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Standard English Grammar Rules

The grammar and punctuation rules that college-entrance writing sections reward.

78 cardsGrades 6–8, Grades 9–12, College#grammar#punctuation#sat#act

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78 cards
  • Subject-verb agreementTopic
    A singular subject takes a singular verb; a plural subject takes a plural verbThe box of pencils IS on the desk.
  • Ignore the phrase betweenTopic
    Words in a prepositional phrase after the subject do not change the verbOne of the dogs BARKS.
  • Compound subject with andTopic
    Two subjects joined by 'and' usually take a plural verbTom and Ana ARE here.
  • Subjects joined by or/norTopic
    The verb agrees with the subject closer to itNeither the cats nor the dog IS hungry.
  • Collective nounsTopic
    Treat as singular when the group acts as one unitThe team IS winning.
  • Indefinite pronouns: singularTopic
    each, every, either, neither, everyone, someone, anybody take singular verbsEveryone HAS a seat.
  • Indefinite pronouns: pluralTopic
    both, few, many, several take plural verbsFew ARE ready.
  • Inverted sentencesTopic
    Find the real subject even when the verb comes firstThere ARE three reasons.
  • Pronoun-antecedent agreementTopic
    A pronoun must match its noun in number and genderEach student brought HIS OR HER (or THEIR) book.
  • Pronoun case: subjectTopic
    Use I, he, she, we, they as subjectsShe and I left.
  • Pronoun case: objectTopic
    Use me, him, her, us, them as objectsHe gave it to her and me.
  • Who vs. whomTopic
    'Who' is a subject; 'whom' is an object; test with he/himTo whom did you speak?
  • Than/as comparisonsTopic
    Finish the comparison in your head to pick the caseShe is taller than I (am).
  • Ambiguous pronounTopic
    Make clear which noun a pronoun refers to
  • Its vs. it'sTopic
    'Its' shows possession; 'it's' means 'it is' or 'it has'
  • Their, there, they'reTopic
    Their = belonging to them; there = place; they're = they are
  • Your vs. you'reTopic
    'Your' shows possession; 'you're' means 'you are'
  • Whose vs. who'sTopic
    'Whose' shows possession; 'who's' means 'who is' or 'who has'
  • Affect vs. effectTopic
    Affect is usually a verb (to influence); effect is usually a noun (a result)
  • Then vs. thanTopic
    'Then' relates to time; 'than' makes comparisons
  • Fewer vs. lessTopic
    Use 'fewer' for things you can count; 'less' for amounts you cannot
  • Among vs. betweenTopic
    Use 'between' for two items; 'among' for three or more
  • Lie vs. layTopic
    'Lie' (lie, lay, lain) means recline; 'lay' (lay, laid, laid) needs an object
  • ComparativeTopic
    Compare two things with -er or 'more'taller, more careful
  • SuperlativeTopic
    Compare three or more with -est or 'most'tallest, most careful
  • Double comparison errorTopic
    Do not stack -er and 'more'Not 'more taller'
  • Parallel structureTopic
    Items in a list or pair must share the same grammatical formrunning, jumping, and swimming
  • Faulty parallelism fixTopic
    Match forms after 'not only... but also' and 'either... or'
  • Dangling modifierTopic
    An opening phrase must describe the noun that comes right after itWalking home, the rain began (error).
  • Misplaced modifierTopic
    Put a descriptive phrase next to the word it describes
  • Run-on sentenceTopic
    Two complete sentences joined with no punctuation or connector
  • Comma spliceTopic
    Two complete sentences joined with only a comma; fix with period, semicolon or conjunction
  • Sentence fragmentTopic
    A group of words missing a subject, a verb, or a complete thought
  • SemicolonTopic
    Joins two closely related complete sentences without a conjunction
  • Colon: after a complete sentenceTopic
    A colon introduces a list, explanation or quote that follows a full independent clause
  • No colon after a verbTopic
    Do not put a colon between a verb and its object or between a preposition and its object
  • Comma with FANBOYSTopic
