A Guide to Writing

Grammar Rules/Rant

I'm so sorry that there are so many of these grammar rants out there. But let me tell you. These rants are well deserved. Just today I found a book that I wouldn't read because of the first few pages. Now, I am very well aware that some of you have a different first language than English and that it can be very difficult to understand all of these rules, all I ask of you is to try. And I know that some of you guys do try, but tell your readers English isn't your first language, and politely ask for them to excuse any mistakes.

[1] They're, Their, and There
Oh my gosh, I've see a book that looks like they just chose whichever one of these at random and was thinking,"Well, there's some chance that I'll get it right." If you don't know the difference, look it up. Or below.

They're- contraction of 'They are' (Example: They're going to the store.)

Their- Shows possession of something (Example: The dog is theirs.)

There- A place (Example: There is the car.)

[2] Breathe and Breath
I wish with all my heart that I wouldn't have to put this, but I do.

Breathe- Use this when saying,"Just breathe," or "She's not breathing!"

Breath- Use this when saying,"His breath was awful," or "It was a fresh breath of fresh air."

[3] Capitalization
People, please capitalize 'I.' It's really not that hard to hit the shift button. Capitalize names, the first word of your sentence, specific places like 'Cherryhill Park.'

[4] Punctuation
The punctuation on wattpad is so bad I can hardly believe it. Now, don't go on my books and say,"You're such a hypocrite!" Ok, I know my punctuation isn't the best, either, but at least I try.

[a] Commas
Commas should be used when you're separating a sentence or when you're having a character speak with a dialogue tag afterwards.

An example would be: "'I wanted that toy," she said.'" Notice the,"She said," tag. Now, if you used something along the lines of,"She glared," you would instead use a period after her sentence because there is no dialogue tag.

"I wanted that toy," she said.

"I wanted that toy." She glared, accusingly."

[b] Exclamation Points
Try not to use exclamation points so much, if you do it takes away the significance of the excitement and looks unprofessional. Not only that, but let your words carry the mood of the story, only use an exclamation point when you think it is absolutely needed.

[5] Affect vs. Effect
You guys, I had to look this up because I can't even tell the difference sometimes, and I usually end up rewriting my entire sentence to avoid using the wrong one. When you're talking about the about the change itself, use effect. When talking about the the act of changing it, or the process of changing it, use affect.

[6] Me vs. I
So I know that all of our teachers at one point said that we should never use something like "Grace and me," but in reality, that can be the correct way sometimes. I don't really have an example for this, but whenever you come across this, and you put something like "Grace and I," try taking Grace out of the sentence and seeing if it sounds right, if it doesn't, put "Grace and me."

[7] "Alot" is Not a Word
I know, back in the seventh grade I had to ask my teacher about this one. But seriously, you need to use "a lot" because that's the real way it's done.

[8] Then vs. Than
I hate how I have to explain these, but I do, so when you use the word "than" it's used to compare things, "then" is used for time.

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You guys, there are more of these out there that need to be fixed, but if you really suck at grammar, my book isn't enough for you to learn from, try going to a grammar website and looking for the things you need help with there.