10 English Grammar Rules

1. Subject/Verb Agreement

Subject verb agreement simply means the subject and verb must agree in number. This
means both need to be singular or both need to be plural.

She loves her dog so much.

Everybody wants to be loved.
( Indefinite pronouns typically take singular verbs. )
Dogs and cats are both considered as a stress reliever.
( If the subjects are both plural and are connected by the word and, the verb is
plural. )
There are a lot of reasons to be happy.
Acceptance is the key to be truly free.

2. Conjunction

Conjunctions are words that link other words, phrases, or clauses together.

I want to go for a hike but I have a lot of things to do.

( The conjunction but is used to this sentence because he/she wasnt able to go
for a hike. )
Neither the white dress nor the black one looks right on me.
Gina went to the supermarket and bought potatoes.
( The conjunction and is used to add some ideas in the sentence. )
They had to study till they become thorough in the subject.
My friends invited me to the party, but my parents didnt let me go.

3. Sentence Fragments

Sentence fragments are group of words that dont express complete thoughts.
Fragments can be fixed by making sure that the sentence contains both a subject and a verb.

A turned well-written essay with a lot of facts and proper citations.

(The sentence is missing a complete verb, also known as the predicate, )
Alesandra turned in a well-written essay with a lot of facts and proper citations.
Some boys in the class.
Some boys in the class study together.
( By adding the verb study corrects the fragment of the sentence and makes it
an independent clause and a sentence that has a complete thought.
Hiking and swimming.
Hiking and swimming are my favorite summertime activity.
When I read a novel.
When I read a novel, I look for careful attention to detail..
 After she finished studying.
After she finished studying, she went to the park.

4. Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

A pronoun antecedent is a word that comes before a pronoun to which the pronoun
refers. Since the pronoun replaces the noun, it has to agree in number. So, if the antecedent, or
word that comes before, is singular, then the pronoun that takes its place must also be
singular.

Marijoy and Cathlyn made their presentation in the library together.

( The sentence that have compound subject ( Marijoy and Cathlyn ) should have
a plural referent (their) )
The bride and the groom took their vows.
Her mother gave her a goodbye kiss this morning.
My mom asked me to go to the market and buy the ingredients of her favorite
viand.
Cathy decided not to go to the party and finished her tons of assignments.
( The pronoun her refers back to Cathy. Cathy is the ANTECEDENT for the
pronoun her. )
5. Verb Tense

The tense of a verb shows the time when an action or condition occurred. In English the
tense also may provide emphasis and may determine whether or not an action nor condition
was continuous or repetitive. There are three basic tenses: past, present, and future.

Last night, I read an entire novel.

( Last night was used in this sentence because it was already done. )
She is playing badminton with her friends.
( The verb playing was used in this sentence because the action is currently
happening. )
They enjoyed playing basketball, yesterday.
I was studying English when you called yesterday.
Daniel and I were planning to go out on a date to celebrate our 3rd anniversary
tomorrow.

6. Plural & Possessive

A plural possessive noun represents more than one thing or person, place, or thing and
shows ownership.

Cathlyns and Kathryns cars are white and red.

( Having a two nouns together with a different ownership needs to have an
apostrophe and s. )
Daniel and Kathryns fans went wild when they performed on stage.
The womans dressing room was very small.
 The species status was changed to endangered.
( When a noun end in an s, the possessive is formed by adding an apostrophe
only. )
Kyla and Nadines teacher asked them to lead the class.

7. Capitalization

Capitalization in English grammar is the use of a capital letter at the head of a word.

They asked me if I would like to join their group.

( The pronoun I should always be capitalized. )
I live in Paris, France.
( The first letter in proper nouns are written capitalized. )
My name is Cathlyn Pagkaliwangan.
Ive been to Paris to visit my cousins.
Im studying at Immaculate Conception College in Balayan, Batangas.

8. Word/Sentence Usage

Word usage is how a word, phrase, or concept is used in a language.

They stopped, listened a moment, then locked the door.

They stopped, listened a moment, then they locked the door.
( The sentence should have a good parallel structure )
Youre so beautiful.
Your so beautiful.
( Your is a possessive, it means something belongs to you. The word you're is short for
you are. )
Theyre attending mass every Sunday.
Their attending mass every Sunday.
He should have told the truth about what he saw.
He shouldve told the truth about what he saw.
They could have won the game, but they didn't try hard enough.
They couldve won the game, but they didn't try hard enough.

9. Punctuation

Punctuations are symbols that are used in various languages to organize sentence
structures, and indicate the vocal rhythm and emphasis of words, phrases, and sentences.

There are a lot of places to visit in the Philippines.

She came home, changed her clothes, and went out with her family.
( Comma (,) is usually used to separate words, phrases, or part sentences. )
When she was on her way to school, she realized that she left her lunchbox at home.
 There are different nutritious vegetables in the basket: squash, bitter gourd, carrots and
broccoli.
( Colons (:) function is to expand a sentence and make it more elaborate. )
Thats fantastic!

10. Redundancy

Redundancy is usually defined as the use of two or more words that say the same thing,
but we also use the term to refer to any expression in which a modifier's meaning is contained in
the word it modifies.

The flight will arrive at 8 p.m.

The flight will arrive at 8 p.m. in the afternoon.

( It is redundant to write 8 p.m. in the afternoon because p.m. means afternoon and it
has the same meaning. )

The three sisters had nothing in common.

The three sisters had nothing in common with each other.

All girls except Lily came for picnic.

All other girls except Lily came for picnic.

The children in Philippines receive free gifts from Santa every Christmas season.
The children in Philippines receive gifts from Santa every Christmas season.
( A gift or a present is an item given to someone without the expectation of payment or return, this
means that a gift is meant to be free. )
Its time to plan.
Its time to plan ahead.
10 English Grammar Rules

Submitted by: Cathlyn K. Pagkaliwangan

Submitted to: Mrs. Jessica Rival