SOME (HELPFUL) ESSENTIAL RULES OF GRAMMAR

1. To join two independent clauses, use a comma followed by a conjunction, a semicolon alone, or a semicolon followed by a sentence modifier.

NO: The policeman knew he carried a dangerous item, but still continued unafraid.
YES: The policeman knew he carried a dangerous item, but he still continued unafraid.

NO: My footy coach doesn't know how to play, he should have coached another sport.
YES: My footy coach doesn't know how to play; he should have coached another sport.

NO: Greg hadn’t changed much physically; but had intelligence far above that of anyone else.
YES: Greg hadn’t changed much physically, but he had intelligence far above that of anyone else.

2. Use commas to bracket non-restrictive phrases, which are not essential to the sentence's meaning.

NO: The bus driver with her ears tuned to the roar decided to take the grumbling bus on a detour across the football field.
YES: The bus driver, her ears tuned to the roar, decided to take the grumbling bus on a detour across the football field.

NO: My window as dirty as it is frames the beauty of nature on a snowy morning.

YES: My window, as dirty as it is, frames the beauty of nature on a snowy morning.

NO: Fat Boy Slim with his unique musical sound has captivated audiences all over the world.
YES: Fat Boy Slim, with his unique musical sound, has captivated audiences all over the world.

3. Do not use commas to bracket phrases that are essential to a sentence's meaning.

NO: The girl, who was so mean to me, had very few friends.
YES: The girl who was so mean to me had very few friends.

NO: The cats, with six toes, are a unique attraction of the city museum.
YES: The cats with six toes are a unique attraction of the city museum.
4. When beginning a sentence with an introductory phrase, include a comma.

NO: After buying a Jaguar for himself he set off in search of a BMW for his girlfriend.
YES: After buying a Jaguar for himself, he set off in search of a BMW for his girlfriend.

NO: With this he knew his happiness was complete.

YES: With this, he knew his happiness was complete.

NO: As she began to gain independence it was natural for baby Sue to try and touch things that were dangerous.
YES: As she began to gain independence, it was natural for baby Sue to try and touch things that were dangerous.

5. To indicate possession, end a singular noun with an apostrophe followed by an 's'. Otherwise, the noun's form seems plural.

NO: Though the lobsters claws were bound, the creature made a threatening gesture as they dropped it in the pot.
YES: Though the lobster's claws were bound, the creature made a threatening gesture as they dropped it in the pot.

YES: In a democracy, anyone's vote counts as much as mine.

NO: In a democracy, anyone's vote counts as much as mine.

YES: There is a big age difference between Victors mother and his father.
NO: There is a big age difference between Victor's mother and his father.

6. Use proper punctuation to integrate a quotation into a sentence. If the introductory material is an independent clause, add the quotation after a colon.
If the introductory material ends in "replied," "said," or some other verb indicating expression, use a comma. If the person is only thinking (not saying)
something, then the thoughts are written in capital letters (handwritten work), or in italics (word processed work).

NO: Tumbling down the hill, Jack yelled: "Damn, I'm sick of this!"
YES: Tumbling down the hill, Jack yelled, "Damn, I'm sick of this!"

NO: Her letter spoke to him in harsh tones, "You are the ugliest man I have ever met!"
YES: Her letter spoke to him in harsh tones: " You are the ugliest man I have ever met!"

NO: John looked at his watch and saw the time, “Oh, no! I’m late!”
YES: John looked at his watch and saw the time: “Oh, no! I’m late!”

NO: “Daam it,” Susan thought, “I’m going to miss the bus!”
YES: “Daam it,” Susan thought, “I’m going to miss the bus!”
7. Make the subject and verb agree with each other, not with a word that comes between them.

NO: The Christmas dinner, including the chickens and turkeys, were devoured by the Rex the naughty puppy.
YES: The Christmas dinner, including the chickens and turkeys, was devoured by the Rex the naughty puppy.

NO: The car, as well as its contents, were gone.

YES: The car, as well as its contents, was gone.

NO: The girl, along with her classmates, like the new teacher.
YES: The girl, along with her classmates, likes the new teacher.

8. Be sure that a pronoun, a participial phrase, or an appositive refers clearly to the proper subject. An appositive is a noun or noun phrase that renames
another noun right beside it. The appositive can be a short or long combination of words.
Look at this example: The insect, a cockroach, is crawling across the kitchen table.

NO: Its hump decorated in strings of flowers, the man rode the camel through the food court at Stockland.
YES: The man rode the camel, its hump decorated in strings of flowers, through the food court at Stockland.

NO: Even though he had bald tyres and a leaking petrol tank, Peter still drove out west.
YES: Peter still drove his car out west, even though it had bald tyres and a leaking petrol tank.

9. Use parallel construction to make a strong point and create a smooth flow.

NO: I was glad to be departing for Australia but I was nervous when I left my apartment.
YES: I was glad to be departing for Australia but nervous to be leaving my apartment.

NO: The system excels at tasks such as communicating with other computers, processing records, and mathematical calculations.
YES: The system excels at tasks such as communicating with other computers, processing records, and calculating mathematical equations.

10. Use the active voice unless you specifically need to use the passive.

NO: A refund was given to him by the department store.

YES: The department store gave him a refund.

NO: A good score was achieved by the team.

YES: The team achieved a good score.

NO: A box of chocolates and a dozen roses were presented to the girl by her boyfriend
YES: The boyfriend presented a box of chocolates and a dozen roses to the girl.
11. Leave out unnecessary words and use adverbs, adjectives, metaphors and similes where possible.

NO: I would like to say that that boy should be considered to be an idiot.
YES: That boy is an idiot.

NO: It would be safe to say that Shane Warne is not the only player in the Australian Cricket team to consider retirement in 2007.
YES: Shane Warne isn’t the only Australian Cricket Team player to consider retirement in 2007.

NO: Before going to the supermarket, we made a list of the groceries we needed in order to make the food that we intended to eat for dinner.
YES: Before going to the supermarket, we made a list of groceries that we needed for dinner.

NO: Without a doubt, the film Pirates of the Caribbean was one of the best films I saw last year.
YES: Pirates of the Caribbean was the best film I saw in 2007.

NO: When Susan woke up, she got out of bed, went to the toilet, had a shower, brushed her teeth, got dressed, and had her breakfast.
YES: Susan woke up and got ready.

NO: Curly Ted had braided hair, a patch over his eye, a parrot on his shoulder, and a wooden leg.
YES: Curly Ted looked like a pirate.

NO: The moon was big and round and white, and was very high and bright up in the sky; so bright that it lit everything up, even in the darkness of the night.
YES: The moon was a balloon and hung like a globe to light the night.