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Writing & Communication : Grammar & Punctuation
Grammar and Punctuation: sub-module 2 of 2 of editing and proofreading
The last step in the editing process is ensuring your grammar and punctuation is accurate. Familiarize yourself with sentence structure, parallelism, punctuation, articles and prepositions if you are not sure. Proofread your writing for the smaller errors like spelling or typos that can trip your reader.
Tips
- Use the spell check and grammar check features of your word processing software.
These tools are not perfect, but they can help. - Read your work out loud.
Your ear can sometimes be more helpful than your eye. If it doesn’t sound right to you, it probably isn’t. - Consider reading your writing from the end to the beginning.
You may not see an error if you read from the beginning to the end because the brain overpowers the eye. It knows what you wanted to say and therefore may ‘see’ what it wants to see and not what is actually there. - Use a pencil to point to each word.
This is another technique to make you focus on what you have actually written, not what you think you have written. - Consider working with a partner at this stage.
A partner may spot mistakes that you have missed.
Study Tools
- Higher Order and Lower Order Concerns - Opens in a new windowUse this tip sheet to help you know what you should be looking at in each phase of the revision process.
- Prefixes and Suffixes Opens in a new windowUse this list of prefixes and suffixes as a reference for your writing.
- Proofreading Checklist Opens in a new windowUse this checklist as a guide when you are proofreading your writing.
What to Consider When Editing Your Writing
Sentence Error Correction
Complete the activities or read the text below to learn about the types of sentences.
Type of Sentences Activity Accessible PDF VersionRun-on Sentences Activity Accessible PDF Version
There are three main types of grammatically correct sentences: simple sentences, compound sentences, and complex sentences. When a sentence is not constructed correctly, it can sometimes be known as a run-on sentence. Read more about each type of sentence below:
A simple sentence consists of one independent clause, which means that it normally has a single subject and a single verb (although it can have compound subjects or verbs), and expressing a complete thought.
- E.g. Frank bought his books at the campus store.
Sentences fall into four types based on their functions or the jobs that they do.
- E.g. Going to college just might be the wisest decision you’ve made.
- E.g. Did you finish your lab report?
- E.g. This examination is now over. Complete your sentence and stop writing.
- E.g. I can’t believe that I got an A!
You can combine simple sentences to create compound sentences.
A compound sentence consists of two simple sentences (independent clauses) that are joined by a comma followed by a coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS= for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so).
Examples:
- Frank bought his books at the campus bookstore, but Jenny bought hers at Octopus Books.[The conjunction but signals a contrast]
- She is a good researcher and he is a strong writer, so it makes sense for them to collaborate.[This sentence illustrates addition and consequence.]
Complex sentences consist of at least one independent clause and one dependent clause. A dependent clause contains a subject and a verb, but does not express a complete thought.
If the dependent clause appears first, it is followed by a comma. There is no comma when the independent clause is followed by a dependent clause.
Examples:
- When his class ended, Pierre bought his books at the campus bookstore.
- Pierre bought his books at the campus bookstore when his class ended.
Complex sentences show relationships between the independent clause and the dependent clause, such as time or cause and effect.
Examples:
- Cause and effect: Because she actually studied for the midterm exam, she did better than she had on the in-class quizzes.
- Time: When his class ended, Pierre bought his books at the campus bookstore.
A run-on sentence is a sentence in which two or more independent clauses are joined without either a semi-colon or a comma with a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so). There are two types of run-on sentences fused sentences and comma splices.
A fused sentence happens when independent clauses are merged without any punctuation or coordinating conjunctions.
- E.g. The boy is sad he is crying.
A comma splice occurs when two or more independent clauses are joined only by a comma.
- E.g. The boy is sad, he is crying.
There are several ways to correct a run-on sentence:
- Break the run-on sentence into two separate sentences. E.g. The boy is sad. He is crying.
- Join the two clauses with a comma and a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so). E.g. The boy is sad, so he is crying.
