The Editor’s Manual
Free learning resource on English grammar, punctuation, usage, and style.
The building blocks of the language.
Form the possessive of a plural name by placing an apostrophe after the “s” that makes the plural, as you would for any other plural noun.
“You’re” is the contraction of “you are,” while “your” is the possessive form of “you.” Don’t use “your” to mean “you are.”
English has the “to”-infinitive (or full infinitive) and the bare infinitive. The “to”-infinitive can also appear as a split infinitive.
An infinitive (e.g., “to go”) is split when a word appears between “to” and the verb (“to not go”). It is fine to split the infinitive in English.
A gerund acts as a noun, while the present participle form of a verb helps form tenses, acts as an adjective, and appears in participle clauses.
A gerund is a verb form ending in “-ing” that functions as a noun. It can act as subject, object of a verb or a preposition, and subject or object complement. It exhibits both noun- and verb-like qualities.
Standard contractions include those with “not” (“don’t,” “isn’t”), forms of the “be” verb (“I’m,” “she’s”), the “have” verb (“I’ve,” “he’s”), and “will” and “would” (“I’ll,” “you’d”).
Contractions are shortened forms in which some letters are omitted. An apostrophe usually marks the contraction. Here is a list of more than 70 standard contractions in English.
Use “who” as a relative pronoun to link a description to the person it describes. “Who” is used not just for people but also animals with names. “Who” can replace “whom” in informal usage.
Use “a” or “an” before an abbreviation depending on how it is pronounced not written. If it starts with a consonant sound, use “a”; if it starts with a vowel sound, use “an.”