English Grammar

Language and Grammar self-study course

Apostrophes are used for a number of different purposes in English writing:

1) To show a reader where letters have been omitted

When two words are blended together, these new words are called contractions. For example: doesn’t (does not) or I’ll (I will). Apostrophes show where letters have been removed. 

Be aware that you should avoid using contractions in your academic writing, as they are considered a form of slang or informal writing.

2) To signify possession for one or more subjects

If there is just one subject, the apostrophe goes before the S. If there is more than one subject, the apostrophe goes at the end of the word. For example:

The student’s books (one student)

The students’ books (more than one student)

3) When using an unusual word or phrase

When writing in APA 7th style, Apostrophes are used as 'single quotation marks' to unusual letters/words/terms within a piece of writing. 

For example: This is called the ‘glass ceiling’ effect.

When using direct quotes, use double quotation marks (“ ”) if writing in APA 7th style. 

If you are a Law student, this is reversed. Your OSCOLA style quotes will be in single quotation marks, so you would use double quotation marks to show a "turn of phrase" or unusual word. 

4) Final note – its and it’s

Two words which often cause confusion are its and it’s. If you can substitute for either it is or it has, such as "It's considered important that staff are well trained", then you are creating a contraction, so you do need the apostrophe. 

If you are showing possession, "its staff are well trained", there is no apostrophe. 

Remember though, contractions are not suitable for academic writing, so use it is or it has, instead!

Did you know? 

If you use your university Microsoft 365 account, there is an enhanced AI Editor tool that will help to identify words that should and should not, be capitalised. Find out more here:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/check-grammar-spelling-and-more-in-word-for-the-web-a7171cf0-faa7-4e6b-b3f1-e44933dd7bc6

Capital letters should be used in the following situations:

To signify days of the week or months of the year

I don’t have lectures on Friday

My essay is due in November

Note: you don’t need to capitalise seasons (spring, summer, autumn, winter)

Countries, and words associated with places (including country names and continents) 

are always capitalised, e.g. China, America, India, Africa, Asia

So are the names of people groups, e.g. Chinese, Russian, Americans, Africans

Languages are also capitalised, e.g. English, Dutch, Arabic, French 

However, words which use country names, but are not related to them, do not need to be capitalised. For example, danish pastries and french dressing. This is because a danish is a type of pastry (it doesn’t have to have come from Denmark). The same goes for french dressing.

Proper nouns

A name or a title that refers to a person, a place, an institution, a business or an event must always be capitalised:

The Queen will address the House of Commons today

Amazon and Starbucks are being questioned by President Obama

However, you do not need a capital letter when referring to something non-specific. For example: I would like to be president of the company. This is because we are not talking about a particular named president, but just the general concept.

We also capitalise the names of historic periods, such as the Renaissance, the Second World War or the Great Depression. However, we would not capitalise the use of the term “recession” when referring to the recent recession, as it is still a general term.

Note: We do not use a capital letter for “the” when referring to proper nouns. For example, the Sale of Goods Act or the European Court of Human Rights.

Rules around names

The titles of created works such as films, books, reports newspapers and pieces of music are also capitalised. However, small words, such as the, an, and, or in are not capitalised unless they are the first word of the title: 

“Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations is better than One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey”

Brand names

Some brand names or products have become commonly used in everyday speech, such as Xerox, Hoover and iPad. When the item is a brand name, it is usually a good idea to capitalise this but some capital letters in brand names are not on the first letter of the word or appear in unusual places. For example, iPad and PowerPoint. 

Finally, the pronoun “I” is always a capital – it is never lowercase

Subject/Verb Agreement

Ensuring that you have subject/verb agreement throughout your academic work will help to make your assignments easier to read and understand. Use these guidelines to make sure your subjects and verbs agree.

The main rule for subject/verb agreement

In principle, the rule is that singular subjects need singular verbs, while plural subjects need plural verbs. For example:

Singular: the employee is happy

Plural: the employees are happy

Top tips for subject/verb agreement

Tip 1: A verb needs to agree with the subject of the sentence (even if nouns or pronouns come between the subject and the verb). For example:

One of the businesses is doing well.

The people employed by the company are investigating the issue.

Tip 2: Use a plural verb when the subject of a sentence involves two or more pronouns joined together with “and”. For example:

He and the other partners are in the meeting room.

Apple and Nokia are competing in the same market.

