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Basic Grammar
rules
by Tash Hughes
of Word Constructions (www.wordconstructions.com.au)
Let’s face
it, not many of us actually enjoy grammar or thinking
too hard about using it, and that includes me!
Using
basic grammar may be second nature for many of us, but
those who struggle with grammar and those who are
helping others learn grammar, the following summary may
be of benefit.
-
Capital letters are only used for proper nouns and
the start of a sentence. Proper nouns are names of
specific people, places and things such as Jane,
Frank, Paris, Buckingham Palace, Adelaide and the
Swan River. The letters of an abbreviated name may
also be in capitals, such as the MCG for the
Melbourne Cricket Ground and the ATO for the
Australian Taxation Office.
-
Every
sentence must end in a full stop (.), exclamation
mark (!) or question mark (?). Add a space before
starting the next sentence.
-
A noun
is a naming word and a verb is an action word. There
should be at least one noun and one verb in every
sentence.
-
Only
one punctuation mark is needed. So there is no need
for the following:
-
It
was great!!!!!
-
How are you?.
-
She said “I left it on the bench.”.
-
An
apostrophe shows ownership or stands for missing
letters
-
To
save writing ‘the boy owned the book’, we can
use an apostrophe and write ‘the boy’s book’.
The apostrophe comes after the owner and before
the s; note that words ending in s have the
apostrophe without an added s.
Correct
use:
Boy’s
toy the boy owns the toy
Boys’ bikes the boys own the bikes
Women’s clothes the clothes owned by women
Dr Seuss’ books the books owned by Dr Seuss
o An
apostrophe is used to show missing letters in an
abbreviation. Examples:
I
am becomes I’m
he is becomes he’s
we will becomes we’ll
you are becomes you’re
they are becomes
they’re
o
Apostrophes are not needed after decades, numerals,
letters and common acronyms (e.g. 60s, 70s, DVDs, CDs,
xs, 3s)
-
Paragraphs make documents much easier to read. If
hand writing, starting each paragraph in from the
edge is common practise although this is optional in
typed documents.
-
If
writing a list, separate items by commas (,) or make
a bulleted list. For example, ‘it is good to have a
dictionary, your text book, note paper and a quiet
place for studying’.
-
Use
‘example’ or ‘etcetera’ in a list – not both. Both
words indicate that the list is not complete so
there is no need to repeat that information. Note
that the short form of these words are e.g. and etc.
with the full stops included.
-
Keep
your singular and plurals clear. If using a singular
noun, use a singular verb; if using a plural noun,
use a plural verb.
Correct use:
The boys were running
The girl was running
The man yells at the boys
The women yell at the girls
I am happy
We are happy
- If
the abbreviated word has the last letter of the
original, no full stop is required. For example,
‘Mister’ is abbreviated as ‘Mr’ and ‘Missus’ as
‘Mrs’, but ‘Reverend’ becomes ‘Rev.’.
Clear communication is critical to
the success of any business, but it is often left to
care for itself in many businesses. Tash Hughes is a
professional and skilled writer who makes technical and
otherwise boring information accessible for everyone a
business needs to communicate with. Next time you need
webcopy, articles, newsletters, reports or any other
business document, visit
www.wordconstructions.com.au to
see how Tash and her team can help your business
succeed.
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