Parts of Speech Table

This is a summary of the 8 parts of speech*. You can find more detail if you click on each part of speech.
part of
speech

function or "job"

example words

example sentences

Verb

action or state

(to) be, have, do, like,

work, sing, can, must

EnglishClub.com is a web site. I like

EnglishClub.com.

Noun

thing or person

pen, dog, work, music,

town, London, teacher,
John

This is my dog. He lives in my house.

We live in London.

Adjective

describes a noun

a/an, the, 69, some,

good, big, red, well,
interesting

My dog is big. I like big dogs.

Adverb

describes a verb, adjective

or adverb

quickly, silently, well,

badly, very, really

My dog eats quickly. When he is very

hungry, he eats really quickly.

Pronoun

replaces a noun

I, you, he, she, some

Tara is Indian. She is beautiful.

Preposition

links a noun to another

word

to, at, after, on, but

We went to school on Monday.

Conjunction

joins clauses or sentences

or words

and, but, when

I like dogs and I like cats. I like cats

and dogs. I like dogs but I don't like
cats.

Interjection

short exclamation,
sometimes inserted into a
sentence

oh!, ouch!, hi!, well

Ouch! That hurts! Hi! How are you?

Well, I don't know.

* Some grammar sources categorize English into 9 or 10 parts of speech. At EnglishClub.com, we use the
traditional categorization of 8 parts of speech. Examples of other categorizations are:

Verbs may be treated as two different parts of speech:

o Lexical Verbs (work, like, run)
o Auxiliary Verbs (be, have, must)
Determiners may be treated as a separate part of speech, instead of being categorized under
Adjectives

Prepositions Time
English

Usage

Example

on

days of the week

on Monday

in

months / seasons

in August / in winter

time of day

in the morning

year

in 2006

after a certain period of time (when?)

in an hour

for night

at night

for weekend

at the weekend

a certain point of time (when?)

at half past nine

since

from a certain point of time (past till now)

since 1980

for

over a certain period of time (past till now)

for 2 years

ago

a certain time in the past

2 years ago

before

earlier than a certain point of time

before 2004

to

telling the time

ten to six (5:50)

past

telling the time

ten past six (6:10)

to / till /
until

marking the beginning and end of a period of

from Monday to/till Friday

in the sense of how long something is going to

He is on holiday until Friday.

in the sense of at the latest

I will be back by 6 oclock.

up to a certain time

By 11 o'clock, I had read five pages.

at

time

till / until
last
by

Prepositions Place (Position and Direction)

English
in

at

Usage

Example

room, building, street, town, country

in the kitchen, in London

book, paper etc.

in the book

car, taxi

in the car, in a taxi

picture, world

in the picture, in the world

meaning next to, by an object

at the door, at the station

for table

at the table

English

Usage

Example

for events

at a concert, at the party

place where you are to do something typical

at the cinema, at school, at work

(watch a film, study, work)

attached

the picture on the wall

for a place with a river

London lies on the Thames.

being on a surface

on the table

for a certain side (left, right)

on the left

for a floor in a house

on the first floor

for public transport

on the bus, on a plane

for television, radio

on TV, on the radio

by, next
to, beside

left or right of somebody or something

Jane is standing by / next to / beside the car.

under

on the ground, lower than (or covered by)

the bag is under the table

on

something else
below

lower than something else but above ground

the fish are below the surface

over

covered by something else

put a jacket over your shirt

meaning more than

over 16 years of age

getting to the other side (also across)

walk over the bridge

overcoming an obstacle

climb over the wall

higher than something else, but not directly

a path above the lake

getting to the other side (also over)

walk across the bridge

getting to the other side

swim across the lake

something with limits on top, bottom and the

drive through the tunnel

movement to person or building

go to the cinema

movement to a place or country

go to London / Ireland

for bed

go to bed

into

enter a room / a building

go into the kitchen / the house

towards

movement in the direction of something (but

go 5 steps towards the house

above
over it
across

through
sides
to

not directly to it)

onto

movement to the top of something

jump onto the table

from

in the sense of where from

a flower from the garden

Other important Prepositions

English
from

of

Usage

Example

who gave it

a present from Jane

who/what does it belong to

a page of the book

what does it show

the picture of a palace

by

who made it

a book by Mark Twain

on

walking or riding on horseback

on foot, on horseback

entering a public transport vehicle

get on the bus

in

entering a car / Taxi

get in the car

off

leaving a public transport vehicle

get off the train

leaving a car / Taxi

get out of the taxi

rise or fall of something

prices have risen by 10 percent

out of

by

travelling (other than walking or horse riding)

at
about

by car, by bus

for age

she learned Russian at 45

for topics, meaning what about

we were talking about you

Here are a few common prepositions and examples.