- Join the two clauses with a semi-colon. E.g. The boy is sad; he is crying.
- Join the two clauses with a semi-colon and a conjunctive adverb. E.g. The boy is sad; therefore, he is crying.
- Change one of the two independent clauses into a dependent clause. E.g. The boy is crying because he is sad.
Learn How to Use Common Punctuation
Learn about common punctuation marks in the activity or in the text below.
Using Commas, Semi-Colons, and Colon Activity Accessible PDF VersionThe type of punctuation mark you use will depend on the sentence you are writing. Use the guidelines below to help you determine when you should use a comma, a semi-colon, or a colon.
Use a comma:
An independent clause is a group of words with at least one subject and one verb that can stand alone as its own sentence. A coordinating conjunction is a word (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) that joins two independent clauses. When you are joining two independent clauses with a coordinating conjunction, use a comma, followed by the coordinating conjunction.
Examples:
- I wanted to go, but I couldn’t afford to buy a ticket.
- You should pay your bills on time, or you will have to pay interest.
Memory tip for coordinating conjunctions: To help you remember all the coordinating conjunctions, use the mnemonic FANBOYS which stands for for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so
Do not use a comma as a period (comma splice)
When there are two sentences, a comma alone cannot be used to connect the two sentences, for this would be a comma splice. One can instead use one of the following three options: 1) a period; 2) a comma followed by a coordinating conjunction; 3) a semicolon (if the two sentences/independent clauses are related in meaning).
When three or more items are listed in a series, a comma is placed between the items. Examples:
- We purchased pork, rice, and broccoli at the grocery store.
- Mary wrote a letter of complaint to the clerk, to the manager, and to the CEO.
Remember, for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so are the coordinating conjunctions.
When two or more adjectives are used to describe a noun, put a comma between the adjectives.
- E.g. He drives an old, beat-up car.
Caution: Sometimes, using a comma to separate listed adjectives is not necessary. In order to find out if it is necessary, you should apply these two tests:
- If you were to switch the order of the adjectives, would the sentence still be complete and clear?
- E.g. He drives a beat-up, old car.
- If you were to add ‘and’ between the adjectives, would the sentence still be complete and clear?
- E.g. He drives an old and beat-up car.
If these two tests prove to be successful, use a comma to separate the two adjectives.
Any material that can be left out of the sentence without changing the main idea is nonessential. This information is known as a non-restrictive adjective clause.
There are two ways to separate this non-essential material from the rest of the sentence:
When the non-restrictive adjective clause is in the middle of a sentence, commas should be placed before and after.
- E.g. Sandy Smith, who went to Seneca College, is the CEO.
If you were to remove ‘who went to Seneca College’, the sentence would still be complete and clear.
- E.g. Sandy Smith is the CEO.
When the non-restrictive adjective clause is at the end of a sentence, it should be preceded by a comma and followed by a period.
- E.g. The bottle is in my coat, which you can find in the closet.
If you were to remove ‘which you can find in the closet’, the sentence would still be complete and clear.
- E.g. The water bottle is in my coat.
Transitions are words or phrases that connect the ideas of one sentence to another or one paragraph to another.
When a transitional word (therefore, however, thus, first, second, etc.) or phrase is used, a comma is placed after it.
- E.g. First, I took out my keys, and then, I unlocked the door.
You can use commas to separate a word or group of words that interrupt the flow of the sentence. Examples:
- The fact is, Phil, that I feel quite unhappy about it.
- Bagels, for example, are delicious with cream cheese.
Some expressions that are generally set off with commas include: however, in fact, at any rate, of course I think, therefore, by the way, finally.
When a direct quotation is used, a comma is placed after the word that declares the direct quotation.
- E.g. Her sister said, “I think I’m in love.”
When a direct quotation is before the declaring word, a comma is placed at the end of the quotation within the quotation marks.
- E.g. “I’m playing with my Barbies,” replied Susie.
A dependent clause is a phrase that cannot stand alone – it needs an independent clause to make sense. Dependent clauses often contain words that indicate time (e.g. From, After, While, When, etc.).
