October 24, 2022

Introduction

If you’re a business owner outside of the western world, there’s a good chance you’re looking to attract western, English-speaking clients and customers to your business. One way to do this is through content marketing.

However, while you’re creating content, it’s important that you understand some basic English grammar rules. This will ensure that your content is error-free and easy to understand.

Here are some of the most important English grammar rules you need to know:

Subject-Verb Agreement

One of the most important things to remember when it comes to grammar is subject-verb agreement. This means that the verb must agree with the subject in number (singular or plural). For example:

She works every day. (singular subject, singular verb)

They work every day. (plural subject, plural verb)

Remember, the verb must agree with the subject in number!

Irregular Verbs

Another important grammar rule to remember is that some verbs are irregular. This means that they don’t follow the standard rules of verb conjugation (changing the verb to agree with the subject). For example, the verb “to be” is irregular:

Present tense: I AM a student. He/She IS a student. They ARE students.

Past tense: I WAS a student. He/She WAS a student. They WERE students.

Past Participle: I HAD BEEN a student. He/She HAD BEEN students. They HAD BEEN students.

Notice how the verb “to be” doesn’t change in the third person singular (he/she/it). This is because it’s an irregular verb. There are many other irregular verbs in English, so it’s important to learn them. Some of the most common irregular verbs include “to have,” “to do,” and “to go.”

One of the most misused irregular verbs I’ve heard over the years is “to teach.” Many non-native English speakers will say “teached” when referring to the past tense. I understand why—most verbs in English can be conjugated to the past tense by adding an “ed” to the end. But in the case of “teach” you cannot simply say “teached.” The correct word is “taught.” It’s not the most logical thing in the world to someone who is learning English, and it’s just one of those language-learning things that just needs to be memorized.

When learning different languages, it always occurred to me that the irregular verbs tend to be the ones that are most commonly used in everyday speech. I was once told that this was because the more commonly a word is used, then the more likely it is to morph and change as regional dialects take form.

Plurals

When it comes to plurals, there are a few different rules to remember. First, if the word ends in “s,” “x,” “z,” or “ch,” you add “es” to make it plural.

Second, if the word ends in “y” and the letter before the “y” is a vowel, you simply add an “s” to make it plural.

However, if the letter before the “y” is a consonant, you need to change the “y” to an “i” and then add “es.” For example:

The fly is annoying. (singular)

The flies are annoying. (plural)

And finally, if the word ends in “f” or “fe,” you need to change the “f” to a “v” and then add “es.” For example:

The leaf IS falling. (singular)

The leaves ARE falling. (plural)

Alterations in the plurals of words are, in my opinion, kind of difficult to learn by applying rules and formulas alone. Often, these particular rules are best learned by doing a lot of reading, writing, and practicing with native-level speakers.

For example, most native-level English speakers won’t be able to tell you these rules if you were to ask them. Rather, they’d confirm something is correct merely by saying it “looks right” or “sounds right.” Eventually, plurals will roll right off your tongue (or off your keyboard) with very little effort.

Conclusion

There you have it! These are just some of the basic English grammar rules that you need to know in order to write correctly in English. Of course, there are many, many more rules out there. And as with anything worth doing, becoming a master of the English language takes time, practice, and patience.

One last piece of advice: don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Everyone makes them, even native speakers. The more you practice, the less mistakes you’ll make.

That being said, if you’d like to significantly reduce the number of mistakes in your writing then the best way is to work with an expert. Here at English Outsourced, we specialize in helping business owners like you to make sure that your online presence is professional and polished. For more information on how we do that, click here!