Grammatically Correct: The writer's essential guide to punctuation ...

P A R T F 0 U R
Grammar
The very mention of the word "grammar" makes some writers quail,
evoking an image of unfathomable, rigid and often arbitrary rules but­
tressed by a mountain of terrifying terminology. In fact, for the most part
grammar consists of sensible conventions designed to support unambig­
uous and meaningful expression. Grammar is concerned with the form
and sequence of words in a sentence, and it's often the case that if a rule
isn't followed, some uncertainty or misinterpretation could result.
Achieving clear expression shouldn't be the only motivation for ob­
serving the rules. Unconventional grammar may be taken as an indica­
tion of carelessness or ignorance on the part of a writer, with the result
that readers may end up viewing the content itself less seriously. Thus,
even though some conventions undeniably are based more on tradition
than on logic, the mere fact of their existence means that it is usually in
a writer's interests to abide by them.
This chapter does not review all the parts of speech, since any compe­
tent English speaker intuitively understands most aspects of sentence
structure. Instead, the focus is on a few topics that present frequent
stumbling blocks to even educated and articulate users of the language.
These topics are agreement between subject and verb (ensuring that
these words match each other in form), parallel construction (ensuring
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