responsibility upon which he is taking.

Per OxfordDictionaries.com, “There is no necessity to ban prepositions from the end of sentences. Ending a sentence with a preposition is a perfectly natural part of the structure of modern English.”

Avoid using too many prepositional phrases

When you use too many prepositional phrases in a single sentence, it becomes ungainly and inelegant:

You must learn to move with caution when sailing on a sailboat in the middle of the stormy ocean.

When you use ProWritingAid to check your work, too many prepositional phrases will show up in the Sticky Sentences Report. You can then reword to express yourself better:

On stormy seas, move cautiously on sailboats.

This sentence is far clearer. Notice that we still have two prepositions, but the structure is now straightforward and every word carries weight.

Want more information on prepositional phrases? Our friend Daniel over at Daily Writing Tips has written a useful articleabout what they are and how to identify them in your writing.

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Prepositions

Prepositions connect phrases, nouns, and pronouns with other words in a sentence. They’re words that show location, placement, or orientation. A convenient way to remember what prepositions are is to remember the word “position” within “preposition”: they can tell you an object’s position.

Common prepositions include:

in
within
under
over
to
of
after
during
behind
from
with

Here’s a sentence with a common preposition:

“The cookies are inside the cookie jar.”

In this sentence, “inside” is our preposition because it tells us where the cookies are.

Here are a few more examples, with the prepositions in bold:

I’m buried beneath a pile of homework.
Somewhere over the rainbow.
Get behind me!

Types of Prepositions

Since prepositions refer to location, placement, and orientation, there are several types.

Using Tools

If you’re describing use of an implement, machine, or device, you’ll need a preposition. For example:

I traveled here by airplane.
I wrote this article with a keyboard.

Directions

These prepositions indicate an object’s direction, or the way it’s facing.

The shape lumbered towards me.
The fly buzzed away from me.

Time

Prepositions of time indicate how objects relate to one another in terms of when they happen.

On Sunday, I usually watch football.
I’ll call you when the game’s over.
In 1965, The Who released their first album.

Agents

These prepositions correspond to a person or agent performing an action.

Some of my favorite books were written by Stephen King.
I played fetch with my dog all day. Good dog!

Place

Prepositions of place define an object’s position.

The cat is on the table again.
I’ll meet you at Applebee’s.

Seems clear enough, doesn’t it? Well the English language is never that straightforward! You should also know about particles.

Particles

In some sentences, words that normally act as prepositions appear instead of parts of verbs. These words are known as particles. You’ve probably heard many of these phrasal verbs:

act up
tone down
give back

In these phrasal verbs, “up”, “down”, and “back” would normally be treated as prepositions. Here, however, since they’re essentially part of the verb, they’re particles instead. Here they are in full sentences:

Penny has a tendency to act up at night.
Tone down the excitement, okay?
I need you to give back that book, please.

A good way to differentiate them is to shift the word in question to the beginning of the sentence. If this new sentence makes sense, you’ve got a preposition. If not, you’ve got a particle. Let’s try one of our sentences above.

Up act Penny has a tendency at night.

That makes no sense. Therefore, “up” is indeed a particle. Now let’s try this sentence:

We climbed up the slope.

Now let’s try our trick.

Up the slope we climbed.

That makes sense, so “up” in this sentence is a preposition, not a particle.

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Pronouns

Pronouns are words that stand in for nouns. We use them every day, so you’ll recognize most, such as these personal pronouns:

I, you, she, he, it, we, they, me, him, her, us, them

Pronouns prevent needless repetition. In a world without them, our sentences might look like this:

That’s a terrible reading experience. We know we’re reading about Lucielle the entire time, so there’s no need to remind us who she is in every sentence. Let’s read it with the appropriate pronouns:

Notice how in that last sentence, we opted to use the character’s name again rather than the pronoun. Every time a writer uses a pronoun, it’s a choice. I decided not to use the pronoun there because I felt it was an important character moment, and therefore worthy of emphasis. Using the character’s name instead of a pronoun accomplishes this objective.

