A verbal is a verb form that does not independently express tense or subject agreement. The three types commonly taught in English grammar are gerunds, participles, and infinitives. Consider these…
A hyphen can make the relationship between words clearer. Consider a small-business adviser. The hyphen shows that the adviser works with small businesses. Without it, a small business adviser would…
A participial phrase is a group of words built around a participle, such as carrying, broken, or written. It can describe a person or thing or provide information about an…
A dangling modifier is a word or phrase that is meant to describe someone or something but has no clear, suitable grammatical connection to that person or thing in the…
Called and bought can both describe something that happened in the past, but the verbs were formed differently. Call becomes called by following the regular -ed pattern. Buy changes to…
The best words to describe a strong woman depend on the kind of strength you mean. She may be resilient, courageous, assertive, independent, capable, principled, or influential, but those words…
The best words to describe a good person usually tell you something about how they treat others, handle responsibility, make decisions, or act when doing the right thing is difficult.…
Forms of be can do two very different jobs in English. In The room is quiet, is connects the room with a description of it. In The guests are waiting,…
A verb does not have to describe running, lifting, or another visible action to be dynamic. The temperature is rising, Nora is thinking about the offer, and The glass cracked…
The soup smells spicy, the auditorium became quiet, and the hikers looked exhausted. In each sentence, the adjective appears after a verb but still describes the subject. This is predicative…
Acronyms and initialisms are both shortened forms made from letters, but they are not normally pronounced in the same way. The simplest distinction is: Acronym: pronounced as a word Initialism:…
The Oxford comma is the comma placed before and or or in a list of three or more items. It’s also called the serial comma. You can see the difference…