Advice and Articles > English as a Second Language (Page 6 of 7)

Ligatures: A Guide to their Proper and Improper Use

In writing and typography, a ligature is two or more graphemes that are joined to make a single glyph. More simply put, a ligature is a single character that is created by joining several characters.

How to Use Brackets

Writers, have you ever found yourselves with a great deal of important information that you want to include in a sentence, but have difficulty finding a spot for all of it? Fitting everything into a sentence can be tricky—this is where brackets are useful. Brackets (parentheses) are punctuation marks used to include information within sentences that is not essential to the main point.

The 10 Most Common ESL Mistakes

Scribendi.com's editors outline the ten most common mistakes made by ESL students.

Punctuation Marks

In “Understanding Punctuation,” we covered some of the most common punctuation marks used in English writing. Now, let’s look at a few more punctuation marks in further detail.

Which vs. That

Contrary to popular belief, "which" and "that" do not function in a similar capacity. Although "which" and "that" are both pronouns, they are not interchangeable. "Which" is used for non-restrictive phrases and "that" is used for restrictive phrases.

Adjectives or Adverbs?

Are you constantly confusing adverbs and adjectives? Scribendi's editors will help cure your confusion for good.

Acronyms and Initialisms

Scribendi provides tips to help you use initialisms and acronyms correctly in your writing.

What is an Adjective?

Are adjectives causing you aggravation? Are you unsure of the difference between adjectives and adverbs? Perhaps you are asking yourself “What is an adjective?” Whatever the case, this article will help you make sense of these descriptive words.

What is a Verb?

When it comes to constructing a sentence, the verb is widely considered to be one of the most integral elements. In the simplest of definitions, a verb is an action. Drink, walk, talk, drive, and dive are all verbs. But as with everything English, it can't possibly be this easy, can it?

Using Articles—A, An, The

Put simply, an article is a word that combines with a noun. Articles are actually adjectives because they describe the nouns that they precede. In English, there are only three articles: the, a, and an.

Adverbs: What You Need to Know

The adverb belongs to a large class of words that add information by qualifying or modifying a verb, an adjective, another adverb, a preposition, or a clause, indeed anything except nouns and pronouns (which are modified by adjectives). Confused? Don't be! After we provide some examples of adverbs, you will have a much better understanding of this mystifying modifier.

What is Plagiarism?

Plagiarism is one of the most serious offenses within the literary, academic, and professional world. The act of plagiarism violates both academic and professional integrity, and often comes with very serious consequences for any individual caught doing it.

Common and Proper Nouns

The English word “noun” comes from the Latin nomen, meaning “name.” We use nouns to name something, that is, a person, animal, object, place, action, or abstract idea, such as an event or quality (boy, koala, block, farm, invasion, or kindness). Nouns can be defined more precisely by the other words that go with them. In particular, nouns often have the definite article "the" in front of them.

The Preposition Proposition

Prepositions: ESL writers are endlessly frustrated by these small but significant words, and it’s no wonder—there are more of them in English than in any other language! But don’t give up your writing ambitions just yet; our ESL editing and proofreading experts are here to help.

Parts of Speech: Pronouns

Are pesky pronouns causing you grief in your ESL English writing? Relax—our ESL editing and proofreading experts are here to help explain this troublesome part of speech.

Essay Writing Help

You've created the blueprint for a perfect paper: outlined the framework, devised a great thesis statement and located enough evidence to support your argument. What remains to be done, is to analyze those facts in original and intriguing ways.

How to Improve Essay Writing Skills

If you've been told time and time again that you express great ideas in your essay writing but your writing needs polishing, you aren't alone. The following tips will help improve your writing skills and turn you into a great writer.

Homophones: Do You Mean There, Their, or They're?

If you find yourself making common ESL mistakes, it's OK. English is one of the hardest languages to learn. Being such a blend of original language sources has led to a kaleidoscope of peculiar spellings for English words and the creation of several hundred homophones.