Types of Pronouns

Personal Pronouns

As in the above example, personal pronouns stand in for someone’s name. If that person’s name is the subject of the sentence, the corresponding pronoun is known as a subjective pronoun. If it’s the object of the sentence, the corresponding pronoun is known as an objective pronoun.

Subjective Pronouns: I, you, she, he, it, we, they
Objective Pronouns: me, you, her, him, us, them

No, that’s not a typo. “You” can be either a subjective or objective pronoun depending on the sentence’s context.

Indefinite Pronouns

As the name implies, these pronouns are general. They don’t correspond to any specific noun. For example:

some, all, few, everybody, nobody

POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS

Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns indicate ownership:

my, mine, your, yours, her, hers, his, its, our, ours, their, theirs

Demonstrative Pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns are sort of like indicators. They stand in for nouns that have been previously mentioned.

these, those, that, this

Intensive Pronouns

Intensive pronouns amplify nouns. Therefore, they’re usually paired with the noun being amplified. For example, in the sentence, “I myself prefer eggs for breakfast,” myself is the intensive pronoun and it’s paired with I. Notice that intensive pronouns aren’t an essential element of the sentence.

myself, yourself, herself, himself, itself, ourselves, themselves

In different contexts, these same pronouns can become reflexive pronouns. Unlike intensive pronouns, reflexive pronouns are an essential element of the sentence. For example:

“Sometimes I confuse myself.”

If we remove myself from this sentence, we lose all meaning. In this case, myself is an essential element, and therefore a reflexive pronoun.

Interrogative Pronouns

The name says it all here. Interrogative pronouns are used when seeking more information:

what, which, who, whom, whose

A classic example of a sentence with an interrogative pronoun is: “Who else knows about this?”

Interrogative pronouns can become relative pronouns based on the sentence’s context. An interrogative becomes reflexive when it’s used to combine clauses in a sentence. For example:

“I’m wondering which of you knows about this.”

What About “They”?

“They” is a plural pronoun, which means it stands in for two or more people. However, some writers use they to express indefinite gender in a subject.

For example, let’s say your main character Lucille is driving down the road. Lucielle’s cut off by another driver, though she can’t see that person and therefore can’t tell their gender. So she might exclaim, “I can’t believe they just did that!”, even though she is talking about a single person.

Furthermore, if a person prefers not to identify as either male or female, they might prefer the pronoun they. Many other non-binary pronouns have been introduced, such as ze, but few have stuck. Therefore, many non-binary people prefer they.

Is it proper to use the traditional plural they when referring to a single person? As is often the case, usage drives acceptance. Many grammar experts will tell you that it’s not technically correct to use they as a singular pronoun, yet they’ll also admit that it’s becoming more common, and therefore more acceptable.

Go use some pronouns!

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Subordinate Clause

Firstly, a clause is a group of words that contain both a subject and a verb.

She ran to answer the phone.

A subordinate clause depends on a main clause to form a complete sentence or thought.

Because she could hear ringing in the other room

This clause can’t stand on its own. It needs a main clause to get across its complete thought.

She ran to answer the phone because she could hear ringing in the other room.

How do you form complete sentences using subordinate clauses?

The main (or independent) clause and the subordinate (or dependent) clause are joined by a subordinate word or conjunction, such as:

Although, because, before, since, unless, while.

Subordinate clauses with their subordinating conjunctions or words can come at the beginning of a sentence where they are always set off by a comma:

Although the meter was running, he took his time getting his luggage into the taxi.
While she couldn’t see her kids, she could hear their laughter and knew they were fine.

Or subordinate (dependent) clauses can come at the end of the sentence where they are never set off by a comma.

Mary asked her aunt to watch the baby while she ran quickly to the grocery store.
Jack’s arm throbbed incessantly although he had taken pain killers earlier.

Types of Adjectives

What is a compound complex sentence?