On
Used to express a surface of something:

I put an egg on the kitchen table.

The paper is on my desk.

Used to specify days and dates:

The garbage truck comes on Wednesdays.

I was born on the 14th day of June in 1988.

Used to indicate a device or machine, such as a phone or computer:

He is on the phone right now.

She has been on the computer since this morning.

My favorite movie will be on TV tonight.

Used to indicate a part of the body:

The stick hit me on my shoulder.

He kissed me on my cheek.
I wear a ring on my finger.

Used to indicate the state of something:

Everything in this store is on sale.

The building is on fire.

At
Used to point out specific time:

I will meet you at 12 p.m.

The bus will stop here at 5:45 p.m.
Used to indicate a place:

There is a party at the club house.

There were hundreds of people at the park.
We saw a baseball game at the stadium.
Used to indicate an email address:

Please email me at [email protected].

Used to indicate an activity:

He laughed at my acting.
I am good at drawing a portrait.

In
Used for unspecific times during a day, month, season, year:

She always reads newspapers in the morning.

In the summer, we have a rainy season for three weeks.

The new semester will start in March.

Used to indicate a location or place:

She looked me directly in the eyes.

I am currently staying in a hotel.

My hometown is Los Angeles, which is in California.

Used to indicate a shape, color, or size:

This painting is mostly in blue.

The students stood in a circle.

This jacket comes in four different sizes.

Used to express while doing something:

In preparing for the final report, we revised the tone three times.

A catch phrase needs to be impressive in marketing a product.

Used to indicate a belief, opinion, interest, or feeling:

I believe in the next life.

We are not interested in gambling.

5 Speaking Rules you need to know!

1. Don't study grammar too much
This rule might sound strange to many ESL students, but it is one of the most important rules. If you want to pass examinations, then
study grammar. However, if you want to become fluent in English, then you should try to learn English without studying the grammar.
Studying grammar will only slow you down and confuse you. You will think about the rules when creating sentences instead of
naturally saying a sentence like a native. Remember that only a small fraction of English speakers know more than 20% of all the
grammar rules. Many ESL students know more grammar than native speakers. I can confidently say this with experience. I am a
native English speaker, majored in English Literature, and have been teaching English for more than 10 years. However, many of my
students know more details about English grammar than I do. I can easily look up the definition and apply it, but I don't know it off the
top of my head.
I often ask my native English friends some grammar questions, and only a few of them know the correct answer. However, they are
fluent in English and can read, speak, listen, and communicate effectively.
Do you want to be able to recite the definition of a causative verb, or do you want to be able to speak English fluently?

2. Learn and study phrases

Many students learn vocabulary and try to put many words together to create a proper sentence. It amazes me how many words
some of my students know, but they cannot create a proper sentence. The reason is because they didn't study phrases. When
children learn a language, they learn both words and phrases together. Likewise, you need to study and learn phrases.
If you know 1000 words, you might not be able to say one correct sentence. But if you know 1 phrase, you can make hundreds of
correct sentences. If you know 100 phrases, you will be surprised at how many correct sentences you will be able to say. Finally,
when you know only a 1000 phrases, you will be almost a fluent English speaker.
The English Speaking Basics section is a great example of making numerous sentences with a single phrase. So don't spend hours
and hours learning many different words. Use that time to study phrases instead and you will be closer to English fluency.
Don't translate

When you want to create an English sentence, do not translate the words from your Mother tongue. The order of words is probably
completely different and you will be both slow and incorrect by doing this. Instead, learn phrases and sentences so you don't have to
think about the words you are saying. It should be automatic.
Another problem with translating is that you will be trying to incorporate grammar rules that you have learned. Translating and
thinking about the grammar to create English sentences is incorrect and should be avoided.