Tip 3: Unusual words

Some specific words require singular verbs. These include: nobody, somebody,

someone, no one, anybody, everybody, either, neither and each. For example:

Nobody knows why demand is so low.

Each of the products is doing well.

Tip 4: Uncountable nouns, such as academic subjects and currencies tend to require singular verbs, as do plural form subjects with a singular meaning (news, measles, mumps). For example:

Ten pounds is a lot of money.

Politics is my favourite subject.

However, if a term refers to many aspects of something, it requires a plural verb. For example:

The politics of the situation are worrying.

Tip 5: Titles of entities (companies, books, countries etc.) are always singular. For example:

Weibo is a Chinese microblogging service.

The Wolf of Wall Street is a successful film.

The United States has a strong record in this area.

Tip 6: Collective nouns

Collective nouns refer to more than one person or thing but are treated as singular nouns. For example:

The family has a long history in this industry.

The team is working well.

Subject/verb agreement activity

Can you make the subject and the verb match in each situation?

1. Neither of them like/likes accounting.

2. The jury vote/votes today.

3. One million kilos of coffee was/were traded last week.

4. The number involved is/are very small.

5. Neither the premises nor the product was/were suitable.

6. High taxes, not to mention crime and unemployment, influence/influences votes.

Verbs for Academic Writing

Academic verbs are used in your written work to state the actions of the authors and sources you read. Here are some you may like to try in your own work. However, if you are not sure what they mean, it is better to choose those you can use in context.

Auxiliary verbs

What is an auxiliary verb?

An auxiliary verb, is also known as a ‘helping verb’, it is important to make the meaning of a clause clear. 

The main verb shows about what is happening in the sentence, the auxiliary verb gives more information that makes the sentence clearer.

Auxiliary verbs appear together with a main verb.

Above the verb ‘to be’ has been used as an auxiliary verb – walk, study and research are the main verbs. In this case the verb ‘to be’, indicates that it is happening at the present time. 

The verb ‘have’ can also be used as an auxiliary verb:

In these examples ‘have’ is the auxiliary verb and to be, played and researched are the main verbs. In this case the auxiliary verb ‘have’ indicates that these things happened in the past.

Can an auxiliary verb change the meaning of a sentence.

If you do not use auxiliary verbs in sentences where they are needed, the sentence may not make sense, or it may change the meaning.

Look at the sentences without the auxiliary verbs. Do they make sense?

When you read these sentences you do not know whether these things are happening now or happened in the past. It does not give your reader enough information. You need an auxiliary verb to say it is happening or it has happened.

See how using or leaving out an auxiliary verb changes the meaning of these sentences.

Using auxiliary verbs in negative statements

You also need an auxiliary verb in a negative statement:

• I do not play tennis

• I am not going to the library today.

Using auxiliary verbs questions?

Without an auxiliary verb a question becomes a statement.

Academic words are used in assignment titles and marking criteria to tell you what to do. This is a guide to the most common ones and what they are asking from you.

Analyse: Examine in detail identifying the most important points.

Compare: Show how two or more things are similar and the relevance or consequences of these differences. 

Contrast: Lay out two or more arguments to identify the differences. Indicate if and why these differences are important. You may also be asked to indicate which argument is preferable.

Critically discuss: Looking at the arguments for and against something and weighing them up according to their strengths and weaknesses.

Define: Present a precise meaning.

Describe: Give the main characteristics or features of something.

Discuss: Write about the most important aspects, the arguments for and against and the implications of, something.

Evaluate: Assess the importance or value of something. You will usually need to give the evidence for and against.

Examine: ‘Look closely’ at something, thinking and writing about the detail, and questioning it where appropriate.

Explain: Give reasons why something happens or is the way it is.

Justify: Give evidence to support an argument or idea, why decisions or conclusions are made with consideration of objections.

Outline: Give the main points and/or main structure.

State: Clearly give the main features. Be aware, this is not usually in a list or bulleted form.

Summarise: Draw out the main or most important parts of something.

Cottrell, S. (2019). The study skills handbook. Macmillan International Higher Education.

McMillan, K., & Weyers, J. D. (2012). The study skills book.

A plural refers to more than one of something, so plural nouns can mean more than one person, place, business, theory or thing. This is a very brief introduction to using plural/singular forms of nouns, with some top tips in the context of business academic writing.

Rule 1: Adding “s” or “es” to words

Most singular nouns can be changed to their plural form by adding “s”. For example, 

report becomes reports.

