05-09-2009, 06:08 PM
Hello. I have decided to make a grammar guide. Grammar is the way one constructs sentneces in a language, for those of you who do not know.
Okay, so for some rules. The sentence stucture of the English language is usually Noun then Verb. This we should all know though. There are some exceptions, but that is pretty much the rule. Second, you usually need some defining words, such as adjectives and adverbs, but never go too far with that. These things are usually adhered to on these forums, so now for some things that personally bother me.
1. There, Their, and They're
The confusion of these three words annoys me to death. There means "That place" Or something similar to that, and should be used like, "Look over there!" Their means basically "Belonging to them," such as "Their ball" They're means literally "They are" so..."They're doing (insert action here)"
2. Our and are
How exactly do these words get mixed up? Our just means "belong to us" and are should be used like "They are doing well."
3. Affect and Effect
I don't see this much on the forum, but I will mention it anyway. Basically, Affect is a verb, and eefect is a noun. Simple, right?
4.Sperling spulling speeling spelling
All I will say here, is that if there is a word that you don't know, don't be afraid to look it up. Now, I don't mind if you miss a letter in supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, but at least spell short words right.
5. Capitalization and full stops
This annoys me to death. Please, never over or under-use these things. Commas are used for breaks, but not for ending the thought train. Periods are to stop the reader, and give them a break from the current thought train. We should all know about exclamation points and question marks, but never use more than one, that is just annoying.
Capitalization is a bigger issue. Remember that anytime you end a sentence, you begin the next one with a capital letter. Also, proper nouns should be capitalized too. These are things like names. That includes Pokémon.
6. Apostrophes and their abuse
The wonderful joy of apostrophes. Apostrophes are used for two things. To combine two words or to show a possessive. When combining two words, the placement of the apostrophe is not where the two words meet, it is where there have been any dropped letters. For example, it is don't not do'nt.
For possessive cases, it is very confusing. For singular nouns ending in any letter other than s, add 's to the end of it. Here is where the confusion starts, for those singular words that end in s, there are two possibilities. If the s sounds like the s in snake, just add an apostraphe to the end. Hoever, if it sounds like the letter z, add 's.
Plural posessives are confusing as well. For most, you just add an apostraphes. However, if it is one of those words that changes its spelling when becoming plural(Like child to children) add 's to the end. A confusing exception will be explained in the next rule.
7. Its and it's
THis has got to be one of the most confusing things in the world. It bothers me when it's wrongs though. Remember that it's means "It is" not "Belonging to it," so never use it as a possessive pronoun. The opposite is true for Its. "Its" is the possessive case of it. So never use its as "it is."
7. Quotation Marks and punctuation
Ah, the quotation marks, how confusing they are. Always put punctuation outside the first quotation mark and inside the second. What this means is... This person said "(noun) (verb)."
8.Parentheses/brackets and punctuation
Another confusing time for punctuation. Basically, when you begin a sentence outside of parentheses(or brackets, depending on what you use), always put the punctuation mrks on the outside. (However, when beginning a sentence in the parenthses or brackets, put punctuation on the inside.)
9.Stick to spellings!
Remember that when you use a certain word that has either an American or British spelling, use that same kind throughout the entire thing. Nobody cares what you use, as long as you use either spelling throughout the entire post.
10. Other homophones
So annoying for me. Please use the right words when things sound the same. If you have to, look it up. You cannot say "I through the ball." It's "I threw the ball." So please look up ANY words like this.
11. Superlative words
For this, just remember not to combine two or more superlative words. "The most best awesomest" is very wrong, it should be "The most awesome."(Awesomest is not a word. At least it wasn't the last time I checked.)
12. Shoulda coulda woulda
Remember to never use Should/could/would of, as the word "of" is not a verb at all, let alone a helping verb. Always use should/could/would have.
13. Longer posts and paragraphs
Paragraphs are hard to make on forums, as most don't have use of the Tab Button, but when you have those long posts that you need paragraphs on, just hit Enter twice for a new paragraph.
(Open for suggestions)
Other useful things
Credtis:
Fangking Omega, for the suggestion of full stops and capitalization.
Espeonature, for the suggestion of apostrophes.
Nyumi, for a lot of stuff.
