Search results for “p”

The basics of English grammar can seem simple, especially when we are looking at sentence structures. Three basic components of a sentence include: Nouns, which are things Verbs, which are actions Adjectives, which are descriptive words But the better you get, the more complexities there are. For instance, did you know that there are such …

Most American-born people will have heard of direct and indirect objects at some point in their schooling years. And yet, those same English speakers—even those who grew up in the U.S.—may have a hazy understanding of the difference between a direct and indirect object. Today, we will review the distinction. We'll explain what an indirect …

A subject pronoun—also referred to as a subjective pronoun—replaces a noun that is in the subject position of a dependent or independent clause. This means that it performs rather than receives the action of the clause. Subject pronouns serve language by helping us avoid redundancy and be more frugal with language. Consider the following text: …

The decision of whether to capitalize the word "the" in front of a country name can be a tricky one for a couple of reasons. First, you will likely see capitalization used in different ways depending on who is writing and where the writing appears. Second, there isn't one consistent rule you can follow that …

Two common figures of speech in English are the simile and the metaphor. Sometimes their functions are confused or mistaken. In this discussion we'll further explore what a metaphor means and how it can enhance our writing when properly used. What Is a Metaphor? Before we focus on the meaning and function of a metaphor, …

The ampersand (the "&" symbol) is an unusual feature of the English language. It supposedly has survived in a limited form since the days of the Roman Empire. Despite the mark's longevity, people may still sometimes have questions about when and how to use it. In formal writing, use of the ampersand to replace the …

When and how to capitalize titles of works and titles of formal rank or professional status can remain a common question. We'll focus on that topic today for additional clarity. (Note that style for capitalizing titles can vary among stylebooks and in-house style guidelines. What we share here offers a baseline that you can follow; …

Suppose you are writing about a dog – or even to your favorite dog – and need to mention a type or breed. Should the dog name be capitalized? This is a common question in American English for a couple of reasons. First, because dogs are a big part of our lives, they can appear …

Grammar in American English includes many finer details. One topic that involves several is punctuation in a quote, a subject that still often prompts questions from our readers. In this review, we'll explore proper punctuation in quoted content. Punctuation in a Quote: Quotation Marks Use quotation marks to set off all direct quotations. Quotation marks …

Most adjectives have three forms or degrees: the positive, the comparative, and the superlative. In this discussion, we'll take a closer look at comparative adjectives. A comparative adjective compares two items by modifying the adjective with -er, more, or less. Base adjective: fast Comparative adjective between two items: faster Comparative adjective applied: David is a …