Why is grammar important?

Grammar lays the groundwork for effective communication.  Just as an improperly configured telephone wire can cause static during a phone conversation, improper grammar can likewise affect the meaning and clarity of an intended message.

Some common errors are with sentence structure, subject/verb tense, punctuation, spelling, and other basic mechanics and parts of speech. Even something as simple as a misplaced comma can completely change the meaning of a sentence. For example: "Let's eat Grandpa." vs. "Let's eat, Grandpa."

Grammar makes written content more readable and in turn more interesting. If it is necessary to repeatedly reword sentences while reading, the flow becomes disrupted and involvement in the story halted.

How do you know when to use "is" or "are"?

When deciding which of the verbs "is" and "are" to use look at whether the subject is plural or singular.  If the subject is singular use "is," if it is plural or there is more than one subject (compound subject) use "are."

Examples: 

The cat is eating all of his food.

The cats are eating all of their food.

The cat and dog are eating all of their food.

Commas, commas, commas

We frequently get the following comment: 

"I really hate using commas. I never know when to use them." 

 

We hope this helps: http://www.dailygrammar.com/Commas.htm

Summer Break

We have now posted all of the Daily Grammar lessons and quizzes.  We will be taking a break from posting lessons and quizzes.  We will continue to post articles and answers to questions sporadically.  If you have a question, please send us an email or post the question on our Facebook page or feel free to send us a tweet.

Please visit Daily Grammar or search this blog to continue your learning.  We will resume posting lessons to this blog with Lesson 1 on August 29th.  Thank you.