Basic Grammatical Structures in English - The Do's and Don'ts

These are the basic structures of Grammar in English. If you’re studying English and you want to improve your grammar, or if you have to write in English, this article can be very useful for you. Here we’ll talk about some of the most important structures of grammar in English, and we’ll also show you some examples of when it’s appropriate to use them and how to use them.

Do Use Apostrophes With Possessive Nouns

In most cases, you should always use an apostrophe with possessive nouns. But there are a few cases where it can get confusing.

Avoid Extra Words

Many common grammatical structures are very straightforward, but we often use them incorrectly. One of these is how to avoid using extra words when there’s no need for them. Take a look at the following example: I am my own worst critic. This statement could be said in two ways: 1) I am my own worst critic or 2) I am my own worst critic. See?

Avoid Confusing Language

One of the most common mistakes that people make is to mix up your and you’re, or to misuse words like there, their, they’re, its and it’s. You would think that by now we would have it all down – but most of us are still mixing things up. Here are some simple rules you can follow to avoid confusion: Remember always that you is a pronoun while your is an adjective.

Capitalize Proper Nouns

Proper nouns refer to a specific person, place, or thing. They are always capitalized. For example: Elvis Presley. When you're reading something aloud, proper nouns are easy to spot because they usually begin with a capital letter. Capitalize them as such when writing something down, too.

Study Popular Phrases

If you’re going to speak properly, you’ve got to know how to structure a sentence—so it’s helpful to study popular phrases. Learn about some of your most common sentence structures by reviewing expressions like when pigs fly, the apple of my eye, and the cheese stands alone. Each is an example of a different basic grammatical structure that you can incorporate into your own speech.

Keep Sentences Short

A sentence has a subject and a verb. It’s that simple. And it should be, too. Avoid lengthy, run-on sentences as much as possible to keep your writing concise.

Correctly Form Gerunds and Infinitives

Gerunds, as you may know, are verb-like words that end with ing and can function like nouns. For example: Studying is fun where studying is a gerund. Infinitives, on the other hand, are another type of verb-like words that don’t end with an ing suffix.

Use Commas to Separate Items in a Series

One of the most common mistakes people make when writing about three or more items is to write a sentence like I love tacos, hot dogs, and pizza. To fix it you need to separate them with commas: I love tacos, hot dogs and pizza. You can also do that with dates: My birthday is May 1st, 2007. It really isn’t all that hard!

Conjunctions should be Properly Placed In A Sentence

To show contrast, place a conjunction (e.g., but, yet) between two sentences to use as a bridge or transition. However, don’t place it at the beginning of a sentence to contrast it with another sentence. For example: I got an A on my term paper. However, I failed my math exam.

Prepositions are Important!

Many people think that prepositions are unnecessary. A lot of us were probably told by our teachers to leave out prepositions when we were writing essays. When I was growing up, my teachers used to tell me that prepositions are unimportant, especially when we’re speaking. Yes, you can leave them out most of the time, but it would be better if you knew what they meant. Otherwise, your sentences will not make sense or they’ll sound awkward.