1. Do not use a colon immediately after a verb. Eg: Prerequisites for the course are: a. xxx b. xxx c. xxx

1. To separate independent clauses that are joined by such coordinating such as ‘and, but, or, nor, for, yet & so’. Eg. I respect faith, but doubt is what gets you an education.
2. Unless a comma is required to prevent misreading, you may omit it between short, related sentences.
3. If the sentences are long and contain commas, use a semi-colon rather than a comma to separate them.
4. Do not use commas between independent clauses unless they are joined by ‘and, but, or, for, yet, so) Eg. The proposal needs rewriting, however, it is a good start. (wrong)

The proposal needs rewriting; however, it is a good start (right)

1. Stronger break than comma, weaker break than a period.
2. Between closely related independent clauses when they are not joined by a conjunction. Eg. The believer is happy; the doubter is wise.
3. Separate long or complicated items in a series. Eg. The lottery winners included an elderly gentleman who had never bought a lottery ticket; a high school student hoping to use the winnings for college expenses; and a reporter who had bought her ticket while covering corruption in the lottery system.
4. Between independent clauses that are long and contain commas.
5. Between explanatory phrases that are introduced by such words such as ‘for example, that is, or namely’. Eg. The students are preparing sophisticated entries for next week’s science fair; for example, …
6. Between independent clauses of a compound sentence when they are linked by adverbs like ‘however, thus, accordingly, indeed & therefore’.

1. Use of ‘a’ or ‘an’ with an acronym according to the initial sound (vowel or consonant)
2. No period for state abbreviations in an outside address. Eg. New York as NY, not N.Y.
3. Abbreviations -à office – ofc, management – mgt. Different from an acronyms where initial letters in a name or combining initial letters -à MADD – Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

1. If nouns end in ‘o’, - when preceded by a vowel, add ‘s’. Eg. Studios, cameos, kangaroos, patios.

• when preceded by a consonant, add ‘es’. Eg. Potatoes, heroes. Exceptions being mementos, zeros, avocados + 40 others.

1. If it ends with s, x, ch, sh, z è add ‘es’
2. Nouns ending in ‘y’, - when preceded by a consonant, change ‘y’ to ‘I’ and add ‘es’. Eg. Company –

• when preceded by a vowel, simply add ‘s’.

1. Compound word – form plurals with the principal word. Eg. Mothers-in-law, major-generals.
2. Acronyms, numbers, letters – simply add ‘s’. Use ‘s’ with lowercase or abbreviations with periods. Eg. I.O.U’s X’s, Y’s.

1. Add the silent ‘e’ at the end of a word when adding a suffix that begins with a vowel. Eg. Age => aging. Except when dropping it will create a hard vowel. Eg. Mileage, hoeing, manageable.
2. Double consonant of root word when all conditions are met

• root word ends in a single consonant that’s preceded by a single vowel. Eg. Swim, grin, flap.
• Last syllable is accented or word consists of 1 syllable. Eg. Remit, rip, put.

* Note when accent moves to the preceding syllable with addition of suffix, final consonant is not doubled.

• Only 1 word ends in –sede è supersede, 3 words with –ceed è proceed, exceed, succeed. All other words end in –cede è precede, secede.

1. stripped down basics of a sentence.
2. Synonymous with verb.
3. Tells us what is predicated about (what is said about). Eg. Speed kills è speed = subject & kills = predicate.
4. Complicated predicates has verb, object, modifier or compliment. Eg. Speed kills those who throw caution to the winds. Underlined = complete predicate.
5. Subject è answers the question formed by putting ‘who’ and ‘what’ in front of the verb.
6. Direct object è answers the question formed by putting the word ‘what’ or ‘when’ after the verb.
7. Indirect object è receives the direct object.

1. Subject and verb must agree.
2. Inverted order of subject and verb. Eg. Leading through the list of Nobel Prize winners was Linus Palling.
3. Determine the number – compound subjects è 2 subjects joined by ‘and’ – require plural verb.

