Writing Tips

Going Back to School – Basic Grammar Rules - Paid Online Writing Jobs

Since you are trying to be a freelance writer, it may seem silly to write an article about basic grammar, but you would be surprised at how many writers forget about the basic parts of speech and the basic rules of grammar. Even experienced writers sometimes make silly mistakes when it comes to something like grammar. So, stop rolling your eyes, and let’s have a grammatical refresher course, shall we?

First, and foremost, remember the parts of speech:

Noun – person, place, or thing and usually the subject of a sentence
Pronoun – a word that stands for a noun (i.e. Sophie/she)
Verb – an action word, must be present to make a complete sentence
Adjective – a describing word for the noun
Adverb – a describing word for the verb, usually ends in “ly”, can also describe an adjective
Preposition – a word indicating the relationship of the noun to another word (to, at, for, with)
A complete sentence will have a subject and a verb/predicate. The subject is what the sentence’s verb refers to; the predicate is the verb plus whatever other parts modify or elaborate on that verb. A phrase, as opposed to a sentence, is an expression that contains a single thought but isn’t necessarily a complete sentence on its own. Words make up phrases, and phrases make up sentences.

Some common grammatical sentence errors include the following:

Run-On Sentence – This is a sentence that should be broken into two sentences. One of the sentences should present one basic concept. If it presents more than one, it could be a run-on sentence. Run-on sentences are generally quite long and contain a large number of “and’s” and “but’s” along with other joining words.

Sentence Fragment – This type of sentence does not present a complete thought. Remember, a complete sentence should contain both a sentence and a verb. If these two components are not present in a phrase, it is a sentence fragment.
When it comes to sentence structure, you will want to make sure that you are keeping with the point of view you have started with. This is called tense and will present itself in either past, present, or future. If you are writing a phrase in present tense, the verb should be in present tense. For example, “I am writing” is in present tense, denoting what you are doing right now. Past tense of this same sentence would be “I wrote”, and future tense would be “I will be writing”.

We should also briefly touch on passive and active verbs. A verb is active when the subject is performing it. A verb is passive when the subject is the recipient of the verb. In general, passive verb construction is considered weak and is not usually recommended in professional writing.

Pay attention to your sentences and phrases. In another article, we will cover punctuation of our sentence, but sentence structure is just as important as what you are writing about. You don’t want to look like an amateur, which is why basic grammar is so important to know and to remember!