Writers and editors tend to have strong opinions about the Oxford comma. If you don’t regularly work with words and grammar, however, you might not even be aware of what the Oxford comma is although you might be using it (or not) in your writing. Let’s break down what you need to know about the …

Grammatically speaking, the names of streets and roads can get a little bit tricky. Do you know when to capitalize them? If you aren’t sure, this short grammar post will give you helpful guidance. Street Name Capitalization Rules When we consider capitalizing the names of streets and roads, we separate them into two categories. The …

An indefinite pronoun is one that refers to an unspecified or unidentified person or thing. Unlike a definite pronoun, it is vague, and it does not have an antecedent. She drives the car. (The pronoun reference is specific to a person.) Anyone can drive the car. (The pronoun reference is general; no particular person is …

You may have heard the term dangling modifier before. Students and adults alike will come across it at some point. If you are still familiar with what a dangling modifier is and why it confuses communication, this discussion will be a helpful review. If you’re not as knowledgeable about dangling modifiers, we’ll clarify that subject …

Winter might be coming, or you might have a spring in your step. The seasons tell us a lot about climate, mood, and even which fashions and foods are in style. But grammatically, they can sometimes summon a headache. For instance, do you know if you should capitalize the names of seasons when you’re writing …

An interrogative pronoun introduces a question that seeks information. If the pronoun is not part of a question, it is not an interrogative pronoun. There are five interrogative pronouns: who, whom, whose, which, and what. Examples Who is the new park commissioner? Of whom are we speaking? Whose are the shoes by the door? Which …

One of the ironies of education is that many people receive four-year degrees in the U.S. each year but aren’t sure whether their achievement needs to be written with an apostrophe. Even if you did well in English and grammar courses earlier on, such a detail may not be something you address every day. Do …

You probably use a and an in writing and speech every day. Do you also know which one is proper in each usage? In today’s post we’ll clear up any confusion you might have about a and an. Both a and an are indefinite articles, which are words that refer to a person or a …

As we often like to remind our readers, once you get further into the finer aspects of English grammar, the underlying concepts are often very accessible. Which brings us to the topic of today’s post: what are possessive adjectives? Possessive Adjectives: What They Are and How to Use Them Possessive adjectives are words that come …

An adverb is a part of speech that modifies other sentence elements such as verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. It may also describe infinitives, gerunds, participles, phrases, clauses, or even the rest of the sentence in which it appears. Adverbs address information such as when (she is leaving now), where (she stops here), how (she …