You can construct a complex compound sentence by joining a dependent or subordinate clause with two independent clauses.

Before heading out to the movies, I made sure I had plenty of money, and I called Mark to make sure he was still going.

If your subordinating clause comes at the beginning of your complex compound sentence, don’t forget to set it off using a comma.

If it comes at the end of one of your main clauses, you don’t need to separate it with a comma.

I made sure I had plenty of money before heading out to the movies, and I called Mark to make sure he was still going.

Your two main clauses are always separated by a comma and a conjunction.

Key takeaways.

Subordinate clauses make sentences more interesting. The key is to remember:

✓ They always need to attach to a main clause to complete the sentence.

✓ You need to set them off with a comma if they come before the main clause.

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tRANSITIONS

Transition words are the road signs in writing. And great transitions help your reader follow your train of thought without becoming bogged down trying to discern your meaning. Words and phrases like “similarly”, “nevertheless”, “in order to”, “likewise”, “as a result”, show the relationships between your ideas and can help illustrate agreement, contrast or show cause and effect.

An example of a transition

Take the following two sentences. Which one reads more fluidly?

In the second example, you understand that the two thoughts are both important and related. Mark is equally avoiding seeing these people who used to be his friends and the food that he doesn’t like.

Another example of a transition

The use of “Because of this” in the second sentence makes clear to the reader that the gap in time between the call and the visit was a direct result of the over-reaction.

One last example of a transition

Now we see the action in a wider lens: the ball goes into the street just as a car comes careening around the corner. The first illustration is short and choppy. It doesn’t flow well. The second sentence with a transition leads you smoothly between two related, but different thoughts.

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Verbs

Verbs are one of the two main parts of a sentence, along with nouns. You need a noun and a verb to make a complete sentence.

What is a verb?

Verbs are action words, like shout, jump, run, and eat. They tell us what’s happening in the sentence. They also sometimes tell us about a state of being.

There are three types of verbs:

Action verbs (which can be transitive or intransitive),
Modal verbs (sometimes called helping verbs), and
Auxiliary verbs (sometimes called linking verbs).

What is an Action Verb?

When a person or thing is doing something, that’s an action verb. Action verbs are the best ones to use in your writing to move your story forward and create tension. They can be split into two categories:

1) Transitive verbs.

This verb is always followed by a noun that’s receiving the action, called the direct object.

The verb is “patted,” and the noun that’s receiving this action is “my dog’s head,” which is the direct object of the action verb.

Sometimes an object can be indirect, such as when you’re expressing to whom the action is being done.

The verb is “gave” and the object given was “a kiss.” To whom it happened was Angelina, the indirect object of the sentence.

2) Intransitive verbs.

When an action verb has no direct object, it’s called an intransitive verb. Intransitive verbs can be followed by an adverb or adverb phrase, but there will never be a direct object.

The verb is “runs,” and the phrase “quickly away” tells us more about the verb, but there is no object here to receive the action.

An easy way to tell the difference between a transitive and an intransitive verb is to ask the question, “What is receiving the action from this verb?” If you can name a noun that’s on the receiving end, it’s a transitive verb. If you can’t name a noun, whether a direct or indirect object, then the verb is intransitive.

What is a Modal Verb?

Modal verbs help us understand more about the verb in question. They give us hints on the possibility of something happening (can, should, etc.) or time (has, did, was, etc.). When you add a modal or helping verb to your sentence, you’ve created a verb phrase.

These words always function as modal verbs, or helping verbs:

• can • could • may • might • must • ought to • shall • should • will • would

In addition, you can have helping verbs consisting of the forms of to be, to do, and to have. Keep in mind though the following words can also serve as linking verbs (which we’ll discuss next):

• am • are • be • been • being • did • do • does • had • has • have • is • was • were

What is an Auxiliary Verb?

Linking verbs connect the subject of your sentence to a noun or adjective that describes your subject. The noun or adjective is called the “subject complement.”

