​Top 10 Grammar Tips 

for Multilingual Writers

1. ENGLISH ARTICLES: THE/A/AN

A common error many English Language Learners encounter is misuse of the definite article ‘the’ or a lack of using articles before nouns. This is because many languages either do not require articles (e.g., Korean) or use mainly definite articles (e.g., Spanish). 

However, in English, an article almost always precedes a noun, and we use indefinite articles very often, which leads to confusion for English Language Learners. Here is short explanation for how to use the English articles followed by examples:

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In the graph, we see that definite articles are used when we essentially need to ‘finger point’ to a noun that is specific or special in some way or has already been introduced in context. Indefinite articles, by contrast, refer to nouns that are general, not-specific nouns that have not been previously mentioned in context.

Here is an example of using the definite the and indefinite a in context:

 

If you are still having difficulty, ask yourself about what you are trying to communicate. If you need to communicate to your reader about a general, abstract concept, you should likely choose indefinite articles. However, if you need to point something out about a specific noun, you need a definite article. See the chart below for explanations and examples on how to choose which articles to use and when.

 

 

PRACTICE NOW

If you want to test your understanding of this lesson, take the quizzes available here:

https://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes/#Articles​

2. COPULA DELETION

In English, we have a structure called an auxiliary verb. Auxiliary verbs are also called helping verbs because they help a verb communicate the tense and number of the verb when the verb cannot explain these elements on its own. For example, gerunds such as walking and running require an auxiliary verb to become complete verbs. 

English Language Learners often struggle with this verb structure because many languages do not have auxiliary verbs, so this is a verb structure with no direct translation in students’ home languages. This leads to the deletion of the auxiliary verb, an error called copula deletion.

Here are examples of the most common auxiliary verb structure, the verb to be:

 

The reason that deleting the auxiliary verb is a grammatical error is because the verb does not clearly communicate who completes the action and when without the helping verb. Verbs must communicate tense, number, and person to be grammatical; thus, because the auxiliary verb holds the tense, number, and person for the main verb, it cannot be omitted. See these examples: 

In this example, “He sat” is grammatical while “He sitting” is not. The verb “sat” correctly communicates the tense, number, and person; however, “sitting” does not tell the reader when (tense) the action happened, how many (number) people are involved, or what perspective (person) the action is being completed from. 

Thus, because the reader does not know the tense, number, and person and because different auxiliary verbs would change the meaning of the sentence, it is incorrect and a grammatical error to delete the auxiliary verb.

In order to fix this error, the author needs to select the appropriate auxiliary verb to communicate tense, number, and person. This can be done by answering these questions:

1. Is my verb present, past, or future?
2. Is my verb’s actor singular or plural?
3. Is my verb being done by me (1st person), someone I am speaking to (2nd person), or someone spoken about (3rd person)?

PRACTICE NOW

If you want to test your understanding of this lesson, take the quizzes available here:

https://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes/#Verbs-and-Tenses​

3. SUBJECT OMISSION

Similar to copula deletion, the omission, or failure to mention, of a sentence subject is also a grammatical error in English. While many languages allow a subject of a verb to be expressed with an inflectional suffix in a verb conjugation (e.g., Spanish, French, etc.), English subjects cannot be communicated using only a verb form. Subjects are free-standing nouns that must precede the verb in a grammatical sentence.

Most often, sentences without subjects are called fragments. Here are a few examples of fragments and explanations for why they are grammatical errors:

 

*Note: infinitives (to + verb) cannot take subjects as they are the base form of the verb and refer to the action itself. Thus, any infinitive cannot be the main verb of a grammatical sentence.​

PRACTICE NOW

If you want to test your understanding of this lesson, take the quizzes available here:

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl_exercises/sentence_structure/sentence_fragments/sentence_fragments_index.html​

4. THIRD PERSON SINGULAR - S

Numerous languages conjugate their verbs with inflectional endings (e.g., Spanish, French, Portuguese). This makes English very difficult for many multilingual writers because contemporary English only has a few leftovers of the once full English conjugation system. One irregular conjugation element that gives most writers difficulty is Third Person Singular –s. 

Third Person Singular –s refers to the simple present tense inflectional ending (s) for 3rd person singular. It is challenging for many writers because it is the only in​flectional ending in this conjugation. Often, it is omitted, which is a grammatical error. 

Another important feature to remember with third person singular –s is that the s inflectional ending transfers to an auxiliary verb if one is used. Here are a few examples:

To help you remember, think of this espionage inspired expression: -s is for singular, 3rd person singular.