3. Reading and Listening is NOT enough. Practice Speaking what you hear!
Reading, listening, and speaking are the most important aspects of any language. The same is true for English. However, speaking is
the only requirement to be fluent. It is normal for babies and children to learn speaking first, become fluent, then start reading, then
writing. So the natural order is listening, speaking, reading, then writing.
First Problem
Isn't it strange that schools across the world teach reading first, then writing, then listening, and finally speaking? Although it is
different, the main reason is because when you learn a second language, you need to read material to understand and learn it. So
even though the natural order is listening, speaking, reading, then writing, the order for ESL students is reading, listening, speaking,
then writing.
Second Problem
The reason many people can read and listen is because that's all they practice. But in order to speak English fluently, you need to
practice speaking. Don't stop at the listening portion, and when you study, don't just listen. Speak out loud the material you are
listening to and practice what you hear. Practice speaking out loud until your mouth and brain can do it without any effort. By doing
so, you will be able to speak English fluently.

4. Submerge yourself
Being able to speak a language is not related to how smart you are. Anyone can learn how to speak any language. This is a proven
fact by everyone in the world. Everyone can speak at least one language. Whether you are intelligent, or lacking some brain power,
you are able to speak one language.
This was achieved by being around that language at all times. In your country, you hear and speak your language constantly. You will
notice that many people who are good English speakers are the ones who studied in an English speaking school. They can speak
English not because they went to an English speaking school, but because they had an environment where they can be around
English speaking people constantly.
There are also some people who study abroad and learn very little. That is because they went to an English speaking school, but
found friends from their own country and didn't practice English.
You don't have to go anywhere to become a fluent English speaker. You only need to surround yourself with English. You can do this
by making rules with your existing friends that you will only speak English. You can also carry around an iPod and constantly listen to
English sentences. As you can see, you can achieve results by changing what your surroundings are. Submerge yourself in English
and you will learn several times faster.
TalkEnglish Offline Version is now ready for download. In this package, you can utilize over 8000 audio files to completely surround
yourself in English. There are over 13.5 hours of audio files that are not available in the web form. All conversations and all sentences
are included, so even if you don't have many English speaking friends, you can constantly surround yourself in English using your
MP3 player. This package is available at the English Download page. Take advantage of this opportunity and start learning English
faster. Click on the link or go to http://www.talkenglish.com/english-download.aspx.

5. Study correct material

A common phrase that is incorrect is, "Practice makes perfect." This is far from the truth. Practice only makes what you are
practicing permanent. If you practice the incorrect sentence, you will have perfected saying the sentence incorrectly. Therefore, it
is important that you study material that is commonly used by most people.
Another problem I see is that many students study the news. However, the language they speak is more formal and the content
they use is more political and not used in regular life. It is important to understand what they are saying, but this is more of an
advanced lesson that should be studied after learning the fundamental basics of English.
Studying English with a friend who is not a native English speaker is both good and bad. You should be aware of the pros and
cons of speaking with a non native speaking friend. Practicing with a non native person will give you practice. You can also
motivate each other and point out basic mistakes. But you might pick up bad habits from one another if you are not sure about
what are correct and incorrect sentences. So use these practice times as a time period to practice the correct material you studied.
Not to learn how to say a sentence.
In short, study English material that you can trust, that is commonly used, and that is correct.

This page will provide a review of the parts of speech and sentences so that you can identify for yourself
when you are using them properly (and possibly understand your instructor's comments better). We'll start
with the basics and move on to the very confusing.

PARTS OF SPEECH
NOUN: These name persons, things, places, ideas -- can be concrete or abstract. EX: Stephanie, door,
biology, honor.
PRONOUN: These substitute for nouns but act in the same way. They can be individual (I, you, he) or
collective (everyone, each). EX: they, who, which, she.
ADJECTIVE: These describe or modify nouns. EX: slow, quiet, useful, blue, much.
VERB: These state an action or a state of being. EX: kick, call, create, is, will be. Verbs can be
transitive, meaning that they act on something else, or intransitive, meaning that they don't. EX:
Transitive: Walter kicked the football. Intransitive: I was asleep. Verbs can also be linking verbs,
meaning that they connect a subject to a word or group of words which describe or complete its
meaning. EX: The car was blue and full of bullet holes.
When a verb is in its present participle ("ing") form, it can operate as a noun (called a gerund). EX:
Walking, throwing a football, going downtown.

