I will no longer be updating this guide. I'm leaving it up in case it will continue to be helpful to anyone in the future.
People have asked me writing tips, Wattpad tips, and whatever. This is some of that advice I give them. Keep in mind most of t...
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A few chapters ago I said to just write and forget grammar, but I want to give you some basic grammar tips that you should try to get right the first time. There are several rules which could easily be placed on this list, but I'm going to list the ones I see happen the most on Wattpad.
Your vs. You're
You're – This is a contraction of you are. There is no other use in the English language for you're. If you can't expand the sentence to include you are, then you're using it wrong. Here are a few examples:
You are a cat – You're a cat
This is where you are correct – This is where you're correct
Whenever you are done, let's talk- Whenever you're done, let's talk.
Your – This is possessive. Your stands for ownership, belonging to you, etc. If you can replace your with my in a sentence, then you're using it properly.
Can we get my car - Can we get your car
California is my home state - California is your home state
My shirt is blue - Your shirt is blue
Their vs. They're vs. There
Their – Like your, this is a possession. If you can replace their with our, then you're using it correct. Here are some examples:
This is our vacation – This is their vacation.
Would you like to meet at our house – Would you like to meet at their house.
Our cat is black – Their cat is black.
They're – Like you're, this is a contraction. It is the contracted version of they are. If you can't substitute they're with they are, you're using the word incorrectly. Once again, here's examples:
They are so stupid – They're so stupid.
Did you know they are going to the mall – Did you know they're going to the mall.
I want to know what they are up to – I want to know what they're up to.
There – This is referencing a location be it one which exists or does not exist. It can also reference to show something exists.
There is a storm coming.
We went there.
There are three cats in the basket.
The ball is over there.
Its vs. It's
This is one I still struggle with. It drives me nuts I struggle with it. Like then/than I know the rule yet I can't seem to get it right and it's not even a word swapping issue like some other mistakes of mine. Hopefully you'll have better luck.