For example:
- Unclear: From the beginning the end of the film was obvious.
- Clear: From the beginning, the end of the film was obvious.
When you write out a date, use a comma to separate the day from the month, and to separate the date from the year.
- E.g. Saturday, September 12, 1959.
When you write out an address, use a comma between the street address and the city, and between the city and the province or territory.
- E.g. 100 Hilda Ave., Willowdale, Ontario.
Use a semi-colon:
The semicolon marks the dividing point in a compound sentence (a sentence made up of two independent clauses that are not joined by a coordinating conjunction).
Examples:
- The policeman parked at the corner; he was hoping to stop speeders.
- The manager had a good sense of humour; nevertheless, he was strict.
The semicolon is useful in punctuating major sentence elements which themselves contain commas.
- E.g. We visited several schools, colleges, and universities; many churches, offices, and factories; and a number of public buildings.
Use a colon:
The colon is principally used to introduce a list in conjunction with such words as following or as follows. The colon may only be used after an independent clause.
Examples:
- Several Canadian authors attended the conference: Robertson Davies, Sheila Watson, Timothy Findlay, John Marlyn, and Joy Kogawa.
- The sports I enjoy are as follows: hockey, soccer, badminton, and swimming.
Learn About Prepositions and How to Use Them
Learn about prepositions in the activity or in the text below.
Using Prepositions Activity Accessible PDF VersionA preposition connects a noun or a pronoun with other parts of a sentence. It usually indicates direction, location or time.
- E.g. The girl on the horse raced by. — "on" (the preposition) connects the girl and the horse.
Common prepositions
about, before, down, of, toward, above, below, during, off, under, across, beneath, for, on, until, after, beside, from, onto, up, against, between, in, over, upon, along, beyond, inside, since, with, among, by, into, through, within, around, concerning, like, throughout, without, at, despite, near, to
Prepositions that contain more than one word
according to, by way of, in spite of, ahead of, contrary to, in view of, apart from, due to, instead of, as for, in addition to, by means of, as well as, in case of, out of, because of, in place of
Prepositions of time
- One point in time
- on (use with days, but it can sometime be left out in informal writing)
- at (use with noon, night, midnight, or with the time of day)
- in (use with other parts of the day, with months, with years, with seasons)
- Extended time
- since, for (sometimes left out in informal writing when there’s a definite quantity), by, from...to, from...until, during, (with)in.
A prepositional phrase occurs when a preposition is followed by a noun, with or without an article or a possessive pronoun in between. Prepositional phrases can have three functions: adjectival, adverbial, nominal.
Adjectival Prepositional Phrases
An adjectival prepositional phrase functions as an adjective. It appears after the noun it modifies.
- E.g. The most beautiful building on our campus has lots of natural light.
Adverbial Prepositional Phrases
An adverbial propositional phrase functions as an adverb. It has three possible positions in a sentence:
- Initial: In spite of her handicap, the blind girl did well in school.
- Middle: The blind girl, in spite of her handicap, did well in school.
- Final: The blind girl did well in school in spite of her handicap.
Nominal Prepositional Phrases
A nominal prepositional phrase functions as a noun. Like a noun, it can be the subject of a sentence (1), the object of the verb (2), or the subject complement (3). Nominal phrases can appear on either side of a verb.
For example:
- Subject of a sentence: His failure to commit cost him the loss of a great relationship.
- The object of the verb: His failure to commit cost him the loss of a great relationship.
- The subject complement: She is the top student in the course.
Learn How to Use Articles Correctly
Articles are words that appear before nouns and give us information about the noun that they appear with, such as whether the noun is specific or non-specific. There are three articles that you can choose from: ‘the’, ‘an’, and ‘a’. Most nouns will be accompanied by one of these articles, although some types of nouns do not have an article.
Use the boxes below to determine which article you should use in various situations. You can also download the Tip sheet for Article Use opens in new window for future reference.
