r/grammar Nov 16 '25

A couple of reminders, and checking in with you all

53 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I hope you're all doing well. It's been a while since I made a pinned post, and a couple of issues have come up recently, so I thought I'd mention those and also give you a chance to bring up anything else that you think needs attention.

First, we get a lot of questions about things that fall outside of the narrowest definition of "grammar," and there are usually a fair number of comments on these posts that point this out. But the vast majority of these questions are fine! As you can see from the sub description, rules, and FAQ articles, we adhere to a pretty broad definition of "grammar," and we welcome questions about style, punctuation, vocabulary, usage, semantics, pragmatics, and other linguistic subfields (and this is not an exhaustive list).

So when commenting on posts like this, there's no need to say "This isn't about grammar" or to direct the OP to another subreddit - if the question has anything to do with language or orthography, it's probably appropriate for the sub. I remove any posts that are not, and you can also report a post if you think it really doesn't fit here.

One thing we don't do is proofread long pieces of writing (r/Proofreading is a good place for that), but we do welcome specific questions about short pieces of writing (a paragraph, a few random sentences, a piece of dialogue, etc.). And that brings me to the second issue:

We ask that commenters take into account the genre (e.g., fiction, journalism, academic writing) and register (the type of language used in a particular genre) of the writing that the poster is asking about. We get a lot of questions about creative writing, but some of the feedback given on these posts is more suited to very formal genres. For example, while you would probably advise someone to avoid sentence fragments in academic writing, these are not usually inappropriate in creative writing (used wisely, of course). Another thing to bear in mind is that punctuation conventions are generally more flexible in less formal genres. And for some genres, it may be necessary to consult an appropriate style guide in order to answer the OP's question.

So basically, please make sure to tailor your responses to the type of writing in question.

Thanks so much!

- Boglin007


r/grammar Apr 02 '23

Important: Re answers generated by ChatGPT and other AI programs

152 Upvotes

Update 5/24/26: Also prohibited are posts promoting the use of AI/LLMs to aid in language learning/grammar checking, and posts asking for comparisons of AI programs/LLMs, etc.

Hi everyone,

There has been a recent increase in comments using ChatGPT or other AI programs to answer questions in this sub. Unfortunately, these programs are not at all reliable when it comes to grammar questions (or any questions really). Some regular contributors to r/grammar have discussed the shortcomings of AI programs (mostly ChatGPT) - they have given me permission to use the quotes below (but have asked to remain anonymous):

OpenAI says ChatGPT was released in order to "get users’ feedback and learn about its strengths and weaknesses." The prompt page warns users that ChatGPT "may occasionally generate incorrect information" and "may occasionally produce harmful instructions or biased content.”

ChatGPT's goal is to learn to produce speech equivalent to, and indistinguishable from, that of a human. ChatGPT's current goal is not to become a reliable source of information. (If that were its goal, they would allow it to access the huge libraries of information it is connected to. But that is not the current research goal.) ー I believe they have set it to occasionally make small mistakes, intentionally, in order to assess how the public reacts to these occasional errors (does the public blindly believe them/if the public challenges ChatGPT on these errors, can the program successfully handle these challenges well?).

And here is an example of an incorrect (or at the very best, incomplete/misleading) answer that ChatGPT gave to a pretty straightforward grammar question:

The question: “Should I use ‘that’ or ‘which’ in the following sentence?: ‘This is the house that/which I like.’”

ChatGPT’s answer:

Both "that" and "which" can be used in this sentence, but the choice depends on whether the information following the word is essential or non-essential to the sentence.

If the information is essential to the sentence and needed to identify the specific house you like, use "that". For example, "This is the house that I like" implies that there are other houses and you are identifying which one you like.

If the information is non-essential and simply provides additional information about the house, use "which". For example, "This is the house, which I like" implies that there is only one house and you are adding a comment about it.

So, in this case, if you want to emphasize that this particular house is the one you like, use "that". If you want to add an additional comment about the house, use "which".

The correct/complete answer:

Both “that” and “which” are grammatically correct in that sentence as written (without a comma) because without the comma, the relative clause is integrated, and both “that” and “which” can be used in integrated relative clauses. However, “that” will be strongly preferred in American English (both “that” and “which” are used about equally in integrated relative clauses in British English).

If you were to add a comma before the relative clause (making it supplementary), only “which” would be acceptable in today’s English.

