Grammar Blog

English uses tense to indicate the timing of a verb's action in the present, the past, or the future. Traditional English includes twelve tenses: present X simple past progressive future perfect perfect progressive In this discussion, we'll review the present perfect progressive tense, which is also referred to as the present perfect continuous. Present Perfect …

Few things are as enjoyable as having a puppy run around you in playful joy. Perhaps the only improvement is having more than one puppy around. If you find yourself in such a favorable circumstance, how do you spell the plural of such a cheerful group? For that matter, how do you spell other English …

Paulina seems optimistic. The blueberry muffins smell delightful. That essay is certain to persuade people. Most of us will be familiar with sentences such as these. We may even find ourselves using such expressions daily, as they contain a common structure for describing something in writing or speech. Each sentence includes a subject, a verb …

When a color-changing leaf first falls from a tree in autumn, it represents a beautiful reminder of the cycles inherent in nature. It's also a sign that many more soon may fall and you should probably find a rake. As you gather one leaf after another, what word do you use to identify the growing …

Would you please hand me that flower vase, my dear? Joaquin, how much rice does the recipe call for? You know, my friend, I'm not sure if we're going to make it on time. Most of us are familiar with expressions like these. We might also communicate in similar ways when writing salutations such as …

Most of us have read a status update from a coworker or perhaps a friend on social media. But what if we are receiving or giving more than one status? What would be the correct word to use? Phrased differently, what is the plural of status? This can be a common question, and it doesn't …

It's another new year, and all of us at GrammarBook.com hope yours is off to an inspired start—including looking forward to another full year of mastering American English. At the start of each new year, we review what we've explored with you during the previous twelve months of discussion and study. The 2022 master quiz …

Let's say you're attending college to become a scientist. After much research, you have designed your own study and collected the data, and you're ready to publish your findings. Your initial analysis suggested one result, and now you also need to reference several of them as they relate to it. What word do you use …

How do you describe more than one deer, from a perspective of spelling and grammar? It can be a common question among our dear readers, so we'll address it in today's discussion. Let's arrive at the proper plural of deer, as well as how to make sense of similar questions. What Is the Word for …

Michelangelo was a painter. Mr. Yao is a mathematician. Her favorite gifts are roses. In each of these sentences, we have a subject, a verb (more specifically, a linking verb), and another noun. The second noun in each sentence renames or identifies the subject noun (Michelangelo = painter, Mr. Yao = mathematician, gifts = roses). …