42 concepts covered

2012-13 Grammarics. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the authors, except in the case of brief quotations employed in critical articles or reviews. The authors have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information herein. However, the information contained in this book is sold without warranty, either express or implied. Neither the author, nor its dealers or distributors, will be held liable for any damages caused either directly or indirectly by the instructions contained in this book.

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Introduction
Grammarics are pictorial representations of rules of English grammar, punctuation and word usage. Grammarics was created to overcome the problems that people face in learning English grammar. All of the rules are explained through pictorial representations to create visual reinforcement and also to provide an element of fun to the learning process. The concepts have been explained in an easy-tounderstand language, with minimal use of technical terms. Instead of creating a tome, we have focused on only those concepts that are commonly confused by most people. This e-book contains pictorial explanations for 42 concepts across punctuation, grammar, and word usage that are commonly confused by people. This is the first volume of our e-book series. Please visit our website http://www.grammarics.com and subscribe to our blog to receive updates on future releases. If there are any errors, then please point it out to us by writing to us at support@grammarics.com. We would greatly appreciate it if you could send us your feedback at support@grammarics.com.

Content (Page 1 of 2)
1. Comma In Direct Address 2. The Oxford Comma 3. Apostrophes To Show Possession 4. Apostrophes In Plurals of Nouns 5. Singular vs. Plural Possession 6. Joint vs. Separate Possession 7. Excessive Use Of Exclamation Points 8. Misplaced Modifiers 9. Dangling Modifiers 10. Faulty Comparisons 11. Subject-Verb Agreement: Singular Subjects Joined By And 12. Subject-Verb Agreement: Plural Subjects Joined By And 13. Subject-Verb Agreement: Singular Subjects Joined By Or / Nor 14. Subject-Verb Agreement: Plural Subjects Joined By Or / Nor 15. Vague Pronoun Reference 16. Correct Use of Only 17. Correct Use of Almost 18. Correct Use of Literally 19. Youre vs. Your 20. Its vs. Its 21. Theyre vs. There vs. Their 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27

Content (Page 2 of 2)
22. Less vs. Fewer 23. Irregardless 24. Loose vs. Lose 25. Who vs. Whom 26. Stationary vs. Stationery 27. Lie vs. Lay 28. Emigrate vs. Immigrate 29. A lot vs. Alot 30. As well vs. Aswell 31. Device vs. Devise 32. Desert vs. Dessert 33. Dairy vs. Diary 34. Weak vs. Week 35. Gorilla vs. Guerrilla 36. Ascent vs. Assent 37. Brake vs. Break 38. Peak vs. Peek 39. Hanger vs. Hangar 40. License vs. Licence 41. Practice vs. Practise 42. Inquiry vs. Enquiry 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48

Comma In Direct Address

Lets eat, Grandpa. Lets eat Grandpa.

In a nutshell
Commas are used to set off names (or words used in place of names) when addressing people directly in a sentence. Follow these rules for applying commas in direct address. If the name comes first, it is followed by a comma. Grandpa, I want to eat a truck-load of ice. Sam, I want to eat a truck-load of ice. If the name comes at the end of the sentence, the comma precedes the name.

I want to eat a truck-load of ice, Grandpa.

I want to eat a truck-load of ice, Sam. If the name comes in the middle of the sentence, surround it with commas. What I said, Grandpa, is that I want to eat a truck-load of ice. What I said, Sam, is that I want to eat a truck-load of ice.
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The Oxford Comma

With the Oxford comma Without the Oxford comma
Among those who came to watch the show were the presidents two daughters, Bill Clinton and George Bush.

Among those who came to watch the show were the presidents two daughters, Bill Clinton, and George Bush.

In a nutshell
The Oxford comma (also known as serial comma or Harvard comma) is a comma that is used before and/or in a list containing three or more items. I like to eat nails, glass, and shoes. I hate people who do not like to eat nails, glass, or shoes. In some cases, the Oxford comma helps avoid ambiguity in a sentence. I would like to thank my parents, Nelson Mandela and Dalai Lama. [Without the Oxford comma, it would appear as if Nelson Mandela and Dalai Lama are the parents of the writer.] The Oxford comma is a highly debated topic among grammarians. For every six proponents of the Oxford comma, you will find half-a-dozen opponents. Use your judgement use the Oxford comma if it helps avoid ambiguity in a sentence.
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Joint vs. Separate Possession

John and Henrys dogs. Johns and Henrys dogs.

In a nutshell
If youre trying to show possession and you have two subjects, you have to decide if the two subjects possess something together or separately.
If the two subjects share the possession (joint possession), then you use only one s at the end of the second subject. In the first sentence, s is applied only after Henry, since John and Henry jointly possess the dogs. If the two subjects possess the item separately, then you use s at the end of each subject. In the second sentence, s is applied after Henry, as well as John, since the dogs are owned separately by each of them.

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Misplaced Modifiers
Covered with hot melting cheese I ate the pizza. I ate the pizza covered with hot melting cheese.

In a nutshell
To modify is to change or add to the meaning of another word. A modifier is a word or group of words that does this. Modifiers need to be used carefully, else they may cause unintended humor or confusion. Modifiers are like teenagers they fall in love with whatever they are next to. The golden rule of placing modifiers: place the modifier as close as is possible to the word or phrase that it seeks to modify (this will solve the issue in most cases). In the above sentence, covered with hot melting cheese (the modifier) seeks to modify pizza and not the person eating it. Placing the modifier closer to the word pizza clarifies that the pizza, and not I, is covered with hot melting cheese.

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Faulty Comparisons
Sallys dog, like Emilys, has long drooping ears.

Sallys dog, like Emily, has long drooping ears.

In a nutshell
Faulty comparisons occur when two things are compared inappropriately or in a way that could confuse readers / listeners. Often, the comparison will sound as though it's acceptable, but will be missing a few necessary words. The shirt you are wearing looks like my brother. [Here, the shirt is being compared to the brother and not to the brothers shirt.] The shirt you are wearing looks like my brothers.

The shirt you are wearing looks like my brothers shirt.

[Both of the above forms are correct. The 's after brother refers to the brother's shirt and therefore, it is correct.]

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Correct Use Of Literally

It is raining cats and dogs. It is literally raining cats and dogs.

In a nutshell
The word literally means actually. It's used to indicate that something is being described the way it happened, without any exaggeration. Dont use the word literally to gain emphasis or for added effect. It should be used to convey facts. If you want to use a word to create emphasis, try figuratively or metaphorically.

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Emigrate vs. Immigrate

Emigrate Immigrate

In a nutshell
To emigrate is to leave your country to reside in another country.
To immigrate is to enter and reside in a new country. Mnemonic: people who emigrate exit a country, and both emigrate and exit start with e.

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Desert vs. Dessert

Desert Dessert

In a nutshell
Desert (with one s) is a dry, arid place.
Dessert (with two ss) is a sweet dish thats had at the end of a meal. Mnemonic: The two ss in dessert stand for sweet stuff.

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