InsaneJournal

APOSTROPHES IN PLURAL NOUNS – Apostrophes are not meant to be used in plural nouns. I see a lot of people doing this. Apostrophes are meant to be used in contractions, and when you are showing possession.

• SINGULAR: That is Charlie's car.
• SINGULAR: That is Louis's sweater.
  You add the -'s after "Louis" because the s at the end of "Louis" is silent.
• PLURAL: That's the Millers' car.
  The Millers in this case are a family, which is a defined group of people. When addressing the possession of a singular item between a defined group of people, you take the plural noun (Millers) and add an apostrophe to the end. With plural nouns, you don't need the extra s at the end.
• PLURAL: Hide the Easter baskets in the children's rooms.
  In this case, you do add an 's to the end, because rather than addressing the possession of one item, you're addressing the possession of several things between a group of multiple people, namely the children.

  Children is already a plural noun but it doesn't show possession until you add 's, but the children aren't all sharing one room, they each have their own. Therefore, it's proper to use children's rooms.

PUNCTUATION – Reading is a lot like swimming. Punctuation is supposed to be a breath of air between each sentence. When you don't use proper punctuation, you end up with run-on sentences, and those are suffocating to your reader. It's like trying to hold your breath underwater for a prolonged time.

• PERIODS - You use periods to end your sentences.
• COMMAS - A comma is used to break up independent clauses in a sentence but also to separate items in a list. For lists, an Oxford comma is used for clarity and to avoid very awkward sentences.
  EXAMPLES OF WHY THE OXFORD COMMA IS SACRED
  • This image is possibly the best example I've got. Without the Oxford comma, one of these sentences implies that Nelson Mandela is a dildo-collecting 800-year-old-demigod.
  • This one, too.
  • "Rachael Ray finds inspiration in cooking her family and her dog." →
    "Rachael Ray finds inspiration in cooking, her family, and her dog."
• COLONS / SEMICOLONS -
  • COLONS – ( : )
  Used to define things, or even begin a list.
  • SEMICOLONS – ( ; )
  Connect two complete thoughts that could stand alone as complete sentences.

OF VS. HAVE – I see this all the time. Could, should, would of. Something 'of'.

No. I'm sorry, but that is wrong.

It's could have.
Should have.
Would have.

You're probably thinking one of those words contracted with the word "have", making the -ould've sound. I guess it is fair; It does sound a bit like "of". However, it is not grammatically correct.

WHO VS. WHOM – Check out this article.

GREY VS. GRAY – Both of these are correct, and honestly, your spelling is a matter of personal preference. Nobody cares which one you use, and if they get uppity about it, do you really need that negativity in your life? Let your freak flag fly.

• "Gray" is typically used in the USA. A for America.
• "Grey" is typically used in the UK and Europe. E for England.

A VS. AN – When should I use it?

If the next word in your sentence begins with a consonant or the letter y, use "a".

"What is this?"
"That is a yardstick."

"Would you like a few carrots from our garden?"

If the next word in your sentence begins with a vowel, use "an".

"Would you like an apple?"
"No thanks, I'd rather have an orange."

Generally, using "an" before words that begin with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) sounds better. If I say "a apple", there's kind of an awkward (almost jerky, even) pause between "a" and "apple". "An apple" sounds smoother when spoken, and reads better in the mind.

Consider the phrase "that's a flock of ducks" versus "that's an flock of ducks". "A flock" sounds a lot better than "an flock", and "an apple" sounds a lot better than "a apple".

PASS TIME VS PASTIME – You can do things to pass time, but the things you consider your hobbies are your pastimes.

It's an awkward spelling, I know, but that's how to remember it.

To pass time would be a verb, because it's a thing you do. But pastime is a noun because it's a thing, or it can be used as an object of your sentence. It's a thing to be used or done to pass the time.

Think of "pastime" more like a soccer ball. You can play soccer, but the ball is the object of the game, itself.