7 Top Grammar Rules That You Must Know for Academic Assignments

Proper English and grammar are very important as English is the main language of communications in most of the countries. When students are given to write assignments, it is mostly in the English language as this is the native language in countries like USA, UK, Canada and Australia and even other countries where some of the most popular and prestigious colleges and universities are located. Thus, it becomes very important for students to understand the significance of grammar and how they should work on their grammar to improve their writing skills and write better assignments to succeed in class.

Not only grammar helps in writing but in other skills too that includes reading, listening, and speaking and with proper knowledge of what grammar is all about, students can make rapid progress in their academics. This article discusses the 7 top grammar rules by assignment writing services that students need to understand for writing their academic assignments and getting to know what it is all about:

1. The Difference Between Affect and Effect:
These two words are mixed too often and can change the meaning of the entire text. Effect is a noun while affect is a verb and you must learn to understand the difference between the two as well as how and where they are used to impart the right meaning.

Some examples of effect in a sentence:

• The special effects were amazing.
• I appreciate the beneficial effects of modern medicine.
• The effect of working too hard is exhaustion.

Some examples of affect in a sentence:

• The sad plot affected me.
• A lot of people have been affected by cancer.
• Climate change affects everyone.
• The special effects affect my epilepsy.
• An excellent speech can affect great change.

Knowing the correct meaning of these words and using them the right way will enable students to use them for delivering content in the best manner.

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2. The Difference between Witch, Which, and That:
Most of the students, especially those who are not native English speakers, end up making a mess of these words when working on their academic assignments. A witch is a woman with powers of black magic and this character can be mostly found in fairy tales while which and that are closely related and impart almost the meaning with a little difference.

The difference in meaning between these two words may be subtle, but it is important. Which adds additional information to the sentence in the form of a non-restrictive clause; the information does not change the meaning of the sentence. On the other hand, the word that limits the information with a restrictive clause and the meaning of the sentence would completely change if the restrictive clause is removed.

‘Which’ is best used when information is being added about something and ‘that’ should be used when the information is being provided but it will not be changed at all. In addition to this, it is grammatically important to place a comma before the word ‘which’.

3. Difference Between It’s and Its, and Other Problems of Possession
Possessive nouns must be used the right way and describe what belongs to whom but in a short way. The rule is to include an apostrophe and the letter s (‘s) after a singular noun, or after a plural noun that doesn’t end in an s.

• The child’s toy
• The children’s toys
• The cat’s food

4. Difference Between Well and Good:
Good is an adjective, which means it modifies a noun while well is an adverb which means it changes the verb. 

• He’s a good boy 
• The steak was well cooked.

In these sentences, good described the noun; the boy while well describes the verb, cooked. 

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5. Difference between Their, They’re, and There:
‘Their’ is all about possessiveness while ‘they’re’ is a contraction of the words they and are and ‘there’ is used as a location indicator.

• Their sense of humor makes me laugh.
• They’re very funny
• There is the road to Malibu

6. Don’t Use Plural Pronouns with Singular Antecedents or Vice Versa:
A pronoun is just a substitute for a noun and when you are using a plural pronoun, make sure that you do not end up using it with single antecedents or it will just spoil the effect of the entire sentence. When the pronoun is plural, so will be the antecedents. 

• I love hot dogs, so I ate them all

7. Difference Between If and Whether:
'If' should be used when the sentences are conditional as the event will only occur in certain conditions but 'whether' is used when there is a choice between two things and any of them can be done.

• We will cook a vegetarian meal if you come to dinner tonight
• I have to decide whether or not to cook a vegetarian meal tonight

Students need to study grammar to understand its rules and get on the path to writing a top quality and custom paper. It is because grammar plays a very key role in sentence structure and content flow; without the proper understanding of grammar and its rules, working on their assignments can become very tough.