ADVERB: These modify several things: verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. Adverbs are often made
from adjectives (careful -- carefully). They answer these questions about an action: where? when?
why? how? in what way? how much? EX: tomorrow, next, quietly, honorably, very.
CONJUNCTION: These join words, phrases and clauses. There are three kinds of conjuctions:
1. Coordinating Conjunctions: these are single words that join words, phrases, and clauses of
equal grammatical importance in the sentence. EX: and, but, or, so.
2. Coorelative Conjunctions: these are pairs of words that join equally important words,
phrases, and clauses. EX: either...or, both...and, not only...but also.
3. Subordinating Conjuctions: these begin clauses that cannot stand on their own and tell you
how that clause relates to the rest of the sentence. These words help you create sentences with
increasingly complicated ideas and relationships between those ideas. EX (not a complete list):
if, because, although, when, where, unless, until, since.
PREPOSITIONS: These words or phrases relate nouns or pronouns to other words in a sentence, and
often indicate some sort of positional relationship. EX: of, in, about, to, around, next to, on top of.
PHRASE: a group of related words that does not have a subject, or does not have a predicate, or both.
A phrase acts collectively as a single part of speech, and is usually a noun, adject or adverb. EX: Noun
phrase: The winningest football team is at Greenville High. Adjective phrase: I went down the street
with a smile on my face. Adverb phrase: I went down the street more slowly than I ever had before.
There are, however, some special types of phrases:
Prepositional Phrases: prepositions and their objects and modifiers. EX: That book is on top of the
bookcase. Alice went through the looking glass.

Verbal Phrases: A verbal is a form of a verb that doesn't act as a verb. This is not as confusing as it
sounds; we all know that infinitive forms of verbs (to go, to be) do not function as verbs in that form.
Phrases that include verbals are gerund phrases, participial phrases, and infinitive phrases.
1. Gerund phrases: these always function as nouns. Their verbals are the present participle
("ing") forms of verbs. EX: Lying around all day is the worst thing you can do in your
condition!
2. Participal phrases: these always function as adjectives. Their verbals are present participles
(the "ing" form) or past participles (the "ed") form. EX: (Present) The book lying on the
counter is overdue. (Past) Tired from his workout, Jason rested for an hour.
3. Infinitive phrases: these can function as nouns, adjectives or adverbs. Their verbals are
always infinitive forms. EX: I have lost the chance to say I am sorry. To be a good friend is
my goal.

PARTS OF SENTENCES
SUBJECT: Who or what the sentence is about. The noun, pronoun, or group of words acting as a
noun, that performs the action indicated in the predicate of the sentence or clause. EX: Katie is going
downtown. Stopping at a red light is always a good idea.
PREDICATE: Basically, the rest of the sentence or clause other than the subject; it usually has a verb,
and thus indicates some action, but may have other functions such as modifying the subject. EX: Katie
is going downtown. Stopping at a red light is always a good idea.
OBJECT: A word or group of words which receives the action of a verb or that completes the
description or statement being made about the subject. Lots of confusing possibilities here; here are a
few major ones.
1. Direct Objects: a word or group of words that follow transitive verbs (see above), and name
the receiver of the action. EX: I threw the baseball.
2. Indirect Objects: a noun or pronoun that come before or behind a direct object, and tells to
whom or for whom or what the action is done. EX: I gave the ball to Jack.
3. Subject complements: follow a linking verb (see above) and describe or complete the
meaning of the subject. These can be nouns (I am the manager), or adjectives (I am so
stupid!).
4. Object complements: like a subject complement, but applied to something else: a word or
group of words that describes or completes a direct object's meaning. These can also be nouns
or adjectives. EX: Love makes the world a happier place. Yes, I am calling you ridiculous.
CLAUSES: unlike a phrase, a clause contains both a subject and a predicate. If a clause can stand by
itself as a sentence, it is an independent clause. If the clause is acting as a noun, adjective or adverb
and cannot stand by itself, it is a dependent or subordinate clause.

If you need help understanding the way sentences are put together, click here to skip to the Sentences page in
this chapter.
If you would like to move on to the next page in this chapter, click here for the Using Pronouns page.

The Parts of a Sentence

Sentence: a group of words that expresses a complete thought. Every sentence contains a subject and a predicate.
1.

Subject: the noun or noun phrase that tells whom or what the sentence addresses.
Roger decided to save more money.
Almost all cats dislike water.

Full or complete subject: the subject and all the words that modify it.
Patrick Henrys dream of freedom for all citizens compelled him to make his famous declaration.

Simple subject: the main noun of the complete subject.

Patrick Henrys dream of freedom for all citizens compelled him to make his famous declaration.

Compound subject: a complete subject with multiple simple subjects.

Miguel and the young boy became friends.

2.

Predicate: a verb or verb phrase telling what the subject does or is.

Full or complete predicate: the verb of the sentence and all the words that modify it.
The old dog climbs slowly up the stairs.

Simple predicate: the main verb in the full predicate that indicates the action or state of being of the simple
subject.
The old dog climbs slowly up the stairs.

