12 basic grammar rules

 Grammar is a topic people either love or hate. Those who love grammar usually appreciate the logic of its rules; those who hate it often get frustrated by the constant exceptions to the rules. However, 12 basic rules serve as the foundation of English grammar. The topics of these rules are nouns and pronouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs, and punctuation.

1. Nouns and Pronouns

The first noun rule relates to the spelling changes in plural forms: consonant –y changes to consonant –ies as in "skies," and nouns ending in glottal sounds such as "sh" take –es. Pronouns, which take the place of nouns, comprise the second rule: pronouns must refer clearly to an antecedent. For example, in the sentence "Liz drove her car and parked it in the lot," the pronoun "it" clearly refers to the antecedent "car." The third rule relates to a common pronoun mistake: "who" vs. "whom." "Whom" is correct when it is replacing the object of a sentence. To determine the correct pronoun, replace it with "he" or "him." For instance, "For whom should I vote?" is correct because "Should I vote for him?" is correct, not " Should I vote for he?"