Words ending in “s”, “ss”, “sh”, “x” or “ch” have “es” added to the end. For example, 

business becomes businesses.

Rule 2: Words ending in a consonant and a “y”

Singular nouns ending in a consonant and a “y” can be adapted to their plural form by changing the “y” to “i” and add “es”. For example:

Study becomes studies 

Economy becomes economies

Note: if the word ends with a vowel and a “y”, an “s” can be added instead. E.g. boy/boys.

Unfortunately, some English words do not follow these rules. Here are some exceptions:

Exceptions - irregular plurals

Some English words have slightly different rules. These are called “irregular plurals”.

Common examples of these are:

Appendix becomes appendices when pluralised

Businessman (or businesswoman) becomes businessmen when pluralised

Person becomes people when pluralised

Lists of irregular plurals are available online, or words can be checked in dictionaries.

Exceptions - uncountable nouns

Some nouns are uncountable, so they will always have the same form.

Common examples of these in academic work are the words “research” and “literature”. These always stay the same. 

For example:

A piece of research or all the research

An example of the literature or all contemporary literature

Other examples include words such as staff and pay (in the context of salary), and feedback.

A confusing example: the word data is seen by some people as being countable, and by other as being uncountable. If in doubt, check with your course tutor for their preference.

How do these nouns fit into my sentence? Subject-verb agreement

This topic is dealt with in more detail in a separate handout. However, it is important to be aware of common rules for agreements between subject and verb, when using plurals.

The two most common rules for subject-verb agreement are:

1) Singular subjects need singular verbs. E.g. “the business is doing well.”

2) Plural subjects need plural verbs. E.g. “the managers are getting bonuses.”

When to use articles:

If you can count the noun that you are referring to (e.g. one manager, two managers) and if you are using it in the singular form (referring to just one thing), you need to use an article. For example:

a manager an act of parliament the European Union

When not to use articles:

As a rule, we do not use an article to refer to:

• Companies (I work for Merrill Lynch)

• Places (I live in London)

• Things in general (all banks lend money)

• Abstract nouns (we are experiencing inflation)

• Most countries (I come from France)

• Or when we generalise about uncountable or plural nouns. For example: “Money is the root of all evil.” (I.e. money in general, or all money).

Finally, we do not usually use articles when referring to uncountable nouns (although this does depend on how you are using them, so be careful!).

When to use the definite article:

In general, ‘the’ is used in the following situations:

Rule       Example

superlatives       the largest, the smallest

time period       the eighteenth century, the 1930s

unique things       the government, the world

specified things         the knowledge of most employees

regular publications         the Economist

regions and rivers the south, the River Seine

very well-known people and things the financial crisis

institutions and bodies the World Bank

positions the middle

currencies          the Euro

When to use the definite article:

In general, ‘the’ is used in the following situations:

Rule      Example

superlatives         the largest, the smallest

time period         the eighteenth century, the 1930s

unique things         the government, the world

specified things         the knowledge of most employees

regular publications         the Economist

regions and rivers the south, the River Seine

very well-known people and things the financial crisis

institutions and bodies the World Bank

positions the middle

currencies          the Euro

Useful rules for business and law:

• You do not need an article when talking about a company (“Apple is a company”), but you do need one when talking about a specific product (“the Apple iPhone”)

• You need to use the definite article for "the European Union" (because it is a specific institution/body), but not for "Europe" (because Europe is the name of a country/area)

• You do not need an article for most country names, but you do need articles when talking about people groups. For example, we would say China (the country) or the Chinese (people from China).

• However, there are a few country names which require articles. These include the UK, the USA and the PRC (People’s Republic of China). 

Cottrell, S. (2019). The study skills handbook (Fifth ed.). Macmillan Education UK. 

Burns, T., & Sinfield, S. (2022). Essential study skills : the complete guide to success at university (Fifth edition.). SAGE Publications, Inc. 

Using the Past Tense Correctly

Using the correct tense in your writing

Using the past tense shows that the events you are describing have already happened and been completed. If you are writing about events that are still happening you would use the present tense. If you are writing about something that will happen in the future you would use the future tense. It is important to be consistent in using tenses in your work, moving from one tense to another inappropriately can confuse your reader. 

It is the verb in a sentence that will indicate the tense you are using.

The past simple

This describes things that happened at a particular point in the past and are completed.

• • • I did it.

    • The train left at 3 pm.

    • The shop closed.

The past continuous

This describes events that were continuing at a particular point in the past. Not a one off action but something that used to happen and does not happen anymore. 

