Grammar Tips for Grammar Day

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March 4th marks National Grammar Day in the United States and to celebrate we're compiling some of our grammar articles from over the years.

What exactly is grammar?

When we talk about grammar, we are referring to the whole system and structure of a language, the way words are put together to form sentences. Learn more about the history of grammar here.

Grammar is often confused with punctuation which is the written marks used to separate sentences in order to clarify meaning. Click here for Spellzone's guide to punctuation.

Here are some of our top grammar articles:

  1. Clauses
    A clause is a group of words containing a verb that can either stand alone as a complete sentence or make up part of a more complex sentence. Complex sentences are usually split into main clauses and subordinate clauses. Find out more about clauses here.
     
  2. Compound Words
    A compound word is a word that is made up of two or more other words. Hyphens are often used in compound words either to show that when the included words are together, they have a combined meaning, or to show the relationship between the included words. Learn more here.
     
  3. Pronouns
    A pronoun used in a sentence to avoid repeating a noun that has been mentioned before - click here to learn about the different types.
     
  4. Speech
    In writing, speech can either be quoted or reported. What are the rules for correctly formatting dialogue? Should you single or double speech marks? What punctuation marks should you use? Find out more about both types of speech here.
     
  5. Subject and Object
    All sentences have a subject and many also have an object. Knowing which of the two you're dealing with will help you make sure your writing is as effective as possible. Find out more here.
     
  6. Suffixes
    A suffix is added to the end of a word to change its meaning. Sometimes, when you add a suffix, the root word has to be changed slightly first. Find five tips for adding suffixes here.
     
  7. Word Classes
    The nine-word classes are categories that words fall into depending on how they function in a sentence. Click here to learn about nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs; and here to learn about conjunctions, determiners, exclamations, pronouns, and prepositions.

    Do you have any grammar questions that you would like use to look at? Let us know and we'll cover them in future blog posts.

    Have a good week!

04 Mar 2019
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"Thank goodness for Spellzone during this remote learning phase. The site is easy for students to navigate independently and they're really enjoying the activities and spelling games. You get an awful lot for your money with Spellzone. Really reassuring is the very prompt response with helpdesk queries. I've very rarely needed the helpdesk, but when I have, the issue has been addressed and sorted within a very short time."

Sarah Taggart, Oasis Academy Lord's Hill