1. refer to the group as a whole or if the idea of oneness predominates, use singular. Eg. Family, couple, group, etc.
2. if word refers to individuals or items within group, use a plural verb.
3. ‘number’ is singular when preceded by ‘the’, plural when preceded by ‘a’.

1. always singular è ‘another, each, every, either, neither, one, as’ are compound pronouns made with ‘any, every, some & no’ – anybody, nobody.

* the word ‘each’ è when it follws a plural subject, it doesn’t affect the verb which remains plural.

• both, few, many, others & several --- always plural.
• All, none, any, some, more, most --- can be singular / plural, depending on usage.

1. Parallel construction – gerund with infinitive with infinitive, etc.
2. Avoid misplaced modifiers – keep related words together and in the order that conveys the intended meaning è usually adverbs or adjectives.

è exceptions – all things considered, strictly speaking, judging by the record, admittedly, assuming you are right, etc.

3. Avoid double negatives – 2 words expressing negation tend to cancel each other and create a ‘+’ve meaning.

1. Omit unnecessary words.
2. Prefer the active voice. Eg. Karen read the report.

• passive constructions are appropriate when the thing acted upon is more important than the person performing the action – Eg. The meeting was cancelled.
• In technical materials.
• When annoymity of those performing the action is appropriate.

1. If possible, use the ‘+’ve form – try not to use ‘not’.
2. Be specific and concrete – not abstract. Eg. Abstract – the new health and family programs improved employee performance / Absenteeism was reduced by 40% when the company built an employee gym and offered child-care service.
3. Use simple words
4. Avoid trendy words and cliches.
5. Avoid jargon.
6. TV:- vary sentence length and type – open with I) subordinate clause.

1. Nerve-wracking (not racking)
2. Affect è verb. a) influence or to have an effect on.

b) to pretend, simulate or imitate in order to make a desired impression.

Effect è Noun. a) result or consequence

è Verb a) to bring about. Eg. The manager effected many changes in personnel.

3. Ante – before or in front of.

Anti – against.

Eg. In the antebellum days, few southerners were anti-slavery.

4. Among – used with unspecified numbers, if individual relationships are not emphasized. (discontent among the employees)

• repetition is implied (sobbing between each breath)

1. Comprise – the whole comprises the parts.

Constitute – the parts constitute the whole.

2. Disinterested – objective or impartial, not influenced by personal advantage.

Uninterested – indifferent or lacking interest in an outcome.

A disinterested scientist is not uninterested in the outcome of his experiments.

3. Emigrate – leave one’s country permanently, therefore, one emigrates from a country.

Immigrate – to move to a new country permanently, threfore one immigrates to.

4. I – subjective case – used when in subject position

Me – objective – used when it’s object of action or thought conveyed by the verb of the sentence or when it’s object of preposition.

Myself – used for emphasis.

5. Lay – transitive verb (takes on an object) – to place or put down.

Lie – intransitive verb (doesn’t take an object) – means to recline.

6. Continual – over and over again.

Continuous – uninterrupted or unbroken.

7. Meantime – intervals between events (n)

Meanwhile – meaning during the intervening time (adverb)

8. Nauseated – Verb

Nauseous – Adjective

What you feel is nauseated. Something that makes you sick is nauseous.

9. that – used to introduce restrictive (words phrases/clauses that are essential to the meaning) /defining clauses

which – used for non-restrictive clauses.

The pencil that needs sharpening is on my table.

The pencil, which needs sharpening, is on my table.

10. Who – if ‘he, she or they’ fit, use ‘who’ (nominative case)

1. clause – a group of words that contains a subject and a verb.
2. Comma fault – the error in which a comma is the only punctuation between 3 independent clauses.
3. Complement – word or phrase that completes the meaning of the verb. Great artists need great clients.
4. Predicate – a group of words that can make a statement or asks a question about the subject of a sentence.