You would use the past continuous form of the verb ‘to be’ (was/were) or add ‘ing’ to the end of the verb.

• • • Twenty years ago students were demonstrating against nuclear weapons.

    • Writing this essay took me three weeks.

    • It was easier to walk to school when there were fewer cars on the road.

The past perfect simple

The past perfect refers to something that happened before or until a particular time in the past.

This is formed using had + past participle.

• By 2012 the university had introduced Moodle. 

This suggests that they introduced Moodle over a period of time, not all in one go. 

• By the time the students had graduated they knew how to use various accounting packages. 

This suggests that the students built up this knowledge over the three years of their degree course and not all in one go.

The past perfect continuous

This is used for something that continued over a period of time but finished by a certain time. It is different from the past continuous because the past continuous does not give a specific time by which something had happened. It is also different from the past perfect simple because the past simple perfect only gives the end results, what had happened by that date. The past perfect continuous gives you more information about what was happening before. 

This is formed using had been + ...ing.

• Up to 2012 the university had been using a different virtual learning environment.

This does not just tell you what has happened since 2012, it tells you what was happening before that.

• Before the students graduated they had only been using one accounting package.

This indicates what the students had been using before their graduation, not just what they were using by the time they graduated.

Activities:

Decide which of the underlined words show tenses being used correctly.

1. Recently, evidence of improved student achievement has emerged.

2. It was at the point that the grades were reported that the levels of achievement have become apparent.

3. At the beginning of the academic year, nobody had realised that the timetable was incomplete.

4. In the last few years, studies have started to find interesting results.

5. At that time few lecturers have used a virtual learning environment.

Prepositions

What do prepositions do?

Complete phrases or form relationships between words in a sentence. They are necessary and commonly used. However, there are a few rules to guide you in using them so you need to get used to the sound of word combinations.

Common prepositions:

At, of, in, on, for, off, out of, from, by, with, without

Other prepositions include:

As, beyond, against, throughout, between, concerning, towards

Features of prepositions:

• • • They can indicate time, movement, place (over a 10 year period, towards the goal, over the road)

    • They can go with verbs, adjectives or nouns (believed in, different from, characteristic of)

    • They can form part of a common phrase (to what extent, in contrast to, on account of)

How might I use these in academic work?

• • • This essay reflects on ...

    • Jones conducted research into ...

    • An advantage of ...

    • This resulted in ...

    • The difference in the data accounts for ...

    • The research on which this theory is based ...

Activities:

1.Fill in the gaps with the correct prepositions:

1. The reader was not sure ...... the originality of the material and so the writer was accused .... plagiarism.

2. When the results of the survey were analysed, it was found that there was an increase .... 5% ..... reading scores, which was consistent with previous years.

3. The student visit to the law courts was designed to provide the students ..... a better overview .... court procedure.

4. In order ..... help the students ..... improve their public speaking a workshop was held .... draw their attention ..... techniques .... giving an effective presentation.

2.Decide which of the following sentences use the correct prepositions:

1. The students’ marks pointed of the fact that they had difficulty with maths.

2. Trial by jury is a means of ensuring a fair trial.

3. The university had to deal with the problems caused for reduced government funding.

4. The students presented their findings and then compared them to the results for other groups.

Moving on with prepositions:

This is something to think about when you are confident in using prepositions. Do not worry about this until you feel happy with the rest of this hand-out. In advanced writing, prepositions should not, ideally, come at the end of a sentence. e.g. 

This is something we have not done anything to. (incorrect)

This is something to which we have done nothing. (correct)

This is something to which we have not done anything. (correct)

Activity:

3.Rewrite these sentences so that the preposition does not come at the end:

1. This is the area that we have the most knowledge about.

2. Here are the results that I based my assessment on.

3. The survey identified students that there is no current provision for.

Developing your Sentences

Sentences: why bother?

• Writing good sentences makes your work easier to understand.

• It is important that the person marking your work can easily understand what you are saying.

• It is important that you write clear sentences in job applications.

I’ve been writing sentences for years why should I start worrying now?

You will have been successfully writing sentences throughout your schooling and so far at university. However, most of us tend to forget how to structure sentences and need to remind ourselves how it is done. Writing e-mails, text messages, tweets and updating Facebook profiles all lead us to write in a casual way that is suitable to that type of communication, and this soon becomes a habit. However, when writing for university it is important to write in a structured, academic way that is easy for the marker to understand.

