1. How to Write
Good and Correct English?
S. Mohan Raj
Ph.D Research Scholar
rajmohan251@gmail.com
9751660760
2. Essentials of English Language
To speak and write English correctly, it is imperative the fundamental
principles of Grammar.
There are four categories in the grammar as:
Etymology,
Orthography,
Prosody, and
Syntax.
1. Etymology focus on the different classes of words and the changes
they undergo.
2. Orthography deals with the mode of combining words.
3. Prosody deals with the manner of speaking and reading and different
kinds of verse.
4. Syntax refers to the connection and arrangement of words in
sentences.
3. Letters, Syllables, and Words
A letter is a mark or a kind of symbol or character to represent an articulate
sound.
English letters = Vowels + Consonants
A vowel makes a distinct sound without aid, it is independent. Consonants
work with the aid of vowels ( a, e, i, o, u ).
A syllable is a word, or part of a word, which contains a single vowel sound. It is
a single unit of speech.
Each word contains one syllable or more.
The English alphabet (26 letters), made up of consonants and vowels. There
are five vowels ( a, e, i, o, u ) and the rest are all consonants.
4. Appropriate English
What is appropriate English?
1. It is not that simple to answer this question.
2. It depends on many things like the
speakers,
topic for communication,
situation, etc.
People believe that there is a collective set of rules in the English
language, following the same will help to produce appropriate English. But,
it is not true in reality, understanding the English language will help to
produce appropriate English.
5. 1. Understanding the words will help to produce appropriate English.
2. The words of the English language can be divided into 9 classes.
3. It is called Parts of Speech. Noun, Adjective, Pronoun, Verb, Adverb,
Preposition, Conjunction, and Interjection.
4. Nouns are of two kinds Common nouns and Proper nouns.
5. Common nouns are names which are common to race or class (man,
city).
6. Proper nouns differ, individuals, signifies a particular individual of a
race/ class.
Understanding the English
6. Nouns
Nouns are varied as
Person,
Number,
Gender, and
Case.
1. The persons are first, second, and third respectively based on the
speaker, receiver, and the person or the thing mentioned.
2. Numbers: Singular (one) and Plural (two or more).
3. Genders are four masculine, feminine, neuter, and common.
4. The case is the relation of a noun with a verb or a preposition. There
are three cases as Nominative, Possessive, and Objective.
7. Pronoun
A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun. John gave his pen to Ravi.
There are three kinds of pronouns,
Personal,
Relative, and
Adjective pronouns.
Personal Pronouns are used instead of the names of persons, places and
things. The Personal Pronouns are I, Thou, He, She, and It, with their plurals,
We, Ye or You and They.
The Relative Pronouns are who, which, that and What.
Adjective Pronouns are which directly point out a person or object. They are
this, that with their plurals these, those, and yon, same and selfsame.
8. Verb
A verb is a word which implies an action or the doing of something or a word
which affirms, commands or asks a question. It gives completeness and
meaning to a sentence.
Verbs are regular or irregular, transitive or intransitive.
Verbs are inflected by number, person, tense and mood.
An adjective is a word which qualifies a noun, it shows some distinguishing
mark/feature of the noun.
Adjectives have three forms, degrees of comparison,
Positive,
Comparative and
Superlative.
Adjective
9. An adverb is a word which modifies a verb, an adjective or another adverb.
“He writes well” the adverb how the writing is performed.
Adverbs modify or tell us more about the verbs. Ex: slowly, greedily,
slowly, etc.
Comparative and Superlative forms of adverbs are the same as
for adjectives.
1. An Adjective modifies nouns.
2. It usually answers one of a few different questions like What, Which, or
How.
1) Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.
2) It answers the question of how.
Adverb
10. Preposition
A preposition connects words, clauses, and sentences together and
shows the relation between them. "My hand is on the table“
On – one point in time. “I will meet you on Monday”
At – with a time of day. “I will meet you at 6.00 P.M.”
In – other parts of the day/months/years. “I will meet in the afternoon”
Since, for, by, from, to, until, during, within – to express extended time.
Other Prepositions:
Over, above, under, underneath, beneath, below, near, by, next to,
between, among, around, away from, down to, for, onto, into, out of,
towards, up, up to
11. Conjunction
A conjunction joins words, clauses and sentences.