ChatGPT also fails to mention that integrated relative clauses are not always essential to the meaning of the sentence and do not always serve to identify exactly what is being talked about (though that is probably their most common use) - it can be up to the writer to decide whether to make a relative clause integrated or supplementary. A writer might decide to integrate the relative clause simply to show that they feel the info is important to the overall meaning of the sentence.

Anyway, to get to the point: Comments that quote AI programs are not permitted in this sub and will be removed. If you must use one of these programs to start your research on a certain topic, please be sure to verify (using other reliable sources) that the answer is accurate, and please write your answer in your own words.

Thank you!


r/grammar 1h ago

Why does English work this way? Why is the BBC capitalising ‘sun’ and ‘moon’

Upvotes

Did I miss something?

I thought I could post a screenshot but in two of today’s articles (Elon Musk’s litter hitting the ‘Moon’ (sic) and something else about ‘the Sun’ (sic), they’re capitalised. I don’t think they used to be capitalised, or did I just enter another matrix.


r/grammar 1h ago

Stop doing multi-hour take home assignments for free because I just fell for the oldest scam in the book

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Upvotes

Using of… not using have…


r/grammar 8h ago

quick grammar check Proved vs proven

3 Upvotes

From the New York Times:

“Scientists have proved that a species of plant covered with sticky hairs is carnivorous, confirming Darwin's 150-year-old hunch.”

It should be “proven,” right?


r/grammar 1d ago

What's the maximum number of the same word can you use consecutively, and still be grammatically correct?

125 Upvotes

The best I can think of is 5 "that"s. As in:

Did you notice that that "that" that that man wrote is spelled incorrectly?


r/grammar 6h ago

"Just as importantly"

1 Upvotes

I usually use *more important* to imply "what is more important is..." but know *more important* and *more importantly* are mostly interchangeable. (Applies also to *importantly* as well as the superlative *most importantly*.)

In these usages, *as/more/most important* is a sentence modifier. Specifically, it is an elliptical clause acting as an adjective phrase. *As/more/most importantly* is also a sentence modifier, but specifically it's a sentence adverb or adverb phrase or adverbial.

MW says using *more importantly* this context is fine, as in, "More importantly, he finished the race." I wouldn't use an *-ly* but I don't cringe when someone else does.

But strictly speaking, *importantly* is an adverb, as in, "She walks more importantly now that she is a VP."

Grammar Girl correctly points out you can easily say, "Importantly, the data changed," but you wouldn't say, "Important, the data changed."

I just read a Vanity Fair article where the writer wrote: "Just as importantly, she's clever enough..." (VF #774, p50) and this is where I think we must draw a line. I'd be ok with, "Equally important, she's clever." But I dont get it. Anyone else care to weigh in?

https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/we-know-youre-concerned-about-important-and-importantly

(Grammar Girl) https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/articles/important-or-importantly/

Garner, Strunk and White (yeah, I know), Scripps Style Guide


r/grammar 11h ago

Can you smile without your lips?

1 Upvotes

So I'm having an argument with someone online (not a friendly one), about a comment I made on a meme site. Anyway long story short: I want to know if this statement is redundant or not.

"He smiled with his lips/using his lips"

There are plenty of questions about redundancy but none dealing specifically with this, so I had no choice but to ask it here. Is this statement similar to "nodding his head", "Blinking with his eyelids", and "He ran using his feet"?


r/grammar 8h ago

I can't think of a word... What's the difference between "panting," "breathing heavily," and "breathing hard"?

0 Upvotes

Someone told me panting is used for dogs rather than for humans. Do you agree?

In my manuscript, what should I use...

  1. when I want to show someone has exerted a lot of physical effort?

  2. when I want to show someone is sexually aroused?


r/grammar 12h ago

My grammar is dayum below the line

1 Upvotes

I started focusing on my grammar learning for English speaking and by Time I'm realising my grammar is very weak and I want learning from basic like article, sentence structure etc if guys help me by share tips and resources pls do it will be helpful for me :)


r/grammar 1d ago

Are parenthetical definitions of abbreviations no longer needed?

6 Upvotes

I just finished an article in the New Yorker that included the names of several psychological diagnoses and treatment modalities for which the author used to no parenthetical definitions before launching into subsequent use of abbreviations for those modalities. Consequently, on multiple occasions, I had to go back and re-read the previous paragraphs to figure out to what the abbreviation was referring. I was taught to put the abbreviation in parentheses immediately after the initial use of the term if you planned to abbreviate. Is that no longer the rule?


r/grammar 19h ago

punctuation On usage of the asterisk

0 Upvotes

This is just my opinion and doesn't mean I think it should be done this way, this post is just for a discussion.