A reminder about how sentences are structured

Back to basics

• A sentence is a group of words that makes sense on its own.

• It starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark, although exclamation marks are not encouraged at university.

• A sentence should include at least one verb and subject.

Example:

Last night I went to a bar.

(Subject: I, Verb: went)

• Sentences can be short, or long, there is no correct number of words in a sentence.

• The length of the sentence depends on what you want to say and the effect you want to achieve.

• If your sentences go on for many lines, check you haven’t put several sentences together as one sentence.

• Some sentences do not need a subject. These are usually instructions such as “Be quiet.”

When do I need commas in my sentences?

You may need commas in some of your sentences. This depends on the length of the sentence and whether you have separate clauses. The sentence “Last night I went to a bar” does not need any commas because it is a one clause sentence. You need comma to break up clauses in sentences. This can provide emphasis to your writing.

The following short sentence makes perfect sense. It is a complete sentence.

The bank was open.

We can add more information and say

The bank which is on the corner was open.

The words ‘which is on the corner’ add more information, the sentence makes sense without them but they tell us more. This is a clause, we can use commas to emphasise that and indicate that it is additional information. It tells us which bank is open or where to find the open bank. 

The bank, which is on the corner, is open. 

You can check whether you need these commas by seeing whether the rest of the sentence makes sense without them.

The cars were parked outside the bank.

If you put commas in this sentence it would say

The cars, were parked, outside the bank. (incorrect)

You would need to ask yourself whether the sentence would make sense without the words ‘were parked’  It would read, The cars outside the bank. This doesn’t make sense on its own, it needs more information, so you should not put commas anywhere in this sentence.

How else can commas be used?

• Commas are useful in lists. You should put a comma between items in a list e.g. The zoo had lions, pandas, tigers, baboons and meercats. Note you do not put a comma before the ‘and’ at the end of a list.

• Commas are needed at the beginning of sentences beginning with words like However, Furthermore, In addition. E.g. However, this did not appear to be true in all cases.

When to use commas to join two short sentences

• Commas can be used, along with conjunctions, to join two complete sentences, be careful here sometimes this will make the sentences far too long.

I thought I had failed my exam. My tutor told me I had done well.

The two sentences above sound a bit abrupt broken up like this. They could be joined up using a comma and a conjunction.

I thought I had failed my exam, but my tutor told me I had done well.

Notice that a comma has been used, with the conjunction but, to join these two sentences.

Used correctly commas can provide emphasis to your work and make your sentences easier to read. When you are writing and  proofreading think about how you want your reader to read and understand each sentence. Decide whether you need to put commas in, or take them out, to make it easier to read. When you are proofreading pause when you come to a comma and decide whether you want your reader to pause there or not, if not, remove the comma.

When do I need to break a sentence up into more sentences?

There is only so much you can do with commas to break up sentences. Sometimes you just have to take the leap and divide your sentences into more sentences. If your sentences are running over a few lines you probably need to take action.

See the short example below:

The student sat in the library he stared at the books he had found on the shelves.

The student sat in the library. He stared at the books he had found on the shelves.

This is a short example, but notice that in the second example both sentences make sense by themselves. If you can see that parts of your sentence make sense by themselves you may decide to break them down into two or more sentences.

A further example:

Kevin lost the book he was reading while biking home from the library he is pretty sure it slipped out of the pocket of his backpack that he had forgotten to zip closed.

This is a long sentence which should be broken up. This can be done in various ways, including the use of commas. I would suggest making it into two sentences, as well as using commas. 

Kevin lost the book he was reading while biking home from the library. He is pretty sure it slipped out of the pocket of his backpack, that he had forgotten to zip closed.

What is a sentence?

A sentence is a series of words expressing one or more ideas. Each idea in a sentence is expressed by a clause.

• The lecturer marked the essay.

• The lecturer marked the essay, and gave it a 2:1.

• The student who was giving the presentation spoke clearly.

What is a clause?

A clause is a single idea, expressed by at least two elements: the subject and the verb. Sometimes there is a third element, the complement.

• • • The subject is the actor performing the action.

    • The verb is the action being performed.

    • The complement or object is the target of the action.

Subject: The student who was studying grammar

Verb: borrowed

Object: the book.

Expanding the clause

A simple clause can be expanded to provide more detailed information. This is done by adding adjectives and adverbs to the word groups in the clause. Adjectives and adverbs are usually written immediately beside what they describe.