A conjunction is a word that "joins“ two parts of a sentence.
The conjunctions in most general use are and, also; either, or; neither,
nor; though, yet; but, however; for, that; because, since; therefore,
wherefore, then; if, unless, lest
The short, simple conjunctions are called "coordinating conjunctions":
for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. (FANBOYS)
The majority of conjunctions are "subordinating conjunctions".
Common subordinating conjunctions are: after, although, as, because,
before, how, if, once, since, than, that, though, till, when, where,
whether, while.
12. Interjection
An interjection is a word used to express some sudden emotion
of the mind.
Nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs become interjections
when they are uttered as exclamations, as, nonsense! strange!
hail! away! etc.
Ah, Alas, Eh, Er, Hey, Hi, Hmm, Oh, Ouch, Uh, Uh-huh, well, etc.
13. What is a Sentence?
A sentence is an assemblage of words so arranged as to convey a
determinate sense or meaning, in other words, to express a
complete thought or idea.
Ex: “Birds fly”, “Men walk”, etc.
A Sentence always contains two parts, something is spoken about
and something said about it.
Types of Sentence
There are three kinds of sentences,
simple,
compound and
complex.
14. The simple sentence expresses a single thought and consists of one
subject and one predicate, as, "Man is mortal."
A compound sentence consists of two or more simple sentences of
equal importance "The men work in the fields and the women work
in the household,"
A complex sentence consists of two or more simple sentences so
combined that one depends on the other to complete its meaning; as;
"When he returns, I shall go on my vacation."
A clause is a separate part of a complex sentence, as "when he
returns" in the last example.
A phrase consists of two or more words without a finite verb.
15. Punctuations to write Correct English:
1. Periods: use a period at the end of a sentence. (except question or
exciting point).
2. Commas: use a comma to separate list of words, to separate two
phrases, etc.
3. Exclamation marks: use an exclamation mark at the end of an exciting
sentence.
4. Question marks: use a question mark at the end of sentences that ask a
question.
Punctuations
16. Punctuations to write Correct English:
5. Quotation marks: use quotation marks to separate the words of someone.
6. Apostrophes: use an apostrophe when using contractions (didn’t, isn’t,
etc), to replace the missing letters (‘did not’ as didn’t).
7. Colons: use a colon before the list of words or phrases, to link two closely-
related sentences, to separate a word or phrase from a sentence, and to
introduce a long quote.
8. Semi-colon: use a semicolon to separate independent clauses, to a long
and complicated list, etc.
Punctuations...
17. How to write in plain English
Keep your sentences short
Prefer active verbs
Use 'you' and 'we'
Use words that are appropriate for the
reader
Don't be afraid to give instructions
Avoid nominalizations
Use lists where appropriate
18. Improving English Writing Skills
1. Write in English every day
2. Use a dictionary
3. Check your writing carefully
4. Ask someone to check your writing
5. Improve your vocabulary
6. Write about different topics
7. Avoid nominalizations
8. Do your homework
9. Write to your friends
10.Don’t be afraid to make mistakes!
19. 11 Websites to Help Improve English Writing Skills
1. Grammarly
2. Grammar Girl
3. The Purdue Writing Lab
4. Thesaurus
5. Hemingway App
6. Writers Digest University
7. Grammar Book
8. Readability-Score
9. Aztekera Passive voice checker
10. Grammar Monster
11. Pro Writing Aid
20. References:
1. Field, Marion. Improve your Written English.
http://toefl.uobabylon.edu.iq/papers/itp_2015_12653122.pdf
2. Siagh, R.K. How to Write Correct English.
http://www.isamit.com/system/files/downloads/How%20To%20Write%20Correct%
20English.pdf
3. McLean Scott. Successful Writing.
https://dspace.lib.hawaii.edu/bitstream/10790/3180/Writing-for-Success-
1445970582.pdf
4. How to Write in Plain English. https://www.plainenglish.co.uk/files/howto.pdf
5. Improve English Writing Skills. https://www.bloomsbury-
international.com/images/ezone/ebook/writing-skills-pdf.pdf
6. 11 Awesome Websites to Help Improve English Writing Skills.
https://www.shoutmeloud.com/best-websites-improve-english-writing.html