"Both" vs "Either" vs "Neither": Two-Option Grammar Explained
Both, either, and neither explained with two-option meaning, paired structures, agreement rules, common mistakes, and practice questions.
English Grammar, Writing Skills
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English Grammar
31 posts
Causative Verbs: "Have," "Get," and "Make" Someone Do Something
Learn causative verbs have, get, and make — how to use them for services, forcing, and arranging actions — with rules, examples, and practice for exams.
English Grammar, Writing Skills
Collective Nouns: When "Team Is" and "Team Are" Both Work
Learn collective noun agreement with team, family, committee, government, and class, including BrE vs AmE usage, exam traps, common mistakes, and practice.
English Grammar, Nouns and Pronouns
Dangling Modifiers: The Funny Grammar Error in Sentences
Learn dangling modifiers in English grammar: why opening phrases must clearly connect to the subject, with examples, exam traps, corrections, and practice.
English Grammar, Writing Skills
Double Negatives: Why I Don't Know Nothing Is Wrong
Learn double negatives in standard English: why sentences like I don't know nothing are wrong, how to correct them, and how to solve exam questions.
English Grammar, Writing Skills
Ellipsis and Substitution: What We Leave Out (and Why It's Correct)
Learn ellipsis and substitution in English — how to omit or replace words to avoid repetition, with rules, examples, and practice for exams.
English Grammar, Writing Skills
Emphasis with "Do," "Does," and "Did": When Auxiliaries Add Force
Learn how to use do/does/did for emphasis — to correct, insist, and add force to affirmative statements.
English Grammar, Writing Skills
Grammar Myths Debunked: Rules You Were Taught That Aren't Real
Discover which 'grammar rules' are actually myths — ending with prepositions, splitting infinitives, starting with and/but, and more.
English Grammar, Writing Skills
How English Grammar Changed: From "Thou" to Singular "They"
Explore how English grammar evolved — from thou/thee to singular they, case loss, do-support, and what it means for modern usage.
English Grammar, Writing Skills
How to Identify the Main Verb in a Long Sentence
Learn how to identify the main verb in a long sentence with clear rules, examples, common mistakes, and quick practice for error spotting and writing.
English Grammar, Writing Skills
Indirect Questions: The Polite Grammar Behind "Could You Tell Me..."
Master indirect questions — polite forms, statement word order, and common errors for exams and formal writing.
English Grammar, Writing Skills
Inversion for Emphasis: When Verbs Lead the Sentence
Learn inversion in English — how to use auxiliary-subject inversion after negative and adverbial fronting for emphasis — with rules, examples, and practice.
English Grammar, Writing Skills
Linking Verbs and Subject Complements: When Verbs Don't Act
Master linking verbs — be, seem, become, look, taste, feel — and why they take adjectives, not adverbs.
English Grammar, Writing Skills
Misplaced Modifiers: How One Word Can Change the Meaning
Learn misplaced modifiers in English grammar: how words like only, almost, and modifying phrases change meaning depending on placement, with examples and practice.
English Grammar, Writing Skills
Object Complements: The Hidden Structure After Direct Objects
Learn object complements — how verbs like make, call, find, consider, elect take complements that describe the direct object.
English Grammar, Writing Skills
The Order of Adjectives: Why "Big Red Car" Sounds Right
Learn the order of adjectives with clear rules, exam-focused examples, common mistakes, and quick practice for writing and error spotting.
English Grammar, Writing Skills
The Rule of Parallelism: Why Lists Must Match
Learn the rule of parallelism in English grammar: how to keep lists, paired structures, and comparisons grammatically balanced, with examples and practice.
English Grammar, Writing Skills
Phrasal Verbs and Their Grammar: Separable, Inseparable, and Tricky
Master phrasal verbs — separable, inseparable, transitive, and intransitive — with rules for pronoun placement, examples, and exam-focused practice.
English Grammar, Writing Skills
Why "Scissors Are" Correct: Plural Nouns with Two Parts
Learn why scissors are, trousers are, and a pair of glasses is are correct, with rules for plural nouns with two parts, common errors, exam traps, and practice.
English Grammar, Nouns and Pronouns
Prepositional Phrases: How They Work as Adjectives and Adverbs
Understand prepositional phrases — how they modify nouns (adjective function) and verbs/adverbs (adverb function) with examples.
English Grammar, Writing Skills
Present and Past Participles as Adjectives: "Bored" vs "Boring"
Learn the difference between -ing and -ed adjectives — bored vs boring, interested vs interesting — with clear rules, examples, and exam practice.
English Grammar, Writing Skills
Question Formation: Yes/No, Wh-, Tag, and Indirect Questions
Master question formation — yes/no questions, wh- questions, tag questions, and indirect questions with rules and exam practice.
English Grammar, Writing Skills
Redundancy in English: Words You Should Not Repeat
Learn redundancy in English grammar and writing: why phrases like return back, repeat again, final conclusion, and past history are weak or wrong.
English Grammar, Writing Skills
Reported Speech: The Backshift Rule and When to Skip It
Learn reported speech backshift rules — how tenses, pronouns, and time words change, and when NOT to backshift — with examples and practice for exams.
English Grammar, Writing Skills
Why "News Is" Correct: Singular Nouns That Look Plural
Learn why news is, mathematics is, and measles is are correct, with rules for singular nouns that end in -s, common mistakes, exam traps, and practice.
English Grammar, Nouns and Pronouns
Subject-Verb Agreement with "As Well As": Why the First Subject Matters
Learn subject-verb agreement with as well as, including why the verb agrees with the first subject, common exam traps, examples, and practice.
English Grammar, Subject Verb Agreement
Subject-Verb Agreement with "Either Or" and "Neither Nor"
Learn subject-verb agreement with either/or and neither/nor, including the nearest-subject rule, person agreement, common exam traps, and practice.
English Grammar, Subject Verb Agreement
Subject-Verb Agreement with "One of": The Most Common Exam Trap
Learn how subject-verb agreement works with one of, including one of my friends, one of the students, one of those people who, common mistakes, and practice.
English Grammar, Subject Verb Agreement
The Subjunctive Mood in English: Demands, Suggestions, and Hypotheticals
Master the English subjunctive — base verb forms after demands/suggestions, 'were' in hypotheticals, with rules, examples, and exam practice.
English Grammar, Writing Skills
"Wish" and "If Only": The Grammar of Imagined Reality
Learn how to use wish and if only for present regrets, past regrets, and desired changes — with clear rules, examples, and practice for exams.
English Grammar, Writing Skills
Word Formation: Prefixes, Suffixes, and How Words Are Built
Learn how English words are formed using prefixes, suffixes, and roots — with rules for word class, meaning changes, and exam-focused practice.
English Grammar, Writing Skills