• Adjectives are words that describe nouns.

The tall boy threw the ball.

• Adverbs are words that describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.

The student quickly read the article.

The student read the book enthusiastically.

Expanding the sentence

Expanding the sentence means adding more clauses. This means that you can communicate more than one idea in a sentence. This is called a compound sentence.

Simple sentences:

The student read the article.

The student’s friend skimmed the article.

Compound sentence:

The student read the article and his friend skimmed it.

Complex sentences are sentences where one or more clauses have been added, as adjectives, adverbs or nouns.

These are called dependent clauses. To insert a clause into a sentence you need to use conjunctions or pronouns to connect the clauses. 

which, that, who, where, when how, why, what, whoever, because, since, although 

The student who read the article lent it to the girl opposite. – Adjective clause, describes the boy.

The student passed the article to her friend as soon as she had read it. – Adverb clause, adds more information about girl’s action.

Whoever borrowed the article should have returned it to the library. – Noun clause, describes who should have returned it.

Using Connecting Words Effectively

You need to choose your connecting words carefully, as they can change the meaning of the sentence.

Common sentence errors

Sentence fragments

Sentence fragments are a collection of words that has a connecting word, but does not have anything connected to it. These sentences do not really mean anything. Some of the following words are seen in sentence fragments.

Whenever

Whenever the students go to the library.

Whenever suggests that you are going to say something about what the students always do when they get to the library.

Whenever the students go to the library they order pizza.

If you are not going to say what the students do every time they go to the library the sentence would be

The students go to the library.

Although and even if

Although suggests you are going to write a sentence with two ideas. Something happened even though something else happened that would normally stop it. 

Although it rained the students still went for a walk.

If you are not going mention an unexpected thing that happened when it rained the sentence would be:

‘It rained’ OR ‘The students went for a walk.’

Even if it rains we will go for a walk.

Even if is used when one part of the sentence gives information that would not be expected, in view of what has been said in the other part. 

Even if, and although, are only used when there are two parts to the sentence, and one part gives information that would not be expected, in view of what is said in the other part.

However

However hard it rains we will still go for a walk.

It rained hard, however we still went for a walk.

However, can be used at the beginning of a sentence, or part way through, to qualify what is being said in the first part of the sentence, or in the previous sentence.

Beckham (2010) suggests that the financial crisis was caused by Icelandic bankers. However, Jacks (2013) gives evidence to suggest that it was caused by subprime mortgages.

Comma Splicing

This happens when clauses are joined together incorrectly, either through punctuation or a connecting word.

This is called comma spicing, dividing two different ideas with a comma.

The student ran for the bus, he was not fast enough.

You could correct this either by splitting the sentence into two:

The student ran for the bus. He was not fast enough.

This shows the that the student ran for the bus and that he was not fast enough, but does not necessarily connect the two as being relevant to each other. You do this if the two parts of the sentence are not related.

By using a connecting word.

The student ran for the bus but he was not fast enough.

This shows that the student ran for the bus and was not fast enough so that we assume he missed it. You do this if one part of the sentence is a consequence of, or explains the other.

Pronoun reference

When you use the name of a company, object or person and you want to use it again, later in the sentence or in the next sentence, you do not usually repeat the name, you should use a pronoun.

Apple is the company that makes iPhones, it is very innovative.

Richard Branson is a millionaire, he owns a Caribbean island.

The footballer kicked the ball too high, it went over the top of the goal.

Be careful when using pronouns to make sure you are not causing confusion.

The students went out for pizza, they were quite cold.

What is cold here, the students or the pizzas?

The students went out for pizza, the pizzas were quite cold.

Ah! It is the pizzas that were cold, not the students. This sentence is clearer without a pronoun.

Modifiers

The students entered the lecture theatre quietly.

The Modifiers tell you more about the sentence.

Modifier tells you something about the way in which the students entered the lecture theatre.

Be careful where you put modifiers.

I went to the library to get a book it was dirty and noisy.

Dirty and noisy are both modifiers but what was dirty and noisy, the book or the library?

I went to the dirty, noisy library to get a book. OR

The library was dirty and noisy when I went to get a book.

So it was the library that was dirty and noisy.

The librarian asked them not to talk quietly.

Did the librarian want them not to talk quietly? Did they want them to talk loudly?

The librarian quietly asked them not to talk.

No, the librarian spoke quietly.

Should I Use 'If' or 'Whether'?

Is there a difference?

