Pronouns replace other words. People will find content easier to read when pronouns match their context.
Pronouns stand in for nouns. They stand in for groups of words that function as nouns (noun phrases and noun clauses). They can also act like determiners.
A preposition creates relationships between words or phrases. Some words only work with specific prepositions. Choose them deliberately to convey meaning to users.
Conjunctions join whole sentences or parts of a sentence together. They can show people how ideas are linked, or how ideas contrast.
Verbs express when something happened, or that something is continuing or finished. Verbs help people make sense of other parts of a sentence or clause.
Verbs are words that describe:
Adverbs modify meaning when they’re added to a sentence. Use them occasionally to show people how, when, where, or the extent to which something happens.
Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives and other adverbs. They often, but not always, end in ‘-ly’.
Adjectives describe, compare and define nouns and words that act as nouns. Use adjectives to help people understand meaning.
Adjectives describe nouns, noun phrases and noun clauses.
Adjectives usually go immediately before the noun. They can go elsewhere in a sentence – for example, as a predicate.
Nouns are the words that name people, places, organisations and things. Style and grammar support how people interpret nouns in content.
Any name for a specific person, organisation, place or thing is a ‘proper noun’.
Proper nouns always start with capital letters, except for some commercial terms.
When words sound similar or the same, people can confuse their spelling. If you’re not sure about the spelling of a word, check a dictionary.
The spelling of some words is variable. Sometimes it’s difficult to know which spelling or word to use because:
Follow one dictionary for consistency and use it to check variable spellings.
A sentence is a group of words that makes sense on its own. Structure the parts of a sentence so meaning is easy to understand.
Sentences can be statements, questions, exclamations or commands. A full sentence expresses a complete idea.
Sentences contain at least a subject and a verb.
A basic sentence can have more components, for example:
Punctuation and capitalisation have rules for correct use. Use minimal punctuation and capitalisation to make content more readable.
Minimal punctuation doesn’t mean removing all punctuation marks from a sentence. It means removing unnecessary punctuation.
Only use punctuation that makes the sentence grammatically correct and the meaning clear.
Too much punctuation makes text crowded and difficult to read. If a sentence has a lot of punctuation marks, it might be a sign that the sentence is too long or complex. Try to rewrite into shorter, clearer sentences.
To use minimal punctuation:
