10 Vital Grammar Rules and Best Writing

Practices
The best writing follows the rules of grammar (or breaks those rules only with good
reason) and is clear, coherent, and consistent.

Most writers dont want their work to be weak or dull. We want our writing to be
strong and vibrant. If we learn the grammar rules and adopt best practices in the
craft, our writing can shine.

Here are ten of most frequently ignored (or unknown) grammar rules and writing
practices:

1. Commas:
The comma is the most common punctuation mark and the most misused. Its a
tricky one because the rules are scarce, leaving usage up to style guides and
writers best judgement. In weak writing, there are too few or too many commas.
Be consistent in how you use commas and strike the right balance.

2. Verb tense:
The topic of tense warrants an article of its own (or maybe an entire book).
There are multiple tenses beyond past, present, and future, and they are worth
knowing. Be especially careful of mixing up simple past tense (I danced all
night) and past perfect tense (I had danced all night).

3. Adjectives vs. adverbs:

People dont run quick; they run quickly. The word quick is an
adjective; quickly is an adverb. Make sure youre using adverbs to modify verbs
and adjectives to modify nouns.

4. Check your homophones:

Homophones are little devils because spell check wont catch them and they
often sneak past editors eyes. Too many youngsters arent taught proper
homophone use (in other words, they dont know spellings or definitions of their
vocabulary). From common sets of homophones like theyre, their, and there to
more advanced words like complement and compliment, it pays to learn proper
usage and to proofread meticulously.

5. Rare or uncommon punctuation marks:

If you decide to use a punctuation mark like the ellipsis (three dots) or
semicolon (comma with a period over it), then take the time to learn what its
called and how to use it properly.
 6. Subject-verb agreement:
The subject of a sentence needs to match the verb. Due to verb conjugation,
this is especially tricky for people who speak English as a second language and
for tots who are learning to speak. Heres an example of a common
mistake: She have two cats. The verb have does not go with the subject she. It
should be She has two cats.

7. Only proper nouns are capitalized:

For some reason, a lot of people have taken it upon themselves to freely
capitalize any words they think are important, a practice that is rampant in
business writing. The Product is on Sale now is not a grammatically correct
sentence.

8. Verb tense consistency and meticulous editing:

These errors are often the result of shoddy editing and proofreading. A sentence
that was originally in perfect past tense is changed to simple past tense, but one
of the words in the sentence is overlooked, and you end up with something
like She went to the store and had shopped for produce.

9. Shouldve, couldve, wouldve:

I dont know why, but a lot of people seem to think the ve in these words
means of. But its short for have. These words are contractions for should
have, could have, and would have, respectively NOT should of, could
of, or would of.

10. Consistency is key:

Grammar rules dont cover everything. As a writer, you will constantly be
challenged to make judicious decisions about how to construct your sentences
and paragraphs. Always be consistent. Keeping a style guide handy will be a
tremendous help.

Of course, this list is just a taste of grammar rules and best writing practices that
are often overlooked.