Improving grammar skills is surprisingly easy. I say surprising due to the apparent decline in these skills in the fairly recent past.
With the advent of electronic mail, or e-mail, and text messages, it seems that many are forgetting how to spell words correctly, are either over- or under-using punctuation, and are using homophones, or words that sound similar when spoken, interchangeably.
The issue of proper spelling becomes a tricky one when variations of one word can all be considered correct. Take for example, grey and gray, colour and color, and doughnut and donut.
This becomes further complicated when a typographical error like "teh" becomes so common that it rapidly becomes an acceptable variation, in this case, of the word "the." Words and/or spellings, such as this, can become so prevalent that they are soon added to the dictionaries of spell checkers.
I like to keep a paperback dictionary and thesaurus handy so I can make sure I am saying what I really mean.
Punctuation is another problem I have noticed. Sometimes, commas are inserted in strange places or are absent altogether.
Remember, a comma belongs where an independent or dependent clause causes a slight pause in speech or separates items in a list; a period goes at the end of a sentence or abbreviation. A comma also separates the two parts of a compound sentence when used in front of or, and, or but.
Compare the following sentences:
I like, bubble baths, puppies, and, reading novels.
I like bubble baths, puppies, and reading novels.
Reading each aloud, with a brief pause at each comma, which makes more sense? If you have paid attention to the above explanation, it is clear that the second sentence is properly punctuated.
For longer lists which contain shorter lists within them, a semi-colon ( ; ) can be used to separate each group from the others. A colon ( : ) may also be appropriate before enumerating such a listing.
An example of this would be:
My hobbies are quite varied and include: gardening, landscaping, and tending to my orchard; reading historical fiction, biographies, and epic novels; and cooking, baking, and experimenting with new recipes.
Apostrophes often denote possession, or a contraction, and are not used to indicate that a noun is plural.
For example, "Jeffrey's skates" is used to indicate that the skates belong to Jeffrey; on the other hand, "The Jeffreys are coming for dinner" means that more than one person with the name Jeffrey, or a family with that surname, is coming for dinner.
An exception to the rule is it's/its. It's is a contraction of "it is," where the apostrophe takes the place of the blank space and the letter i. Its is a possessive pronoun meaning belong to or having the qualities of it.
Too often, homophones are used interchangeably. Usually, it's there, their, and they're; your and you're; to, too, and two; and then and than.
A simple way to recall when to use there and then is by asking either where or when something will occur.
Where and there both have the word "here" included in their spellings and indicate a location.
When and then have similar spellings and rhyme when enunciated. "Then" refers to a time or a sequence of events, as in the phrase "now and then," or the sentence "We will have lunch, then we will go buy a dress."
"Than" rhymes with "van" is used to compare items, as in the phrases "greater than," "less than," or "rather than."
"They're" is a contraction of the words "they are;" the apostrophe replaces the space and the A at the beginning of are. This is the same case as the word "you're."
"Their" is a possessive pronoun meaning belonging to or having the qualities of them. This is similar to the word "your."
To, too, and two have also been victim to confusion due to sounding alike.
"To" is a preposition, as in "I am going to the store," or "a how-to guide."
Two is the number 2.
"Too" means in excess or also, as in "too much" or "Me, too."
Confusion also arises from contractions involving the word "have," or rather, "'ve." "I could've done that," when spoken, sounds vaguely like "I could of done that." This is incorrect. "I could have done that" is the correct phrasing.
Some also write or type "of" when they mean "off." "Off," of course, is the opposite of "on." "Of" is another preposition.
Last, but not least, many people say they could care less when they actually mean they couldn't care less. If you could care less, you're saying that you do care, at least a little, and it is possible for you to care even less than you do now.
If you couldn't care less, you do not care at all; it would be impossible for you to care any less.
Hopefully, these tips will help you to improve your grammatical skills, both in writing and speaking.