Grammar Tips

Here is a (very) condensed version of one of our most popular blog posts. Good luck in your writing! 💪 #English #writing #NaNoWriMo #writers #writersblock #inspiration #grammar #productivity #reading

The meme of Pinocchio notwithstanding, this post will not be dealing with lie (tell an untruth). The past tense of that “lie” is simply lied . Your English teacher lied if he or she told you that it’s something else. Instead, this post wil

Let’s imagine that you are about to graduate from college. Naturally, you’re excited about buying a license plate frame for your car to express your pride in your alma mater.

Lots of people we know don’t care about the difference between “amount of” and “number of”—and they use the two interchangeably. And while we concede that it doesn’t really matter in colloquial (i.e., spoken English), we would be remiss if we didn’t make it known that there are lots of other people

This is a topic that people think they know . . . until they have to actually put it into practice. As an introduction, the “dot-dot-dot” (. . .) is known as an ellipsis . It is used primarily . . . to omit certain words or phrases from a quotation or citation to indicate a pause

This post was inspired in part by the following tweet:

We get a question about “you and I” and “you and me” seemingly every week. And for some strange reason, many people are under the impression that only one of those is ever right. One of the points of this article is to disabuse people of such erroneous thinking. The truth is that both “you and me”

@the_yuniversity posted to Instagram - 👨🏻‍🏫 Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. They also answer the following questions: When? (Always.) How? (Carefully.) Where? (Everywhere.) In what way? (Quickly.) To what extent? (Totally.) Although many adverbs end in "-ly," it is not a requirement. . . . #grammar #adverb #learnenglish #esl #efl #English #Englishclass #ela #elt #adverbs

@the_yuniversity posted to Instagram - "What are your favorite stadiums?" 🏟 = "What are your favorite stadia"? 🏟 (But very few people would use "stadia" instead of "stadiums.") Similarly, "gymnasiums" = "gymnasia." . . . #grammar #stadiums #stadia #gymnasiums #gymnasia #english #greek #learnenglish #staplescenter #oldtrafford #English #Englishclass #ela #esl #elt #efl

@the_yuniversity posted to Instagram - A "faun" is a lustful rural god, e.g., Pan from Greek mythology. A "fawn" is a baby deer 🦌, e.g., Bambi. 💁🏻 They are pronounced the same. #spelling #faun #fawn #bambi #disney #grammar #vocabulary #wordchoice #English #Englishclass #learningEnglish

@the_yuniversity posted to Instagram - 👨🏻‍🎓👩🏻‍🎓 Get the perfect graduation gift: "Grammar in 60 Minutes, Vol. 1"; it's available for $0.99. 🔥 (The link is in our bio.) . . . #grammar #English #learnEnglish #writing #ELA #ELT #EFL #ESL #Englishclass #grammarguide

@the_yuniversity posted to Instagram - 💁🏻 There are better (more descriptive) words than “very” + adjective. The next time you’re tempted to use phrases like “very often” or “very scared,” try “frequently” and “petrified” instead, respectively. . . . #vocabulary #very #writing #wordchoice #learnenglish #english #esl #writingtips #englishclass #wordsmatter

@the_yuniversity posted to Instagram - "Until" and "till" are considered standard/formal. 👌 Unfortunately, both "til" and "'til" aren't. 🙅🏻‍♀️ In other words, don't use "til" and "'til" in essays, formal letters, or professional emails. . . . #grammar #english #till #until #til #writing

Heroine = a female protagonist 🧝🏻‍♀️💪🏻 Heroin = a highly addictive drug “Pure Heroine” = punny album title by Lorde #grammar #spelling #wordchoice #heroin #heroine #Lorde

@the_yuniversity posted to Instagram - Either "hanged" or "hung" could be the simple past or past participle of "hang." Criminals are hanged; paintings 🖼️ and clothes 👗 are hung. I hanged up the phone. → ❌ I hung up the phone. → ✔ We hanged out. → ❌ We hung out. 👫🍨 → ✔ . . . #grammar #hanged #hung #english #hangout #hungup #learnenglish #idioms #esl #efl

💁🏻‍♂️ℹ️ Don’t get “countdown” (a noun) mixed up with “count down” (a verb phrase). #spelling #grammar #countdown #vocabulary #writing #ESL #English