    Put a comma before for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so when joining two complete sentences
  • Comma after introductory phraseTopic
    Set off an opening phrase or clause with a comma
  • Commas in a seriesTopic
    Separate three or more items with commasred, white, and blue
  • Nonessential clauseTopic
    Set off extra information with commas on both sides
  • Essential clauseTopic
    Do not use commas around information needed to identify the noun
  • Which vs. thatTopic
    'That' starts essential clauses; 'which' usually starts nonessential ones with commas
  • AppositiveTopic
    A noun phrase renaming another noun; set it off with commas if nonessential
  • No comma between subject and verbTopic
    Never separate a subject from its verb with a single comma
  • Coordinate adjectivesTopic
    Use a comma between adjectives that can be reordered or joined by 'and'a long, dull speech
  • Possessive singular nounTopic
    Add apostrophe + sthe dog's bone
  • Possessive plural noun ending in sTopic
    Add only an apostrophethe dogs' bones
  • Irregular plural possessiveTopic
    Add apostrophe + schildren's toys
  • Apostrophes never make pluralsTopic
    Do not write 'apple's' to mean more than one apple
  • DashesTopic
    A pair of dashes sets off an interruption like a stronger parentheses
  • Hyphen in compound modifierTopic
    Hyphenate before a noun, not aftera well-known author; the author is well known
  • Verb tense consistencyTopic
    Keep the same tense unless the time truly changes
  • Past perfectTopic
    Use 'had' + past participle for an earlier past eventShe had left before I arrived.
  • Present perfectTopic
    Use 'has/have' + past participle for an action continuing to nowI have lived here for years.
  • Conditional (if)Topic
    Use 'were' for unreal wishesIf I were you...
  • RedundancyTopic
    Cut words that repeat meaningNot 'past history' or 'return back'
  • ConcisionTopic
    Choose the shortest choice that keeps the full meaning
  • Idioms and prepositionsTopic
    Learn fixed pairscapable of, different from, interested in
  • Active vs. passive voiceTopic
    Active puts the doer first; passive hides or delays the doer
  • Transition words: contrastTopic
    however, but, yet, nevertheless, on the other hand
  • Transition words: additionTopic
    furthermore, moreover, also, in addition
  • Transition words: cause and effectTopic
    therefore, consequently, as a result, thus
  • Transition words: exampleTopic
    for instance, for example, specifically
  • Possessive before gerundTopic
    Use a possessive before an -ing nounI appreciate your helping.
  • Between you and meTopic
    After a preposition use object caseNot 'between you and I'
  • Reflexive pronounsTopic
    Use -self only when the subject is also the objectShe hurt herself.
  • Plural of numbers and lettersTopic
    Write 1990s and A's; avoid needless apostrophes with decades
  • Quotation marks and punctuationTopic
    In American English, commas and periods go inside closing quotation marks
  • Question marksTopic
    Use with direct questions only, not indirect ones
  • CapitalizationTopic
    Capitalize proper nouns, sentence starts, and titles before names
  • Number agreement with 'number'Topic
    'The number of' is singular; 'a number of' is plural
  • Neither/nor, either/or pairsTopic
    Always use 'nor' with 'neither' and 'or' with 'either'
  • Correlative parallelismTopic
    Both X and Y, not only X but also Y, need matching forms
  • Subject complementTopic
    After linking verbs use subject caseIt is I.
  • Adjectives vs. adverbsTopic
    Adjectives describe nouns; adverbs describe verbs, adjectives and other adverbsShe sings well.
  • Good vs. wellTopic
    'Good' is an adjective; 'well' is usually an adverb
  • Double negativeTopic
    Do not use two negatives to express one negative idea
  • Verb formsTopic
    Use correct past participleshas gone, have written, had spoken

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