Compound predicate: a complete predicate with multiple verbs.

He thought of his lover and missed her dearly.
The goose was looking straight ahead and running for the pond.

3.

Clause: a part of a sentence that contains its own subject and predicate.

Independent clause: a clause that could function as its own sentence.

When the Mets are playing, the stadium is full.

Dependent clause: a clause that cannot function as its own sentence. A dependent clause relies on an
independent clause to complete its meaning.

A dependent clause can function as a noun,

I realized that I owed Patrick fifty dollars.

as an adverb,
When the Mets are playing, the stadium is full.

or as an adjective.
The beef that I ate for dinner made me queasy.

Elliptical clause: a type of dependent clause with a subject and verb that are implied rather than expressed.
Though unhappy, she still smiled.
In the clause Though unhappy, the subject and verb she was are implied: Although (she was) unhappy.

4.

Phrase: a group of related words without a subject or predicate.

Noun phrase: a phrase that acts as a noun. A noun phrase can function as a subject,
The snarling dog strained against its chain.
object,
He gave her the book of poems.
prepositional object,
The acrobat fell into the safety net.
gerund phrase,
Dancing the tango is a popular activity in Argentina.
or infinitive phrase.
To dream is to be human.

Adjective phrase: a phrase that modifies nouns or pronouns. Participial phrases and many prepositional phrases
are adjective phrases.
The actor playing Puck left much to be desired.

Adverb phrase: a phrase that begins with a preposition, and that functions as an adverb.
The theater was crowded with the actors fans.

Prepositional phrase: a phrase made up of a preposition, its object, and its modifiers.
The roof of the old theater was leaking badly.

5.

Modifier: a word or phrase that modifies or adds information to other parts of a sentence. Adjectives, adverbs, and many
phrases and clauses are modifiers.

Limiting modifier: a word or phrase that limits the scope or degree of an idea. Words like almost, only, or barely
are modifiers.
It was almost time for dinner.

Restricting modifier: a phrase or clause that restricts the meaning of what it modifies and is necessary to the idea
of its sentence.
Any dog that has not had its shots should be taken to a veterinarian immediately.

Nonrestricting modifier: a modifier that adds information but is not necessary to the sentence. Commas, dashes,
or parentheses set apart nonrestricting modifiers.
Seventeenth-century poets, many of whom were also devout Christians, wrote excellent poetry.
We could hear the singing birda wren, perhaps, or a robinthroughout the forest.

Types of Sentences
1.

Sentences can be defined according to their content or intention:

Declarative sentence: a sentence that states a fact or an idea.

The police officer stopped the man in the red car because he was speeding.

Interrogative sentence: a sentence that asks a question and ends in a question mark.
Where are the songs of spring?

Imperative sentence: a sentence that issues a command or makes a request.

Please bring me the newspaper.

Exclamatory sentence: a sentence that issues a command or makes a dramatic observation. Exclamation points
should not punctuate declarative sentences.
What a tiring day!
Get away from me!

2.

Sentences also can be defined according to their structure:

Simple sentence: a sentence made up of a single independent clause.

It is a beautiful day.

Compound sentence: a sentence made up of two independent clauses connected by a conjunction.

It is a beautiful day, and Im eager to go outside.

Complex sentence: a sentence made up of one or more dependent clauses connected to an independent clause.
Because it is a beautiful day, Im eager to go outside.

Compound-complex sentence: a sentence made up of multiple independent clauses and at least one dependent
clause.
I love sunshine, and because it is a beautiful day, Im eager to go outside.

Grammar
Parts of speech are the basic types of words that English has. Most grammar books say that there are eight parts of
speech: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, conjunctions, prepositions, and interjections. There is one more
type to add: articles.
It is important to be able to recognize and identify the different types of words in English so that you can understand
grammar explanations and use the right word form in the right place. Here is a brief explanation of what the parts of
speech are:
A noun is a naming word. It names a person, place, thing, idea,
Noun

living creature, quality, or action.

Examples: cowboy, theatre, box, thought, tree, kindness,
arrival
A verb is a word which describes an action (doing something) or

Verb

a state (being something).

Examples: walk, talk, think, believe, live, like, want
An adjective is a word that describes a noun. It tells you

Adjective

something about the noun.

