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Punctuation Lessons

Apostrophes.
Apostrophes cause more errors than any other punctuation mark.
Quick test on apostrophes
The apostrophe error with plurals (e.g. two cat's.)
Apostrophes in time (temporal) expressions (e.g. a year's salary)
Apostrophes replace letters (e.g. can't)
Apostrophes to show the plural of abbreviations (e.g. SOS's)
Apostrophes show possession (e.g. the dog's dinner, women's shower)

Brackets.
Brackets look unwieldy in official writing. This lesson on parenthesis explains when commas or dashes might be better options.
A choice of parentheses (dashes & commas as alternatives)

Colons.
Used correctly, colons can make your writing succinct and effective. 
Colons to extend sentences (e.g. ...seen by two men: Jack and Tim.)
Colons in references (e.g. Para. 4: Section 2)
Using colons for introductions (e.g. ...with the following: a crow, a rook...)
Colons with bullet points
Colons with quotations (e.g. He joked: 'It must be Alan in the old tank.')

Commas.
The comma: grammar villain.  Learn to use commas correctly.
Quick test on commas
After a sentence introductions (e.g. At four o'clock, she moved...)
After a transitional phrase (e.g. However, it is...)
After interjections (e.g. Yes, I know...)
Before conjunctions (e.g. ...the end, but only when...)
For parenthesis (e.g. Simon, the last man, saw...)
In lists (e.g. egg, milk and butter)
With a long subject (e.g. A, B and C, are required...)
With numbers (e.g. 2,232)
With quotation (speech) marks (e.g. He yelled, 'Get out!')
With the vocative case (e.g. I know what you mean, Simon.)

Dashes.
Dashes (long hyphens) are great for extending sentences or replacing brackets.
Extend a sentence (with a dash if confused by colons & semicolons)
Parenthesis - a choice of parentheses (choose dashes, commas or brackets)

Hyphens.
Hyphens are mainly used to group words; e.g. free-range eggs.
Hyphens in compound adjectives
Hyphens in compound nouns
Hyphens in prefixes
Alternatives to hyphens in compound adjectives (e.g. "Get out of here" eyes)

Semicolons.
When used correctly and sparingly, semicolons look tremendous.
Before conjunctions (e.g. ...is true; but the other one...)
Before transitional phrases (e.g. ...she knew; however, it was...)
In lists (e.g. the master, aged 81; the servant, aged 19)
To extend a sentence (e.g. ...not hurt; one man injured his finger.)

More...

Eight Parts of Speech

Yup, it's a drag, but you have to learn the 8 parts of speech to progress to status of "Grammarian".

Adjectives.
Adjectives describe things. You excited yet? Try the test on adjectives. 
Quick test on adjectives
What are adjectives?
What are compound adjectives?

Adverbs.
Most adverbs end "ly"; e.g. quietly. Learn more about adverbs.
Quick test on adverbs
What are adverbial clauses and phrases?
What are adverbs?

Conjunctions.
When do you put a comma before and, or and but?
Quick test on conjunctions
What are conjunctions?
Conjunctions and commas
Conjunctions and semicolons

Interjections.
Phew is an interjection. Read more about interjections.
Quick test on interjections
What are interjections?

Nouns.
As you can't use proper nouns in Scrabble, you'd better find out what they are. Take the test on nouns.
Quick test on nouns
What are nouns?
The different types of nouns

Pronouns.
She is a pronoun. So is he. Jeepers, who else is a pronoun? 
Quick test on pronouns
What are pronouns?
The different types of pronouns

Prepositions.
In, on, about, over, under, near, by and with are all prepositions. There are dozens of others. Find out more with the lesson on prepositions.
Quick test on prepositions
What are prepositions?
Ending a sentence in a preposition
The object of a preposition
Verbs with prepositions - succinct writing

Verbs.
You can't form a sentence without a verb.  See the lesson on verbs.
Quick test on verbs
What are verbs?

More...


 
 

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