PRACTICE NOW

If you want to test your understanding of this lesson, take the quizzes available here:

https://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes/#Present-Simple​

5. SENTENCE ORDER

English has set sentence order rules based on a Subject-Verb-Object logic and word order. To have a grammatical English sentence, the subject-verb unit is always required. This means that the basic structure of an English sentence is: 

For many multilingual writers, the learning struggle comes from adding non-essential elements to a sentence, or elements that provide extra information than just the required subject-verb unit. Elements that can be added include (but are not limited to) prepositional phrases, adverbial phrases, and dependent clauses. 

There is a specific order in which these elements are logically expected to be added to a sentence. This means that native English speakers expect to hear these sentence elements in a specific order to understand what is happening in the sentence. In other words, because a reader expects to be told a subject of a sentence first, it can confuse readers when too many elements are placed before the subject of the sentence. Here is the natural order of a complex (containing dependent elements) sentence:

Therefore, it is most logical and will communicate your ideas with the most clarity if you present your ideas in this order. Here are some example sentences:

__

__

Many multilingual writers’ errors come from putting these elements in an unnatural word order without explaining this to the reader grammatically. When elements of the sentence are moved out of this natural order, it is required that writers notify their reader by using commas to indicate that something has been moved out of place. This helps prevent confusion for the reader by essentially providing a road map for where the required subject-verb unit is inside the sentence. Here are some examples:

__

In these sentences, the dependent element has been transposed or topicalized, meaning it was moved from its natural sentence position to the front of the sentence, or the topic position. Authors sometimes make this choice to emphasize or call attention to the dependent element that was moved. When authors move elements like this, they must use a comma directly after. This tells the reader that the main subject-verb unit is still to come later in the sentence.

PRACTICE NOW

If you want to test your understanding of this lesson, take the quizzes available here:​

https://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes/374.html​

6. NON-COUNT NOUNS

While articles (the, a, an) are required before almost all nouns, there are a few exceptions. Because articles are only required to indicate specificity and number, nouns that are already specific, are general and plural, or have no number do not need articles. There are four categories of nouns that English does not use articles in front of, with the largest being Non-Count Nouns.

1. Non-Count Nouns:

There are three similar categories or sub-categories of nouns that do not require articles: 

2. Proper Nouns (people, places, proper names):

3. General Nouns:

4. Acronyms:

PRACTICE NOW

If you want to test your understanding of this lesson, take the quizzes available here:

https://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes/#Nouns​

7. SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

One of the most common errors multilingual writers make is a lack of subject-verb agreement. Subject-verb agreement refers to making sure your subject and your verb are a matching pair in number; in other words, if your subject is singular, your verb must be singular. Likewise, plural subjects require plural verb pairs. 

In simple sentences, most writers find this agreement easy to see; however, there are several more complicated sentences in which agreement is difficult to see. Here are some common agreement error examples and how to solve them: 

 

PRACTICE NOW

If you want to test your understanding of this lesson, take the quizzes available here:

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/svagr2.htm​

8. PREPOSITIONS: IN v. ON

For many multilingual writers, the prepositions in and on are difficult to use. This is because many languages use the same word for both English in and on. There are a few subtle distinctions that can help you to know which preposition to choose:

__

__

PRACTICE NOW

If you want to test your understanding of this lesson, take the quizzes available here:

https://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes/#Prepositions​

9. DOUBLE NEGATIVE

Double Negation refers to using two or more negative elements in a sentence to express negation, typically of the verb. While this is common in many language backgrounds, it is a grammatical error in English. A common expression is that double negatives ‘cancel each other out’ in English, or that two negatives together make a positive such as in multiplication. What this means is that using two negatives to express negation can actually negate your negation. Here are a few examples of how double negation can affect sentence meaning and clarity:

PRACTICE NOW

If you want to test your understanding of this lesson, take the quizzes available here:

https://virtualwritingtutor.com/practice/double_negatives1.htm​

10. INFINITIVES & GERUNDS​

Many multilingual writers struggle with using or choosing an infinitive (to + bare verb form) or a gerund (-ing form, or the present participle). Because many language backgrounds have inflectional infinitives, or infinitive conjugation suffixes, the English infinitive to + bare verb form is difficult. Here are two rules to help you clarify these decisions:​

1. Infinitives and gerunds cannot be the main verb of a subject-verb unit in the sentence:​

2. Infinitives and gerunds each have unique situations they each can be independently used for:

PRACTICE NOW

If you want to test your understanding of this lesson, take the quizzes available here:

https://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes/#Gerunds-and-Infinitives​

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