Kudamon, for the suggestion of homophones
The Phantomad, for the suggestion of Paragraphs
Okay, so for some rules. The sentence stucture of the English language is usually Noun then Verb. This we should all know though. There are some exceptions, but that is pretty much the rule. Second, you usually need some defining words, such as adjectives and adverbs, but never go too far with that. These things are usually adhered to on these forums, so now for some things that personally bother me.
1. There, Their, and They're
The confusion of these three words annoys me to death. There means "That place" Or something similar to that, and should be used like, "Look over there!" Their means basically "Belonging to them," such as "Their ball" They're means literally "They are" so..."They're doing (insert action here)"
2. Our and are
How exactly do these words get mixed up? Our just means "belong to us" and are should be used like "They are doing well."
3. Affect and Effect
I don't see this much on the forum, but I will mention it anyway. Basically, Affect is a verb, and eefect is a noun. Simple, right?
4.
All I will say here, is that if there is a word that you don't know, don't be afraid to look it up. Now, I don't mind if you miss a letter in supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, but at least spell short words right.
5. Capitalization and full stops
This annoys me to death. Please, never over or under-use these things. Commas are used for breaks, but not for ending the thought train. Periods are to stop the reader, and give them a break from the current thought train. We should all know about exclamation points and question marks, but never use more than one, that is just annoying.
Capitalization is a bigger issue. Remember that anytime you end a sentence, you begin the next one with a capital letter. Also, proper nouns should be capitalized too. These are things like names. That includes Pokémon.
6. Apostrophes and their abuse
The wonderful joy of apostrophes. Apostrophes are used for two things. To combine two words or to show a possessive. When combining two words, the placement of the apostrophe is not where the two words meet, it is where there have been any dropped letters. For example, it is don't not do'nt.
For possessive cases, it is very confusing. For singular nouns ending in any letter other than s, add 's to the end of it. Here is where the confusion starts, for those singular words that end in s, there are two possibilities. If the s sounds like the s in snake, just add an apostraphe to the end. Hoever, if it sounds like the letter z, add 's.
Plural posessives are confusing as well. For most, you just add an apostraphes. However, if it is one of those words that changes its spelling when becoming plural(Like child to children) add 's to the end. A confusing exception will be explained in the next rule.
7. Its and it's
THis has got to be one of the most confusing things in the world. It bothers me when it's wrongs though. Remember that it's means "It is" not "Belonging to it," so never use it as a possessive pronoun. The opposite is true for Its. "Its" is the possessive case of it. So never use its as "it is."
7. Quotation Marks and punctuation
Ah, the quotation marks, how confusing they are. Always put punctuation outside the first quotation mark and inside the second. What this means is... This person said "(noun) (verb)."
8.Parentheses/brackets and punctuation
Another confusing time for punctuation. Basically, when you begin a sentence outside of parentheses(or brackets, depending on what you use), always put the punctuation mrks on the outside. (However, when beginning a sentence in the parenthses or brackets, put punctuation on the inside.)
9.Stick to spellings!
Remember that when you use a certain word that has either an American or British spelling, use that same kind throughout the entire thing. Nobody cares what you use, as long as you use either spelling throughout the entire post.
10. Other homophones
So annoying for me. Please use the right words when things sound the same. If you have to, look it up. You cannot say "I through the ball." It's "I threw the ball." So please look up ANY words like this.
11. Superlative words
For this, just remember not to combine two or more superlative words. "The most best awesomest" is very wrong, it should be "The most awesome."(Awesomest is not a word. At least it wasn't the last time I checked.)
12. Shoulda coulda woulda
Remember to never use Should/could/would of, as the word "of" is not a verb at all, let alone a helping verb. Always use should/could/would have.
13. Longer posts and paragraphs
Paragraphs are hard to make on forums, as most don't have use of the Tab Button, but when you have those long posts that you need paragraphs on, just hit Enter twice for a new paragraph.
(Open for suggestions)
Other useful things
Credtis:
Fangking Omega, for the suggestion of full stops and capitalization.
Espeonature, for the suggestion of apostrophes.
Nyumi, for a lot of stuff.
Kudamon, for the suggestion of homophones
The Phantomad, for the suggestion of Paragraphs