Getting grammar right is one of the absolute essentials when you decide to take up content writing as a career. Oops…did a crooked red line appear under “rghit”? Luckily, Microsoft Word caught it. Still, let’s not correct it right now. We need “rghit” to show you why grammar or spelling errors can ruin an otherwise amazing piece of content (in this case, the introduction). Though close to 1.3 billion people speak English all over the world, few can master it. Even if you are a native English speaker, being careful about common grammar errors and confusing words is helpful. However, we understand that learning grammar from the ground up or cracking open a dictionary every time you write can be a challenge. To make matters simple, we will share handy tips or a grammar cheat sheet on how you can avoid basic mistakes with commas, and apostrophes, and use commonly confused words (like compliment and complement) correctly. Though you can use smart tools like Grammarly or Spellcheckplus these days to catch errors, there’s nothing like the human eye. So, let’s get started with those tips. 1. To Capitalize or Not If you think that this rule only belongs to a book like ‘Grammar for Dummies’, think again! Even experienced writers tend to goof up often. So, to clear it up, proper nouns should always start with a capital letter, be it a place, brand or someone’s name. Example – Did you try the latest shampoo by Dove? It does wonders for my hair. Example – Can you ask Mary to clean up in the evening? Now, when it comes to names, don’t confuse them with the titles we usually give to our family members, like dad, mom, grandma etc. Unless the title can be replaced with a name, start with a small letter. Example – My dad knows how to fix bikes. Example – Annie, my sister, sings so well. Also Read: Content Writing Tips For Beginners 2. Stay Away from Vague Pronouns Does the sentence below sound alright to you? “After Sonia played for almost an hour with her dog Coco, she decided to chase squirrels. “ – Who exactly decided to chase squirrels? Sonia? Not likely! Vague pronouns can distort the meaning of a sentence and leave the reader wondering about the authenticity of the content. The above sentence should have been crafted this way – “After playing with her for almost an hour, Sonia’s dog Coco decided to chase squirrels”. 3. The Rule for Common Abbreviations Do you often get confused between i.e. and e.g.? Well, you are not alone. So, we decided to keep things simple and straight in this English grammar cheat sheet: i.e. is the abbreviation of the Latin phrase for ‘id est’, which means ‘that is’ in English. e.g. is also derived by abbreviating the Latin phrase ‘exempli gratia’, which means ‘for the sake of example’ in English. Hence, wherever you have to offer examples, use e.g. Example – Choose from popular content formats; for e.g. case studies, blog posts, articles and e-books. When you need to explain a sentence in detail, you should use i.e. Example – A spider is an arthropod i.e. it belongs to the family of invertebrate animals that have exoskeletons. 4. Use Comma Only Where You Should Using a comma before “that” is wrong as you are introducing a restrictive clause with “that”. Wrong – The vase, that shattered on the floor was old. Right – The vase that shattered on the floor was old. Also, you should not use a comma to separate sentences that are independent clauses. You should use a semicolon or full stop instead. Wrong – Susan was looking for salad bowls, there were no shops selling them. Right – Susan was looking for salad bowls. There were no shops selling them. [/vc_row] However, if you have to connect two independent clauses, using a comma is advisable. Wrong – After I washed the dishes I put them away. Right – After I washed the dishes, I put them away. 5. All About Quotation Marks No grammar rules cheat sheet is complete without this tip. If you are writing in US English, full stops and commas should be inside quotation marks. In the case of UK English, they can be inside or outside. Example – “It rained last night.” (As this blog post is in US English) When you are using an exclamation point or question mark, it should be inside the quotation marks, if the tone of the quotation is exclamatory or questioning. Example – “Do you come here often?” Note that dashes, colons and semicolons must be outside quotation marks always. Example (dash) – Roy said, “I like pies” – just when his friend offered him muffins. Example (colon) – He chose his favorite book from the works of Charles Dickens: “Great Expectations”. Example (semicolon) – Dan’s favorite quote is “Live and let live”; he uses it almost every day. Confused about when to use double quotation and single quotation marks? Follow this rule. Use double quotation marks while 1) Writing a standard quote or quoting another person. 2) Mentioning the name of a movie or book. 3) Indicating irony or sneering at something (like – No “good” pilot fears heights) Use single quotation marks while 1) Using a quote within another quote. Example – The bartender said, “There was absolute silence when the customer screamed ‘This is poison!’ “ Differentiate between quote and quotation – Though many writers use quote and quotation interchangeably, they are different. Quote is a verb you use to quote someone, or to say what he or she said. Quotation is a noun used to describe whatever you are quoting. 6. Don’t Keep the Participle Dangling A sentence like “A running man hit the pole” is an example of a sentence that uses an adjective-like participle (running). It basically tells you what the noun (man) was doing when he hit the pole.