When you write something like

‘This essay will investigate if the recession was caused by subprime mortgages’.

• This suggests you are only intending to find out if the recession was caused by subprime mortgages, not if it was not.

• In fact it is saying you will only investigate if the recession was caused by subprime mortgages, not if it was not.

So to rephrase the statement:

‘This essay will investigate whether the recession was caused by subprime mortgages’.

• • When you use the word whether rather than if you are acknowledging that there may be an alternative.

• • In the second statement you are suggesting that there could be an alternative. You have probably heard people say ‘whether or not’ but you would not say ‘if or not’.

Explanation

Supposing you ask your bank for a loan. You want them to tell you their decision:

• Phone me if you agree to give me a loan.

• Phone me whether or not you agree to give me a loan.

If you use the first statement they will only phone you in the case that they agree to give you a loan. If they don’t agree to it they will not phone you and you will spend a lot of time wondering.

If you use the second statement they will ring you, whatever they deicide, you will not be left wondering.

How should I use this in my academic work?

• In nearly all of your academic work you will be looking at two sides of an argument.

• Was the recession caused by subprime mortgages, or wasn’t it?

• You want to know either way.

• So remember, you would not say if or not so if you want to find out the answer, even if your assumption is not correct, you need to use whether.

When to use 'Affect' and When to use 'Effect'

Affect

Affect is a verb – it describes something that influences something.

Present tense:

•  Working hard may affect the class of my degree?

•  Online shopping badly affects the high street shops.

•  New technologies affect the way we live.

•  The new bus timetable is affecting the number of late arrivals at lectures.

Past tense:

•  The class of my degree was affected by not working hard.

•  High street shops have been badly affected by online shopping.

•  The way we live has been affected by new technology.

•  The old bus timetable did not affect the number of late arrivals at lectures.

Effect

Effect is a noun – it describes the result of the influence.

Present tense:

•  The effect of hard work on your class of degree should not be underestimated.

•  The effect that online shopping has had on the high street is a drop in footfall.

•  The effect that new technology has on our lives is that we are able to

• communicate with people all over the world.

•  The effect of the new bus timetable is an increase in late arrivals for lectures.

Past tense:

•  The fact that I worked hard had a positive effect on the class of my degree.

•  Online shopping has had a negative effect on footfall in the high street.

•  New technology has had the effect of widening our circle of contacts.

•  The old bus timetable had the effect that most students were on time for lectures.

When to use Hyphens

When can a hyphen be used?

A hyphen (-) is a punctuation mark with 3 uses:

• Printing

• Compound words

• Attaching a prefix

Printing

A hyphen is used in printed text to split words that do not fit on a line. Words are split based on syllable boundaries and hyphenation can be automatic (in the word processing software). In academic assignments, hyphens are not used in this way, as this is not an acceptable part of APA 6th edition referencing style (APA 6th edition, 2010, p. 229).

Compound words

Hyphens are used to distinguish meaning in sentences by forming compound words. They are used to clarify when words should be read together. For example, they worked twenty four hour shifts, has 3 possible meanings and this can be clarified using hyphens: 

They worked twenty four-hour shifts, meaning 20 shifts which were 4 hours long. 

They worked twenty-four hour shifts, meaning 24 shifts which were 1 hour long. 

They worked twenty-four-hour shifts, meaning the shifts were 24 hours long.

Attaching a prefix

Hyphens are used to attach a prefix (when the word would be difficult to read without one). For example, when attaching the prefix would cause a double vowel use a hyphen...

• Therefore, metacognitive does not require a hyphen but meta-analysis does.

• Prejudge does not require a hyphen but pre-empt does.

If a prefix is followed by a number or a capital letter, a hyphen is required. For example, anti- European or pre-2010.

The use of a hyphen may be necessary to change meaning. For example, he recovered the book, means that he got it back whereas, he re-covered the book, means he gave it a new cover.

American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

When to use 'I' and When to use 'Me'

What is the difference?

There are certain rules of grammar that we have been taught but have never been fully explained. When to use ‘I’ and when to use ‘me’ is one of them. 

We are often told to say or write ‘I’ rather than ‘me’ and this can lead to confusion. Here is a simple way of helping you to work out which to use.

When do I use I?

I have finished my essay?

You and I like pizza?

Thierry and I support Arsenal?

‘I’ refers to a person performing an action such as finishing an essay, liking pizza or supporting Arsenal. (Singular subject pronoun, in case you are interested)!