The most common linking verb is the various forms of “to be” (am, are, is, was, were, etc.). Sometimes, the forms of “to be” are helping verbs, as you learned in the previous section.

“To become” and “to seem” are always linking verbs. The following verbs, however, can sometimes be linking verbs and other times be action verbs:

• to appear • to continue • to feel • to grow • to look • to prove • to remain • to sound • to stay • to smell • to taste • to turn

Verb Tenses: A Primer

Verbs come in three tenses: past, present, and future. These are called the simple tenses, and they’re fairly straightforward.

What’s past is past.

Past tense verbs show action that happened in the past:

My daughter played football last spring.
We skated on the frozen pond last weekend.

The time is now.

Present tense verbs tell us what’s happening now:

My daughter plays football.
We skate on the frozen pond.

Tomorrow is another day.

Future tense verbs show us what is going to happen in the future:

My daughter will play football.
We will skate on the frozen pond.

Where things start to get dicey.

There’s something called “perfect tenses,” and they come in present perfect, past perfect, and future perfect tense. They are all formed with helping verbs (e.g., have, has, had, will, shall) and the past participles of the verb. Past participles are simply one of four principal parts of a verb, which is discussed in another article.

Past perfect tense.

These verbs describe an action that came directly before another action in the past, or happened for a definite amount of time in the past. For example:

My daughter had played football before she played rugby.
We had skated on the frozen pond until sunset.

Present perfect tense.

Present perfect tense tells us what happened recently or some indefinite time in the past.

My daughter has played football as well as rugby.
We have skated on the frozen pond before.

Future perfect tense.

These show us what will happen before some other future action takes place. Future perfect tense uses “will have” and “shall have.”

By noon today, my daughter will have played football.
By tomorrow evening, we will have skated on the frozen pond.

Progressive forms show actions in progress.

Simple and perfect verb tenses are also used in forming a progressive verb form that shows us what’s taking place at the moment or is continuing. Simply add one of the forms of “to be” with the present participle that ends in -ing.

My daughter is playing football right now. (present progressive)
My daughter was playing football yesterday. (past progressive)
We are skating on the frozen pond right now. (present progressive)
We have been skating on the frozen pond before. (past progressive)

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WORD CLASSES

Word classes are parts of speech. They’re the building blocks that form every sentence ever uttered. They are categorized by the role they play in your sentences.

Everyone agrees on the following four main word classes:

Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb

There are varying opinions as to whether the following are word classes or word forms. So we went straight to the experts: the Oxford and Cambridge Dictionaries. Per these two highly learned sources, the following are considered word classes also:

Pronoun (e.g. I, you, me, we, mine, someone, he, she)
Preposition (e.g. at, in, on, across, behind, for)
Conjunction (e.g. and, but, when, if, because)
Determiner (e.g. a, the, an, this, etc.)
Exclamation or Interjection (e.g. oh, ah, wow, ouch)

The four main classes have thousands of members, and new nouns, verbs, and other words are being created every day. Consider the verb “google.” This verb didn’t exist just a few years ago and now it is firmly entrenched in everyday language. Just last month a new noun, “intersectionality” (the study of overlapping social identities and related systems of discrimination), was just added to Dictionary.com. Can you think of any other words that have recently been created and entered your own vocabulary?

Some words, however, can fall in multiple word classes depending on their context:

Put your money in the bank. (noun)
He began to bank the airplane into the wind. (verb)
Come warm up by the fire. (noun)
He will certainly fire her for coming in late again. (verb)
A book is a source of endless reading pleasure. (noun)
Book your holiday plans soon to get the best deal. (verb)
She loves fast cars. (adjective)
He’s driving fast to get to work on time. (adverb)
Her hourly complaints have got to stop. (adjective)
The weather report is reported hourly. (adverb)

The next step is to use your word classes to form phrase classes, like noun phrases, verb phrases, adjective phrases, etc. But we’ll save that for another post.