Grammar – some common problems
A quick training session from
It’s and its
Question:
When do you use ‘it’s’ and when do you use ‘its’
in a sentence?
It’s and its
Question:
When do you use ‘it’s’ and when do you use ‘its’
in a sentence?
Its means belonging to it. As in the sentence.
Is it hers or its?
It’s and its
Question:
When do you use ‘it’s’ and when do you use ‘its’
in a sentence?
Its means belonging to it. As in the sentence. Is
it hers or its?
It’s is a shortening of the two words it is. As
in the sentence. It’s going to be warm today.
Quotation marks in direct speech
Question:
What are the rules regarding quotation marks?
Quotation marks in direct speech
In direct speech (as opposed to reported
speech), the actual words are put inside inverted
commas. Punctuation follows various rules.
See these examples:
– Brian said, “Watch out, James! You are
casting too close to that tree.”
– “Are you watching James?” Brian said. “You
are casting too close to that tree.”
– “Watch out, James! You are casting too close
to that tree,” said Brian.
Pronouns
Question:
When do you use personal and possessive
pronouns?
Pronouns
Personal
Personal
Possessive
Possessive
A
B
A
B
I
Me
My
Mine
You
You
Your
Yours
He
Him
His
His
She
Her
Her
Hers
It
It
Its
Its
We
Us
Our
Ours
You
You
Your
Yours
They
Them
Their
Theirs
Pronouns
1. When the noun is doing the action, i.e. when it is
the subject of the sentence, use a pronoun from
column A.
– Example (Personal). You and I will visit them.
– Example (Possessive). Her hair is straight.
Pronouns
2. When the noun is being acted upon, when it is
the object of the sentence, use a pronoun from
column B.
– Example (Personal). The policeman shouted
at him and me.
– Example (Possessive). The dog is hers.
Pronouns
3. After a preposition (e.g. from, after), always treat
the pronoun as the objective of the sentence and
use a word from column B.
– Example. The girl chased after him.
– Example. So goodnight from Bill and me.
Who and whom
Question:
When do you use ‘who’ and when do you use
‘whom’ in a sentence.
Who and whom
‘Whom’ is used when it is the object of the
sentence.
‘Who’ is used when it is the subject of the
sentence
Who and whom
Whom (the objective) example:
‘Decide whom you would like to thank’. ‘Whom’
is the object, with ‘you’, the subject, doing the
thanking.
Who (the subject) example:
‘Decide who needs to do the thanking.’ ‘Who’ is
doing the thanking.
Writing dates
The following options are deemed correct:
“Schedule the meeting for July 10.”
“Schedule the meeting for the 10th of July.”
“The 10th of July is to be scheduled.”
Writing numbers
1. Numbers one to ten are spelled out. Example.
“Send me eight bowls.”
Figures are used for numbers greater than ten.
Example. “Send me 12 bowls.”
2. Always write out a number if it starts a sentence.
Examples. “Forty-three people bought bowls.”
“The first bowls were bought by 43 people.”
Writing numbers
• Hyphenate all compound numbers (a quantity
expressed in two different units) from twenty-one
to ninety-nine. Example. “Seventy-one pounds
and fifty-three pence was the average price.”
• In a sentence where two numbers are related,
and at least one number is over ten, then write
them all in figures. Example. “Don’t send me 5
bowls, send me 50 instead.”
Writing numbers
• If the numbers are unrelated, then use both
figures and words as before. Example. “Send
me 30 bowls for my five nieces.”
• Spell out simple fractions and use hyphens, as
shown: “Two-thirds of the bowls arrived
broken.”
Writing numbers
7. A mixed fraction can be expressed in figures
unless it is the first word of a sentence.
Examples:
– “We expected a 4½ percent interest rate.”
– “Four and a half percent interest rates are
now the norm.”
Writing numbers
8. When writing a decimal in figures, put a zero in
front unless the decimal itself starts with a zero.
Examples:
– “Her savings increased 0.2 percent in a
week.”
– “Her savings only increased .09 in a week.”
Colon and semi-colon
Question:
When do you use a colon: and when do you use
a semicolon; ?
Colon and semi-colon
A colon is used before a list, or to introduce
sayings or ideas.
Examples
Many people came: painters, architects,
carpenters and builders.
The law says: wear a seat belt.
For other scenarios when they are used, go to: www.englishplus.com/grammar/00000093.htm
Colon and semi-colon
A semicolon is used to join two sentences
instead of a conjunction like ‘and’ or ‘but’.
Example
Mind the paint; it’s wet.
For other scenarios when they are used, go to: www.englishplus.com/grammar/00000093.htm
"I don't know the rules of grammar. . . . If you're trying
to persuade people to do something, or buy something,
it seems to me you should use their language, the
language they use every day, the language in which they
think. We try to write in the vernacular." - David Ogilvy