When do I use me?

Please give it to me!

That shirt would suit me?

That letter is for me.

‘Me’ refers to the person that the action of the verb is being done to (someone giving them something, a shirt suiting them, or a letter being for them. (Object pronoun for anyone who is a grammar fanatic).

So why the confusion?

The confusion normally occurs when you are talking about ‘I’ or ‘me’ in connection with another person or pronoun.

How do I decide which of them to use?

Top tip: split the sentence.

Is this sentence correct?

Ben and me played tennis yesterday.

No, it’s not, but why not?

Would you say ‘me played tennis yesterday’?

No you wouldn’t!

You would say ‘I played tennis yesterday’.

So the sentence should be: Ben and I played tennis yesterday.

How about this one?

Thank you for sending the chocolates to Yuki and I.

Again this is not correct.

You would not say: Thank you for sending the chocolates to I.

You would say: Thank you for sending the chocolates to me.

So the sentences should say: Thank you for sending the chocolates to Yuki and me.

Recap! Why does it work this way?

When we said that Ben and I played tennis yesterday, Ben and I were doing something, we were performing an action, playing tennis, so you would use ‘I’.

When we thanked someone for sending us chocolates, something had been done to us, we had been sent some chocolates, so we would use ‘me’.

So what do I do?

Don’t worry too much about whether it is a subject pronoun or an object pronoun, just split the sentence.

Think about which one you would use if you were only talking about yourself, you can hardly go wrong doing it that way.

So what about 'myself'?

People sometimes refer to themselves as ‘myself’, you would not use the word ‘myself’ in any of the above situations. You would seldom, if ever use it in academic or reflective writing. Stick to ‘I’ and ‘me’, trust yourself to know when to use myself.

Ben and myself played tennis. ×

Thank you for sending the chocolates to Yuki and myself. ×

If you are interested in grammar you may want to know that ‘myself’ is used with reflexive verbs. These are verbs that describe an action that falls on the subject: 

I told myself not to do it?

I disappointed myself by not getting a high mark.

So what about 'myself'?

People sometimes refer to themselves as ‘myself’, you would not use the word ‘myself’ in any of the above situations. You would seldom, if ever use it in academic or reflective writing. Stick to ‘I’ and ‘me’, trust yourself to know when to use myself.

Ben and myself played tennis. ×

Thank you for sending the chocolates to Yuki and myself. ×

If you are interested in grammar you may want to know that ‘myself’ is used with reflexive verbs. These are verbs that describe an action that falls on the subject: 

I told myself not to do it?

I disappointed myself by not getting a high mark.

When to use Semi-Colons

Why should I avoid using semi-colons?

Semi-colons often make sentences difficult to read.

Before a list always use a full colon (:), not a semi-colon (;).

What should I use instead?

A comma or full stop is almost always a better option than a semi colon. It is often better to either break up your sentence with a comma, or end the sentence and start a new one.

Which should I use and when?

Often, it does not matter which you choose, see example below:

Some people believe the economic downturn of 2008 was caused by Icelandic bankers; however others believe it was caused by sub-prime mortgages.

Could be either:

Some people believe the economic downturn of 2008 was caused by Icelandic bankers. However, others believe it was caused by sub-prime mortgages.

Or:

Some people believe the economic downturn of 2008 was caused by Icelandic bankers, although others believe it was caused by sub-prime mortgages.

As you see you may have to slightly change the wording to break up the sentence.

In academic writing it is advisable to keep your sentences short and clear so often a full stop is the best option. Avoid long sentences broken up by a lot of commas or semi-colons, as they are often more difficult to read and understand and if your marker has difficulty in reading your sentence you may lose marks.

When should I use a semi-colon?

If you are going to give a list, in which any of the listed items contain commas e.g. Portsmouth, Hampshire, and if this is part of a list you will need to put a semi-colon between the items on the list to show that this is part of the same item e.g.:

People travelled a long way to the conference, they came from as far away as: London; Dallas, Texas; Singapore; Nashville, Tennessee and Havant.

If there are not items in the list that need commas between them then you would just use commas to separate the items, e.g.:

The south coast of England has universities in Portsmouth, Southampton, Chichester and Brighton.

The only other way in which a semi-colon is used is if the second part of your sentence contradicts the first and is surprising, e.g :

Everybody said I would fail my final exams, as I didn’t do any work; I got a first.

It was cold and raining; everyone enjoyed the outdoor party immensely.