It is time to continue our Grammarly in-depth review and the interrogative pronouns conversation, namely how to use interrogative pronouns. So, did you spot the first mistake there?
Grammarly is not only about interrogative pronouns review; it can help you with many other interesting English grammar problems, and you can start writing like a pro even though you’re not a native speaker.
So, if repetition is the mother of learning and the father of action, then it’s probably time to go through the interrogative pronouns example list once again and then let that information sink in.
How to use interrogative pronouns in a conversation
So, we use interrogative pronouns to ask about different things. And as the famous adage goes – “The art and science of asking questions is the source of all knowledge” – it is only natural we learn more about these interrogative pronouns words. Let’s start, shall we? We’ll be quick.
The most general interrogative pronoun is “what”. We use it to ask for general information. We also use “which” to ask for specific information when we have a choice to make.
“Who” is for when we need to ask about a person or someone’s name. Now, “whose” and “whom” is crucial for a good interrogative pronouns understanding. We say, “Whose is this bag?” when we inquire about possession. We also say, “Whom did you ask?” when we ask about a certain person. Nevertheless, most of you probably never use “whom” and “whose”, but rather just “who”.
So, according to the interrogative pronouns grammar rules, we use:
- who/whom for asking about persons
- whose for asking about persons’ possession
- what for asking about things
- which for asking about things, animals, and people when there is a choice to make
Relative pronouns
Now, let’s talk about interrogative pronouns vs relative pronouns. How do you tell the difference, and how do you use them?
It is actually effortless. It’s not much of a battle between interrogative pronouns and relative pronouns. The secret is to look for a question mark. If there is a question mark at the end of the sentence, then “who”, “what”, or “which” are interrogative pronouns. If there isn’t any question mark, then they’re relative pronouns. Quite simple, isn’t it?
Let’s look at some more interrogative pronouns examples:
- “The man who lost his keys waited outside for hours” (no question mark, so it’s a relative pronoun)
- “Who lost the keys?” (yeah, you guessed it, it’s an interrogative pronoun)
In-depth Grammarly review
This interrogative pronoun conversation could be cut short if you use Grammarly. It is a very effective writing tool that proofreads and suggests edits to your documents, so you can be sure your English grammar is on point.
Apart from the usual suspects, the typos, Grammarly offers plenty of edit suggestions related to many English grammar and wording issues. Let’s look at some of these.
1. Sentence-ending prepositions
Grammarly will flag any sentences that end with a preposition. It is not a mistake to end a sentence with a preposition. However, it does not sound good to English native speakers, and it is definitely not formal writing. So, if you’re writing a thesis or a business proposal, make sure you consider this Grammarly suggestion.
2. Bold key phrases
Grammarly would also suggest you bold key phrases in your text. We haven’t tested this function too much, but it’s good to know you have it at your disposal.
3. Sentence variety
Monotonous sentences that sound alike are awful. Nobody wants to read that, so Grammarly flags them for you so you’ll avoid making that mistake in your texts.
4. Possibly biased language
If Grammarly figures your wording is biased or outdated, it will suggest different adjectives or nouns. They should work more on this type of suggestion. It’s not always accurate, but it’s getting there. If you’re strong on your thesaurus, you could turn this suggestion off.
5. Gendered generic pronouns
If you’re writing a text addressed to both women and men, it is quite difficult to always say “he/she”. Grammarly will save you that trouble by suggesting gender-neutral alternatives.
6. Possibly biased language related to gender
It will flag phrases that it considers gender-biased and suggest alternatives.
7. Person-first language
This suggestion might be annoying at times. Grammarly will always suggest respectful, person-first language and a more formal way of addressing. If you want to be quirky and funny, and personal with your audience, Grammarly will flag that language. So you could consider turning off this suggestion if that’s the case.
8. Fluency
This is crucial, and they should work more on their fluency suggestions. It will help you sound more natural and fluent, which is pretty important for a non-native English speaker.
9. Unnecessary ellipses
So, according to Wikipedia, an ellipsis, aka “elliptical construction”, happens when we intentionally leave out one or two more words from a sentence. Sometimes we want to let a sentence unfinished for stylistic purposes…
Well, that’s that, but Grammarly might disagree with you all the time because unnecessary ellipses break the flow of speech and can divert a reader’s attention. So, yes, use them with great care, and let Grammarly flag them for you.
10. Punctuation after the quotation mark
Do you know how to use punctuation after quotation marks? Well, it doesn’t matter that much, for Grammarly can flag it for you and suggest edits. It is a life savior in most situations. So, don’t use punctuation after quotation marks, or don’t mind them at all.
11. Personal pronouns in academic writing
This is another interesting suggestion from Grammarly. You can actually select the style of writing you’re using from the Grammarly customization panel. So, if you’ve selected a formal writing style, then Grammarly will flag any use of personal pronouns. Good stuff.
12. Possibly outdated language (LGBTQIA+-related)
Grammarly also helps you stay away from any social controversies by flagging any LGBTQIA+-related terms that might be outdated, clinical, or offensive in certain contexts.
13. Word variety
We might all fall in love with some words. We don’t know how, but somehow, we prefer some words over others and tend to overuse them without realizing it. Grammarly flags these overused words and suggests synonyms so that you don’t bore your readers to death. Worse, they might believe your vocabulary is very poor. So, no, Grammarly will help you avoid that misconception.
14. Missing space with time
This tool can also suggest you add spaces to your texts. For example, when you’re writing time, you should have “8 am” instead of “8 am”. Did you know that? In case you forget all of that, Grammarly is there to remind you.
Customize Grammarly language settings
So, apart from these suggestions, you can also customize how you want Grammarly to help you. For example, you can select your primary language and the English dialect you need to write in. The tool will use this information input to tailor the suggestions to your background.
There are about 31 primary language options, from Arabic to Urdu or Mandarin, and 4 English dialects:
- British English
- American English
- Canadian English
- Australian English
You choose the ones that fit your writing requirements and start writing. Grammarly will take care of the rest.
So, no more worrying about how to use interrogative pronouns, punctuation, typos, wording, and fluency; Grammarly can save you all that trouble. Even if you are a native English speaker, Grammarly can help quickly proofread your texts and use a different dialect. For example, if you’re British and need to sound American for your American audience, then no worries, Grammarly will assist you.
Get started today for free and if you feel it’s great, purchase the paid version for all the extra features.
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