Category Archives: Grammar & ESL

The Rules of the Sneaky Serial Comma

By on May 23rd, 2013

If there was ever a piece of punctuation to give us all fits, it’s the comma. When do you use it? When are you using it too much? Do I need a comma there? Correct comma usage causes endless questions simply because there are so many rules. Let’s worry about one comma in particular – the serial, or Oxford, comma. It’s the most controversial of the lot. So what’s a serial comma? A serial comma is the last comma that typically appears in a list. For example: If I had my way, I’d eat cake, pie, and cookies every day. …

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From Struggling Writer to Solid Writer and Beyond

By on May 9th, 2013

As an English teacher, I have a strategy that usually works for struggling and reluctant writers. If they claim to not be able to write something, I ask them to tell me the story or response to address the prompt. Then, after they tell me a sentence or two, I repeat it back to a student and tell him to write it down. Kid says, “So, when my parents got divorced I was really upset for a long time.” I say, “Okay. Write down ‘when…my…parents…got…divorced…’” It gives them enough of a boost to put something on the paper, and as …

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Breaking All the Writing Rules

By on September 27th, 2012

Pop quiz, hot shot! How many of the old, conventional writing rules do you break on a daily basis? You probably know the ones I’m talking about. These are rules like: Never start a paper with a question. Never start a sentence with “and” or “but.” Never end a sentence with a preposition. Paragraphs must be a minimum of five sentences. There are countless more – especially if you’ve been taught by English teachers who are intense about the right and proper way of doing things. (That’s code for doing things their way!) The truth is, there are some hard …

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I Write Like…Me?

By on May 10th, 2012

I recently came across a fun writing toy and I’ve just spent the last hour playing around on it. It’s not earth-shattering, nor is it going to change the world, but it does illustrate a point rather nicely. Your voice is a secret writing weapon, so use it. Here’s the toy: http://iwl.me/ “I Write Like” is a website where you essentially paste a chunk of your writing, click the button and see what famous writer you’re most like according to text patterns. So far, after a few test runs, I apparently write like some sort of hybrid between Stephen King …

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Messy Subjects and Verbs

By on February 2nd, 2012

This morning, as I worked with my kids at school, I realized just how often subjects and verbs get complicated and mismatched. This happens most frequently when you have more than one noun in the subject in the sentence. Consider the following: One of the boys jump over the fence. One of the boys jumps over the fence. Which one is correct? Let’s dissect them and see: The subject in the two sentences is the same. It’s “One”. “Of the boys” is modifying the subject. So the actual sentence using just the simple subject would be: One jump over the …

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Idiotic Idioms

By on December 8th, 2011

While we all love a good colloquialism, there is most certainly too much of a good thing at times. Idioms, or those charming expressions that don’t make any sense to anyone outside of your area, can be overused. We’ve done a bit on the more offensive and odd slang in the (American) English language, but there are plenty of more polite, if occasionally idiotic, expressions that are horribly trite and make your work clash with readers. Need some examples of idioms to avoid in your work? Try these on for size: “All hell breaks loose.” It’s not very hell-like if …

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Yay! It’s Yeah and Yea!

By on September 29th, 2011

This is driving me crazy. I just got an email with the subject, “Yeah a Birthday Baby is Born”. I’m not sure the sender (who is not known for her grammatical prowess) meant to sound as sarcastic as the teenagers we teach, but to someone who knows the difference between “yeah”, “yea” and “yay”, she did. And just what is the difference? If you don’t know, you’re certainly not alone. Even Spell Check doesn’t know the difference. It’s a trivial thing, and most people don’t care. But I do. Let’s review: “Yeah” – Yeah, it’s, like, teenager talk. “Yeah” is …

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What Your Writing Says about You

By on September 1st, 2011

Nobody’s perfect, but most of try to get as close as possible, at least in our writing. Over the years, I’ve developed a laidback approach to the grammar and spellings of others, probably because I’m bombarded with bad spelling mistakes and grammar choices on any given day. Unlike many other writers, I also feel there are markets for all sorts of writing – including the stuff that barely counts as a complete sentence. Markets aside, the way you write does make a difference in how you relate to your client and to your audience. In short – spelling counts, but …

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Writing Mistakes I See Too Often

By on July 21st, 2011

Typos are a way of life and even reviewing your own work can be tricky since you tend to read what you meant to say rather than what you actually said. Then, there is an entirely different kind of writing goofs – these aren’t accidents from your finger slipping on the keyboard. These are blatant errors and if you’re making them, you’re getting on my nerves. Okay, that’s harsh, you’re not really on my nerves. But if I were to have a bad day, you might be!  It’s and Its Yes, English is a confusing language. Yes, we have endless …

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Tricky Words: Past, Passed, Except and Accept

By on June 23rd, 2011

In the last week, two tricky word patterns have made it to my attention. This is particularly interesting since I’m not in the classroom over the summer, where I usually am assaulted by word problems. Here are my most recent scenarios: Scenario 1: The Email for Past and Passed I was asked via email about the words “past” and “passed.” The writer wanted to know if you “get passed” something or if you “get past” it. For example, I might complain that I was so irritated last week, but I got “passed/past” it and moved on. It goes without saying …

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