Sample Lesson: Grammar

The following is an example of a report which clients receive after providing us with a piece of writing. The example is perhaps overly simplistic, but it is pretty much what you can expect when working with us. This is the format for a grammar report. Of course, the structure for reports on vocabulary/word choice and speech communication are different. We will be including examples of both sometime in the near future. 

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Underlined= Issue in tense/Wrong word
Red Text= Grammatical Error/Unnecessary information


The boy that I know walk down the street. We then went to the store. At the supermarket we looked for vegetables to use for dinner last night. Me and the boy had known each other for years. 

Underlined-
1. The boy- After reading the entire paragraph, it sounds like "the boy" is actually a close friend who you "had known for years". Therefore, it doesn't make sense to refer to him as just the boy. Instead, you could refer to him as "My friend"
Edit: My friend that I know walk down the street"

2. that- Because you are referring to a person and not a place, you want to use "who".
Edit: The boy who I know walk down the street.

3. walk- After reading the entire paragraph, it seems like this is something that takes place in the past. Therefore, you need to use the past tense of walk which is walked.
Tip: Make sure you reread what you write after finishing it. It is very easy to shift tenses while writing without realizing it (it happens to the best of us!)
Edit: The boy that I know walked down the street.

4. store- After reading the following sentence it seems like the store you went to was the supermarket. You want to make sure you let your readers specially know what you mean before you use a broad noun like store. The same goes for proper nouns.
Edit: We went to the supermarket. 
The next sentence could then say "At the store" 

4. Me and the boy- It is usually correct to refer to yourself as "I" and place it after the other nouns. 
Edit: The boy and I
Note: Most of the time it is acceptable to use "me" in conversation with the exception of professional situations such as job interviews and presentations. Although, it probably won't matter much even in those situations.

Red Text-

1. that I know- This part of the sentence does not fit in with the main clause. Notice how the sentence sounds without this: "The boy walk[s] down the street" It still works. In order to embed this clause into the sentence you need to separate it from the main clause with two commas.
Tip: While reading your writing aloud, note places you pause. Most of the time if you pause while reading a sentence there should be a comma or other grammatical mark at that part.
Edit: The boy, that I know, walk[s] down the street.

2. At the supermarket- Similar to the comment above, you can probably hear the pause between "At the supermarket" and "we looked for". Make sure to include a comma.
Tip: Understanding when and when not to use commas or other grammatical marks can be difficult at first but don't stress about it. If you are unsure if you should use a comma you should  include one. I would say that it is better to overuse commas than not us them at all. 
Edit: At the supermarket, we looked for vegetables to use for dinner last night
Note: You could actually combine this sentence with the previous one: "We went to the store to look for vegetables to use for dinner last night"

3. last night- Because your paragraph is already placed in the past, you do not need to include the fact that the vegetables were used for dinner last night (although if you want to place the scene in an exact moment you could keep it). The choice is yours.
Edit: At the supermarket we looked for vegetables to use for dinner.

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If you think having your writing analyzed by us would be beneficial, send us an email at levelupproficiency@gmail.com to schedule an appointment or you can now schedule an appointment directly on our Facebook page. We look forward to hearing from you!

-Ryan M. Shea, English Proficiency Specialist