Published on
December 3, 2024
by
Tom Challenger, BA.
Revised on
November 27, 2025
We use is with singular nouns and “he,” “she,” and “it” (third-person pronouns) but are with plural nouns as well as “you” and “they.” However, deciding what is singular or plural, or which pronoun to use, can sometimes be tricky.
Published on
October 22, 2024
by
Tom Challenger, BA.
Revised on
November 27, 2025
Sentences can be in the active voice (e.g., “He made the breakfast”) or the passive voice (e.g., “The breakfast was made by him”).
In the active voice, the grammatical subject of the sentence is the “doer” of the action described by the verb (“He made…”), but in the passive voice, the subject is the “recipient” of this action (“The breakfast was made…”).
Active voice examples in a sentenceMy friendcuts my hair.
The mail carrierdelivered the letter at about 10 a.m.
Published on
October 11, 2024
by
Tom Challenger, BA.
Revised on
November 27, 2025
Sentences can be in the passive voice (e.g., “The window was cleaned”) or the active voice (e.g., “He cleaned the window”). In the active voice, the “doer” of the action described by the verb is the grammatical subject of the sentence (“He cleaned…”), but in the passive voice, the subject is the “recipient” of this action (“The window was cleaned…”).
Choosing the passive voice allows us to make the sentence or clause “about” the recipient rather than the doer (or “agent”).
You construct the passive by using a form of the auxiliary verbbe (e.g., “was”) and the past participle of the main verb (e.g., “cleaned”). If you want to mention the agent in the passive voice, it comes after the prepositionby (e.g., “…was cleaned by him”).
Passive voice examples in a sentenceAll the ingredients are cooled before mixing.
These ones are madeby a different company.
It isscheduled for release next week.
They said the delivery had already beenmade.
When were these windows last cleaned?
The event is going to beheld in New York, but the date has yet to be announced.
The movie hasbeenslammed on social media.
TipOveruse of passive voice can make text sound stilted and unnatural. So, replacing passive voice with active voice is one way to humanize AI text.
Either … or is a correlative conjunction that is used to present two options or say that one of two things is true (e.g., “I’d like either ramen or sushi”).
Correlative conjunctions are pairs of words that are used to show the relationship between two words, phrases, or clauses. Others include neither … nor and not only … but also.
Either … or examplesEither Marisol or Asher will lead the meeting.
The movie was divisive: people either hated it or loved it.
Will you either wash the dishes or sweep the floor?
Neither … nor is a correlative conjunction that is used to indicate that two things are not true (e.g., “The candidate appeared neither prepared nor interested”).
Correlative conjunctions are pairs of words that are used to show the relationship between two grammatically equal parts of a sentence. Others include either … or and not only … but also.
Neither … nor examplesNeither the rain nor the wind could stop the match.
The new policy neither addresses employee concerns nor improves productivity.
The committee accepted neither the proposed rule change nor the amended budget.
Not only … but also is a correlative conjunction—a pair of words that is used to show the relationship between two grammatically equal parts of a sentence (e.g., “The company let down not only its shareholders but also its employees”).
You can use not only … but also when you want to emphasize that in addition to something already known, assumed, or expected (the “not only” phrase), there is something else (the “but also” phrase) that makes the statement more surprising, interesting, terrible, etc.
Not only … but also examplesShe has visited not only all 50 states but also 13 countries.
Not only minor celebrities but also true superstars turned out for the event.
The high winds not only downed power lines but also overturned mobile homes.
As the name suggests, compound-complex sentences incorporate elements of both a compound sentence and a complex sentence, two of the other sentence structures in English.
Compound-complex sentence examplesOnce this storm is over, our plane can take off, and we can actually begin our vacation.
This necklace is very important to me, so don’t lose it unless you want to see me angry.
The convention was electrifying; many attendees, who came from all over the country, said they didn’t want to leave.
If Ellen doesn’t want to go, I can ask Patrick, or I can just go alone.
A compound sentence consists of two independent clauses (i.e., two simple sentences) joined most often by a comma and coordinating conjunction or a semicolon (e.g., “I went to the store, and Marcus cooked dinner”).
Complex sentence examplesStar always drinks a smoothie after she works out.
If you go to the store, will you pick up some milk?
My cousin, who lives in Germany, is coming to visit next week.
Lock the door when you leave.
TipOne characteristic of AI writing is a lack of variety in sentence structure. If you want to humanize AI content, try using different types of sentences in your writing.
