◘Grammar Tips ◘

*Don't use an apostrophe to form a plural. A sentence like 'Please keep the gate's clear' is wrong. Use an apostrophe to indicate possession, or to show that a word has been contracted.

*Be careful to use the pronouns I and me, he and him, she and her, we and us, and they and them in the right place. Use I, we, etc. when you are talking about someone who has done something (i.e. who is the subject of the sentence), and use me, us, etc. when you are talking about someone who has had something done to them (i.e. who is the object of the sentence). People most often make mistakes over this when they are talking about more than one person:


'Me and Annie had a dog once'; 'Adrian and me were going out'. In these sentences you should use I, not me, because the two people are the subject in both. 'Annie and I had a dog once'; 'Adrian and I were going out'.

'Watch Helen and I while we show you'. You need me here, as the object of watch.

'Everything depends on you and I'. Use me, us, etc. after prepositions.
A good guide in cases like these is to see whether the sentence sounds right with only the pronoun. If 'Me had a dog' is wrong, then so is 'Annie and me had a dog'; if you wouldn't say 'Watch I while I show you', you shouldn't say 'Watch Helen and I'.

It's right to say 'between you and me', and wrong to say 'between you and I'. This is because a preposition such as 'between' should be followed by an object pronoun such as 'me', 'him', 'her', and 'us' rather than a subject pronoun such as 'I', 'he', 'she', and 'we'.


*To form a possessive from a singular noun, add an apostrophe followed by s: 'the girl's book'.
Add an apostrophe to plurals ending in s, e. g. 'the girls' books'.
If a plural noun does not end in s, add an apostrophe followed by s: 'the children's toys'.
Also add an apostrophe to a name ending in -es that is pronounced like the word is: 'Moses' mother'.


*People are increasingly using the plural pronoun they to refer to one person if they do not know whether that person is male or female. Until quite recently, he was generally used to refer to a person of either sex, as in 'Every child needs to know that he is loved', but nowadays many people feel that such a use is sexist.

He or she is possible, but is rather awkward. They is generally accepted in sentences using words such as someone or anyone, e.g. 'Anyone can join if they are a resident'. More people object to they being used after a single noun, as in 'Ask a friend if they can help'.

Interestingly, use of they in this way is not a modern invention: it was first recorded in the 16th century.


I hope these tips can help you! bye!...