Grammar

Improve your English grammar

Grammar Explanations and Practice Exercises

  1. Adjectives and Adverbs [RTF] [PDF]
    Learn to identify and use adjectives and adverbs to add detail to your writing

  2. Appositives [RTF] [PDF]
    Learn to use appositives and NPAs to add detail to your sentences

  3. Articles [RTF] [PDF]
    Learn to correctly use a, an and the

  4. Commas [RTF] [PDF]
    Learn to correctly use commas when writing quotes, introductory phrases, series and more

  5. Contractions [RTF] [PDF]
    Learn how correctly use contractions and apostrophes

  6. Coordinators [RTF] [PDF]
    Learn to use the coordinators for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so to join sentences


  7. Dangling Modifiers [RTF] [PDF]
    Learn to identify and correct these incomplete "pretend" sentences

  8. Fragments [RTF] [PDF]
    Learn to identify and correct these incomplete "pretend" sentences

  9. Possessives [RTF] [PDF]
    Learn to  show ownership of things, people or concepts using possessives


  10. Run-Together Sentences [RTF] [PDF]
    Learn to identify and correct improperly joined sentences

  11. Subject Verbs [RTF] [PDF]
    Learn to identify subjects and verbs so that you can write clear, complete sentences

  12. Subject Verb Agreement [RTF] [PDF]
    Learn how to match singular and plural subjects with its corresponding verb form

  13. Subordinators [RTF] [PDF]
    Learn to correctly use subordinators like although, because, and while to join sentences

  14. Verb Tenses [RTF] [PDF]
    Learn to correctly use verb tenses including the past, present, future
Answer Keys to Grammar Exercises
 
1. Adjectives and Adverbs
2. Appositives
3. Articles
4. Commas
5. Contractions
6. Coordinators
7. Dangling Modifiers
8. Fragments
9. Possessives
10. RTS
11. Subject Verbs
12. Subject Verb Agreement
13. Subordinators
14. Verb Tenses

Grammar Websites:

End Punctuation:

Learn more about end of sentence punctuation at

http://www.arts.uottawa.ca/writcent/hypergrammar/endpunct.html

Proofreading for Commas:

If you are looking for strategies to improve your commas at

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_commaproof.html

Comma Rules:

Want to understand how to use your commas? Check out

 http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/commas.htm for all the best info.

Activities for using Commas:

Want more practice working with your commas? Check out these fun games at

 http://www.chompchomp.com/exercises.htm

Quotation Marks:

Are you looking to improve your question mark usage? Check out

http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/quotes.asp to become an expert.

Practice with Quotation Marks

If you want to practice working with question marks, go to

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/quotes_quiz.htm 

Apostrophes:

If you are looking for a great guide on apostrophes, go to

http://www.apostrophe.fsnet.co.uk/

Practice with Apostrophes:

For some extra practice with apostrophes, go check out

 http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_apostEX1.html

Rules for Capitalization:

Are you having trouble with capitalization? If so, you have to check out

http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/capital.asp, which is an excellent resource on the rules of capitalization.

Practice with Capitalization:

For more practice with capitalization, go to

 http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/cgishl/par_numberless_quiz.pl/caps_quiz.htm 

Understanding Verbs:

Do you want to get a better understanding of verbs? Go to

http://grammar.uoregon.edu/verbs/verbs.html for all the verb knowledge you could ever want.

Practice with Verbs:

If you are looking to practice using verbs, go to http://www.uhv.edu/ac/efl/Print.asp?id=48

Subject Verb Agreement:

If you want to learn more about getting subjects and verbs to agree, make sure you check out http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/sv_agr.htm

Practice with Subjects and Verbs:

For more practice making subjects and verbs agree, go to

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/cgi-shl/quiz.pl/sv_agr_quiz.htm

Tense Shift Errors:

If you want to learn more about tense shift errors with verbs, go to

http://www.penandpage.com/EngMenu/gramverb.htm 

Sentence Structure:

If you are looking for a good guide on sentence structure,

 http://www.towson.edu/ows/sentencestruct.htm offers a great guide. 

If you want to practice working with sentences, go to  http://www.gamequarium.com/sentencestucture.html

Sentence Fragments:

If you want to understand sentence fragments, look at  http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/fragments.htm for all the answers.

Do you want to have fun while you practice fixing sentence fragments? If so, go to

 http://www.chompchomp.com/frag01/frag01.htm

Run-on & Comma Splice:

Learn more about run-on & comma splice errors at

http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/punct/csfsro.html

Practice fixing run-on & comma splice errors at

 http://instruct.uwo.ca/cgi-bin/geniq/writing/wg/iq/mod3tests/qrunonsplice.txt

Have fun fixing run-on & comma splice errors at  http://www.chompchomp.com/csfs01/csfs01.01.htm

Understanding Nouns:

Practice working with nouns at http://depts.dyc.edu/learningcenter/owl/exercises/nouns_ex2.htm

Work on your noun skills at

 http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/330/grammar/irrplu1.htm

Recognizing Pronouns:

Learn more about pronouns at http://www.uccs.edu/~wrtgcntr/handouts/pronouns.html

Have fun practicing your pronoun skills at

 http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/pronomen.htm

Pronoun Reference & Agreement:

Guide: http://www.arts.uottawa.ca/writcent/hypergrammar/pronref.html

Reference Practice: http://www.towson.edu/ows/exerciseproref.htm

Reference Practice: http://www.smpcollege.com/guidebook/exercise_05.htm

Agreement Practice: http://www.towson.edu/ows/exercisep-aagr.htm

Subject & Object Pronoun Errors:

Guide: http://www.liis.lv/eng_learn/Houses/Gram_Houses.htm

Object Practice: http://cuip.uchicago.edu/www4teach/97/jlyman/default/quiz/obproquiz.html

Object Practice:

http://www.james.rtsq.qc.ca/Virtgram/objpron.htm

Using Relative Pronouns:

Examples: http://englishplus.com/grammar/00000370.htm

Practice: http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/relative-clauses/exercises?02

Practice: http://perso.wanadoo.es/autoenglish/gr.relative.p.htm

Understanding Modifiers:

Example & Practice: http://www.lynchburg.edu/x2397.xml

Practice: http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/cgi-shl/quiz.pl/modifier_quiz.htm

Misplaced & Dangling Modifiers:

The University of Oregon has an excellent web site about misplaced & dangling modifiers at: http://oregonstate.edu/dept/eli/buswrite/misplaced_modifiers.html

Guilford College has put together some excellent practice exercises at

http://www.guilford.edu/about_guilford/services_and_administration/lc/grammarland/practice_dangling.html

ESL Resources

ESL Grammar: Noun, Articles, & Qualifiers

If you want to practice working with articles, go to  http://www.learn4good.com/languages/evrd_grammar/article_ex.htm

If you want help working with indefinite and definite articles, go practice your skills at

 http://www.learn4good.com/languages/evrd_grammar/articles.htm

Want more help with qualifiers? Take the qualifiers quiz at

http://www.english-test.net/esl/learn/english/grammar/ei074/esl-test.php

ESL Grammar: Using English Verb Combinations 

The English Page has put together a comprehensive guide to all the English language verbs. The site also has some excellent practice exercises, so check it out at

http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbtenseintro.html

Reference Websites

  1. Bedford Handbook:
    http://dianahacker.com/bedhandbook/
    This website is companion to the Bedford Handbook, which is loaded on the computers in The Learning Center.

  2. Merriam-Webster's Dictionary:
    http://www.m-w.com

 

 
 
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