These grammatical errors can prove to be bad for a piece of work. When we say grammar, it has many elements included like tenses, punctuation, spellings, and others. For example, in the sentence “I told her,” “I” belongs before the verb because it represents the person who performs the action. 3. Nadine Smith has been writing since 2010. An action verb signifies an action, like “jump,” “walk” or “take.” A stative verbs denotes a state of being, such as “are” or “have.”. You did that on purpose, you cheeky little devil! He has two neighbours, who live still farther north; one is King Winter, a cross and churlish old monarch, who is hard and cruel, and delights in making the poor suffer and weep; but the other neighbour is Santa Claus, a fine, good-natured, jolly old soul, who loves to do good, and who brings presents to the poor, and to nice little children at Christmas. On the other hand, when a copy is given to an expert, who is trained for this, he/she knows what to look for and how to look for it. ", Determine if the sentence could be rewritten to include the words "it is." He slammed the door on purpose. 4. Nadine holds a Master of Arts in English language and literature from McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, where she led seminars as a teaching assistant. ", Simon & Schuster Handbook for Writers; Lynn Quitman Troyka. In the sentence, “The officer gave me a ticket,” “ticket” is the direct object of the verb “gave” because it is receiving the action of giving. Determine if the sentence involves any type of possessing. The nest belongs to the bird, so use "its." They are well versed with the grammar and have a habit of doing this job on a daily basis which makes it easy for them to spot errors. The correct usage of the pronouns “I” and “me” is determined by their function in a sentence. Use “me” when referring to an indirect object of a verb. I didn't hurt your pride on purpose. For example, you can correctly say, "The bird flew back to its nest." However, it’s probably the result of shortening a longer sentence or thought, since there is no verb in “Me Before You.” It’s a way of saying, “ This was me before I met you. She teaches college writing and ESL courses and has several years experience tutoring all ages in English, ESL and literature. Copyright 2020 Leaf Group Ltd. / Leaf Group Education, Explore state by state cost analysis of US colleges in an interactive article, Grammar Girl: Apostrophe Catastrophe (Part One): Its Versus It's. ", Determine if the sentence involves any type of possessing. Similarly 'your' and 'you're' are two different words but on many occasions we use them in each other place without noticing. The cat dug its claws into my hand. So, never let your grammar errors spoil the fun of a reader. Well, did you notice the mistake or do you think that this sentence is correct? Instead, "me" is the object of the preposition “with.”. Just remember that "it's" is nothing other than a contraction for "it is." Still, it is always a contraction. After all, a writer puts in effort by researching, editing and writing their thoughts down. In addition, watch out for passive sentences, in which the subject of the sentence doesn't actually perform the main verb, as in “I was given a gift." This is needed not only for exams that specifically test the subject, but also for obtaining a higher-level job that involves any type of business writing. In the sentence “She is going with me,” the verb "going" takes no direct object -- that is, “She is going” is a complete idea by itself. Instead of, "The dog buried its bone," change it to "The dog buried his bone" or "her bone." The sentence has two major errors (which when spoken seems correct, but when written has a different meaning). Copyright 2020 Leaf Group Ltd. / Leaf Group Education, How to Change Passive Voice to Active Voice, Hemera Technologies/PhotoObjects.net/Getty Images, University of Houston, Victoria: Grammatically Correct, All in all, you should only use “I” when referring to the doer of an action or when beginning a sentence. You know that "his" or "her" do not have an apostrophe, so neither should "its" in the same context. Have a look at another example that will help you to understand the need for a grammar check before sending the copy to the audience. That is the only way that it should be used, except on occasion when it is used as a contraction for "it has" (the past tense). At some point of time, a reader may lose interest from the piece and this writer's work will go waste. Both the sentences have exact words but just the placement of a comma changes the meaning of a sentence. Read and Listen To Sentences Using the Word "Its" Please put it back in its place. “Me” is not being given; rather, it's receiving the direct object, so “me” is an indirect object. She seem “Me” is not being given; rather, it's receiving the direct object, so “me” is an indirect object. For a writer, it is necessary that their readers enjoy his or her piece. The phrase "on me" is intended to indicate that the speaker is the (possible) recipient of the consequences of the "screw-up." "To screw up on somebody" means "to make that person the one who suffers from the screw-up." In conversation, people often speak sentences along the lines of, “My friend and me went to the same college” or “They are looking for you and I.” However, the grammar in both of these sentences is incorrect. You use the apostrophe-S to show that the bone belongs to the dog. An example would be, "It is Lisa who stole my heart." When the pronoun is or refers to the subject of a sentence -- the noun that the sentence is about -- use “I.” When the pronoun is the direct object, the indirect object or the object of a preposition, use “me.”, Locate the verb in the sentence. Use “me” when referring to an indirect object of a verb. Similarly 'your' and 'you're' are two different words but on many occasions we use them in each other place without noticing. For example, you can correctly say, "The bird flew back to its nest." A grammar checker's job is to make sure that your copy is free from similar errors. This page is part of English Sentences with Audio from the Tatoeba Project. It is important for both students and professionals to have a basic knowledge of proper grammar. 76+2 sentence examples: 1. For example, “Me am going to the game” is not correct; therefore “I” belongs first. The company provides health care and life insurance benefits for all of its employees. The word "its" does not get an apostrophe, because if it did, it would mean "it is" or "it has." An example of the latter would be, "It's been two whole days since Lisa kissed me. As a reader will read through the piece, he/she will pay attention to these errors and will have to struggle to understand what the writer wants to say. Just because 'fair' and 'their' are homophones, people can easily get confused with them. To submit your questions or ideas, or to simply learn more, see our about us page: link below. An error free copy makes it an easy read to the readers and they enjoy the piece.