Use ‘the’ before proper nouns that are plural and that don’t express a nationality or membership.
For example:
- The Calgary Flames won the game.
- The Snowbirds are impressive.
Use ‘the’ before the name of a river, ocean, or historical period.
For example:
- The Nile is long.
- The Sixties were wild.
Use ‘the’ before proper nouns that express a nationality or membership and that are specific.
For example:
- The British are coming.
- The Canadian brought tourtière.
-
Use ‘the’ before countable common nouns that are specific.
For example:
- Fill the glass.
- Call the students.
Use ‘the’ before uncountable common nouns that are specific.
For example:
- Plant the rice.
- The sand in P.E.I. is red.
Use ‘a’ before proper nouns that express a nationality or membership, are singular, non-specific, and begin with a consonant sound.
For example:
- He is a Mason.
- A Scott made this cabinet.
Use ‘an’ before proper nouns that express a nationality or membership, are singular, non-specific, and begin with a vowel sound.
For example:
- I met an American.
- An Italian painted this picture.
Use ‘a’ before countable common nouns that are singular, non-specific, and begin with a consonant sound.
For example:
- I read a book.
- I found a unicorn.
Use ‘an’ before countable common nouns that are singular, non-specific, and begin with a vowel sound.
For example:
- I ate an apple.
- I saw an old man.
Do not use an article before proper nouns that don’t express a nationality or membership, that are singular, and that are not the name of a river, ocean, or historical period.
For example:
- I am in Canada.
- Bob works here.
Do not use an article before proper nouns that express a nationality or membership, and that are plural and nonspecific.
For example:
- Canadians vote.
- Australians do well in swimming events.
Do not use an article before countable common nouns that are plural and non-specific.
For example:
- He likes cars.
- Students like to study here.
Do not use an article before uncountable common nouns that are non-specific.
For example:
- Water is wet.
- I am against war.
Learn About The Parallelism Principle and How to Use It
Learn about the parallelism principle in the activity or in the text below.
The Parallelism Principle Activity Accessible PDF VersionWhen writing items in a series, you must be sure that all of the items are parallel; that is, the items must be written in the same grammatical form. For example, if the first two verbs in a sentence end in '–ing', the third verb should also end in '–ing'.
Example:
- Correct: "I like camping, fishing, and hiking." is correct because all three verbs end in '–ing'.
- Correct: "I like to camp, to fish, and to hike." is correct because all three verbs are in the inflictive form of the verb.
- Incorrect: "I like camping, fishing, and to hike." is incorrect because two of the verbs end in '–ing', but the last verb (to hike) is the infinitive form of the verb.
Rule: Correct faulty parallelism by giving the same grammatical form to all of the items in a series.
One way to determine whether all the items in a list are parallel is to picture (or actually write) the items in list form, one below the other. That way, you can make sure that all the elements are in the same grammatical form – they are all words, or phrases, or clauses.
Note: Sentences that are not in parallel form sound awkward, and sometimes the meaning is unclear. By making sure that your sentences are in parallel form, your writing will flow better, and your ideas will be clearer.
Example:
Consider the following sentence: “Sharon is kind, considerate, and likes to help.” Write the items in list form:
Sharon is:
- Kind
- Considerate
- Likes to help
The last item is not in the same grammatical form as the first two items; therefore, the sentence is not parallel.
Hint: If you read the third item in place of the first item, it does not work – “Sharon is likes to help” is not grammatically correct. However, you can reword the sentence: “Sharon is kind, considerate, and helpful.”
