The
following provides an overview of common
grammar errors, especially those
associated with depending on fallible
spellcheckers. Spellcheckers (for
purposes of this tutorial this includes
grammar-checkers) continue to improve.
However, many errors exist that a
spellchecker might not catch. No easy
trick exists to bypass this
complication. Instead, make your use of
correct grammar a habit rather than
relying on the spellchecker to find your
mistakes. Habitual use of correct
grammar gives you insurance against
spellcheckers and helps develop your
overall writing and editing abilities.
Note: incorrect sentences appear
throughout this tutorial in red.
Additionally, an index of correct and
incorrect sample sentences appears in
Sections 15 and 16.
Contents:
1. Comma usage and sentence structure
2. It's and its
3. Their, there, they’re
4. Verb subject agreement
5. Verb tense agreement
6. Words that change with a letter added or
removed
7. Quotation marks
8. Direct quotes
9. Commas and periods to the left of quotation
marks
10. Colons and semicolons to the right of
quotation marks
11. Homophones
12. Apostrophes and plural nouns
13. Commonly misplaced words
14. Articles and nouns
15. That and which
16. Hyphens
17. Use of elliptical sentences for the
Flashcard project
18. Revising your drafts
19. Incorrect sample sentences
20. Correct sample sentences