Examples: big, yellow, thin, amazing, beautiful, quick,
important
An adverb is a word which usually describes a verb. It tells you
how something is done. It may also tell you when or where

Adverb

something happened.
Examples: slowly, intelligently, well, yesterday, tomorrow, here,
everywhere
A pronoun is used instead of a noun, to avoid repeating the

Pronoun

noun.
Examples: I, you, he, she, it, we, they

Conjunction

A conjunction joins two words, phrases or sentences together.

Examples: but, so, and, because, or
A preposition usually comes before a noun, pronoun or noun

Preposition phrase. It joins the noun to some other part of the sentence.
Examples: on, in, by, with, under, through, at
An interjection is an unusual kind of word, because it often
Interjection

stands alone. Interjections are words which express emotion or

surprise, and they are usually followed by exclamation marks.
Examples: Ouch!, Hello!, Hurray!, Oh no!, Ha!
An article, sometimes called a determiner, is used to introduce

Article

a noun.
Examples: the, a, an

Punctuation
The following English language punctuation information is edited from thePurdue Online Writing Lab and the University of
Sydney, UTS, Business School: Guide to Writing Assignments.
Sample Rules for Using Commas
1. Use commas to separate independent clauses when they are joined by any of these seven coordinating
conjunctions: and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet.

The game was over, but the crowd refused to leave.

The student explained her question, yet the instructor still didn't seem to understand.
Yesterday was her brother's birthday, so she took him out to dinner.
2. Use commas after introductory a) clauses, b) phrases, or c) words that come before the main clause.
a. Common starter words for introductory clauses that should be followed by a comma include after, although, as,
because, if, since, when, while.
While I was eating, the cat scratched at the door.
Because her alarm clock was broken, she was late for class.
If you are ill, you ought to see a doctor.
When the snow stops falling, we'll shovel the driveway.
More rules for using commas
Sample Rules for Using Semicolons
1. You can use a semicolon to join two independent clauses. Joining two independent clauses this way implies
that the two clauses are related and/or equal, or perhaps that one restates the other.
Examples:
Seinfeld was definitely my favourite television show during the 1990s; in fact, it is my favourite television
show of all time.
Mary and I are going to ABC Industries in Winnipeg next week; well make sure to meet up with Terry Jones,
Lisa Mandel, and rest of the Innovations Team.
2. Use semicolons between items in a list that already involve commas.
Examples:
I have lived in Calgary, Alberta; Denver, Colorado; and Houston, Texas.
The sweaters we purchase-ordered today were purple, blue, and green; yellow, white, and red; and pink,
black, and grey.
3. Use a semicolon in place of a period to separate two sentences where the conjunction has been left out.
Examples:
Call me tomorrow; I will give you my answer then.
I have paid my dues; therefore, I expect all the privileges listed in the contract.
More rules for using semicolons and colons
Sample Rules for Using Colons
1. Use a colon after an independent clause when introducing a list.
Example:
The catering facility offers the following entrees: fried catfish, grilled chicken, pan-seared salmon, and sirloin
steak.
2. Use a colon after an independent clause when introducing a quotation.
Example:
My teachers remark on my final essay was very complimentary: This essay coherently analyzes marketing
trends of the past fiscal year.
3. Use a colon between two independent clauses when you want to emphasize the second clause.
Example:
I dont understand why that store does so well: everything there is so expensive.

Ten Keys to Successful Business Writing

1. Always recognize that your written words not only reflect your expertise, but also your diligence and
commitment.
2. Good business writing requires keeping sentences brief. Long sentences are most often signs of an
undisciplined mind.
3. Always spell the names of persons, places, and things correctly. There is almost no room for error in
business-writing.
4. Diligently check your spelling. The use of spell-check programs is almost always inadequate by itself.
5. Use punctuation marks appropriately. Most common errors in business writing have to do with commas,
semicolons, and colons. Use of the many courses, workshops, coaches, and other resources listed on this
website will enhance your business-writing skill-set.
6. An executive summary should reflect your careful reflection of the main points of the full
document/material.
7. An executive summary should be readable within two minutes or less. If more detail is absolutely
necessary, consider a three to five page Addendum to the Executive Summary.
8. Use bulleted lists sparingly. Make certain their meaning has some substance and can be understood by the
reader.
9. If your written words dont sound right when read aloud, there is almost always something wrong with the
grammar or punctuation.
10.It has been said that a document which bears your name is your real calling card. It reflects what you
really offer, what you value, and your true level of commitment. This holds true of anything you write. For
the people reading it your words, and how you use them, signals who you are. Keep this saying in mind when
writing an academic paper, sending an email or letter, writing a resume, or creating a business report.