Write the items in list form:
Sharon is:
- Kind
- Considerate
- Helpful
All three items are in the same grammatical form; therefore, the sentence is parallel.
| Not Parallel | Parallel |
|---|---|
| I support myself by tending bar, playing piano, and shoot pool. | I support myself by tending bar, playing piano, and shooting pool. |
| Her upbringing made her neat, polite, and an obnoxious person. | Her upbringing made her neat, polite, and obnoxious. |
| Gordon tried to do what is right, different things, and make a profit. | Gordon tries to do what is right, what is different, and what is profitable. |
| With his mind sharp, by having the boss as his uncle, and few enemies, he’ll go far. | With his sharp mind, the boss as his uncle, and few enemies, he’ll go far. |
Understanding Prefixes and Suffixes
Prefixes and suffixes are groups of letters that can be added to the root of many words to modify the meaning of those words. Learn prefixes and suffixes to quickly improve your vocabulary.
Here are some examples of prefixes and suffixes that you can use in your writing.
A prefix is added to beginning of a word.
-
Prefix: Hyper-
Meaning: Over, more than
Example: Hypersonic, hypersensitive -
Prefix: Hypo-
Meaning: Under, less than
Example: Hypodermic, hypoglycemia -
Prefix: Inter-
Meaning: Between, connecting
Example: Intervene, international -
Prefix: Mega-
Meaning: Enlarge, large
Example: Megaphone -
Prefix: Micro-
Meaning: Tiny
Example: micrometer, microscopic -
Prefix: Neo-
Meaning: Recent, new
Example: Neologism, neophyte -
Prefix: Post-
Meaning: After
Example: Postwar, postscript -
Prefix: Pre-
Meaning: Before
Example: Previous, prepublication -
Prefix: Pro-
Meaning: Before, onward
Example: Project, propel -
Prefix: Re-
Meaning: Again, back
Example: Review, recreate -
Prefix: Sub-
Meaning: Under, beneath
Example: Subhuman, submarine -
Prefix: Super-
Meaning: Over, above
Example: Supercargo, superimpose -
Prefix: Syn-
Meaning: At the same time
Example: Synonym, synchronize -
Prefix: Trans-
Meaning: Across, over
Example: Transport, transition
A suffix is added to the end of a word.
-
Suffix: -acy
Meaning: State or quality
Example: Democracy, privacy -
Suffix: -al
Meaning: Act of
Example: Rebuttal, refusal -
Suffix: -ance, -ence
Meaning: State or quality of
Example: Maintenance, eminence -
Suffix: -dom
Meaning: Place or state of being
Example: Freedom, thralldom -
Suffix: -er, -or
Meaning: One who
Example: Trainer, investor -
Suffix: -ism
Meaning: doctrine or belief
Example: Liberalism, Taoism -
Suffix: -ist
Meaning: Characteristic of one who
Example: Organist, physicist -
Suffix: -ity
Meaning: Quality of
Example: Veracity, opacity -
Suffix: -ness
Meaning: State of being
Example: Watchfulness, cleanliness -
Suffix: -ship
Meaning: Position held
Example: Professorship, fellowship -
Suffix: -sion, -tion
Meaning: State of being or action
Example: Digression, transition
Verb suffixes are added to the end of word roots to create verbs.
-
Suffix: -ate
Meaning: Cause to be
Example: Concentrate, regulate -
Suffix: -en
Meaning: Cause to be or become
Example: Enliven, blacken -
Suffix: -ify, -fy
Meaning: Make or cause to become
Example: Unify, terrify, amplify -
Suffix: -ize
Meaning: Cause to become
Example: Magnetize, civilize
Adjective suffixes are added to the end of word roots to create adjectives.
-
Suffix: -able, -ible
Meaning: Capable of being
Example: Assumable, edible -
Suffix: -al
Meaning: Pertaining to
Example: Regional, political -
Suffix: -esque
Meaning: Reminiscent of
Example: Picturesque, statuesque -
Suffix: -ful
Meaning: Having a notable quality
Example: Colourful, sorrowful -
Suffix: -ic
Meaning: Pertaining to
Example: Poetic, mythic -
Suffix: -ish
Meaning: Having the quality of
Example: Prudish, clownish -
Suffix: -ious, -ous
Meaning: Of or characterized by
Example: Famous, nutritious -
Suffix: -ive
Meaning: Having the nature of
Example: Active, aggressive