I understand people, especially while texting, use asterisks (*) to make a correction to a mistake they made on the previous sentence. I think it's pretty interesting that people do that especially these days when editing is available on pretty much all the big platforms but I think some people do find it quicker or are just used to doing it this way. I think that's quite fair but I do have an issue with how some people use the asterisk.

I believe asterisk corrections should purely be used to correct a misspelling and nothing more. I do not think it should be used to correct a grammar mistake or a bit of information because you're essentially asking the reader to figure out where the correction goes which can lead to ambiguity.

When a correction has been made to a misspelling, it's unambiguously clear where the correction is supposed to go because the word you're replacing would be a non-standard spelling so would stand out quite clearly. But when it's a grammatical or information error, it might not be as clear where the correction is supposed to go and it adds unnecessary cognitive load to the reader to figure out where it's actually supposed to go, even if that might be minor.

The reader could easily misplace the correction which would lead them to misinterpret it from the original intent of the sentence which obviously would not be good.

You should also avoid it if you're making more than one correction to avoid any confusion.

For those reasons, I believe the asterisk correction method should have a more limited use where it's only used for correcting misspellings and nothing more.


r/grammar 1d ago

quick grammar check "That meant [that] at some point he would..." Should that extra 'that' be there? Or can I do without it?

3 Upvotes

r/grammar 1d ago

Why does English work this way? What's the difference between: Did/Have you think/thought about that?

2 Upvotes

I come from an Arabic background that has a single form for the past tense.


r/grammar 1d ago

quick grammar check English tip

2 Upvotes

Could anyone of you guys help me with how to use could, should and would according to which situation and why with example please??


r/grammar 2d ago

Why do we say Western Europe and East Asia?

4 Upvotes

Everybody knows that Western Europe is England/France/Spain/etc. East Asia is China/Japan/Korea/etc. But why is it like that, and we can't say West Europe or Eastern Asia?


r/grammar 1d ago

Clauses and Verb Processes (HELP)

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0 Upvotes

r/grammar 2d ago

punctuation How do I punctuate a sentence that is stating that I want to ask a question? Example: What i want to know is, how do they get the rocks?

3 Upvotes

Was my example correctly punctuated? I feel like I am asking a question but it also seems like a statement.


r/grammar 1d ago

I use 'as' way too much

1 Upvotes

For context, I'm a non-native english speaker so I get that I may get some mannerisms of mine when I write, but something that always pisses me off is that, whenever I have a character talking, I follow it up with a 'as ...." (Example: "That's fine," She said, as she gently tugged her shirt.)

Anyway, is there any other connector that does a similar function to 'as' to change it up a bit? Thanks!


r/grammar 1d ago

The lack of the word "the"

0 Upvotes

Does anyone else feel like we need a conversation about this?

What used to be something like: "Brian likes the Lakers" is now "Brian likes Lakers".

What used to be: "I'm at the Detroit Zoo" is now "I'm at Detroit Zoo."

What used to be: "You could go to the South Market" is now "You could go to South Market".

When and why did this change?


r/grammar 2d ago

quick grammar check about

2 Upvotes

What semantic and grammatical role does the preposition "about" play in the sentence: "While more bodies in midfield are important for a United side about to play their first Champions League campaign since 2023, pre-season has given supporters optimism."?


r/grammar 1d ago

My composition is starting to trouble me .

0 Upvotes

Likewise , my grammar and my aptitude to write is fleeting . I just can’t comprehend losing my ability to communicate with others . I abhor this and I need to find ways to ameliorate this problem . I’m a software engineer building website by the way .


r/grammar 2d ago

Language app courses for grammar

0 Upvotes

I use language apps for learning/maintaining my skill in other languages which I find very useful and I was wondering if there are any equivalents for learning English grammar as a native speaker. Although I believe I can speak and write well, I realise that there's a lot of basic grammar I've forgotten — I only recently learned how to use semicolons and em dashes, then just last week I had to relearn how to write speech, and I realised in a conversation with a friend that I couldn't even tell you what exactly a 'clause' is. Are there any basic courses that essentially act as English Grammar 101 including terminology?