Here is the guide/reference that I use when I do substantial and mechanical editing on my papers. I will continuously update it as I edit more papers in my job. I hope this editing guide helps you when you write or edit your articles. The rules here are based on my own experience and research using credible websites, books, and dictionaries as references.
Adverbs
on time versus in time
Use "in time" to mean early enough or before it's too late. It means you still have sufficient or enough time to do something and "on time" to mean at the scheduled/planned/expected time.
especially
Do not use the adverb "especially" at the beginning of the sentence, especially if the meaning is more than or over other things.
Use "since" to talk about the action that started in the past and still continues to the present. Use "from" to talk about the time when the action started to happen.
before versus ago
Use "ago" to refer to that period of time in the past that you are referring to. When we use "before," we usually indicate what specific time we are talking about after that word. For example, before Christmas.
every day
When "every day" is used as an adverb (referring to how often you do something), it is spelled as two words.
conjunctive adverb
however - use a comma after the conjunctive adverb "however," which functions to show contrast. Conjunctive adverbs are usually followed by a comma.
disjunctive adverbials
unfortunately - Use a comma after unfortunately when it is at the beginning of the sentence and functions as a disjunctive adverbial. It means that what you are saying is not really significant to your sentence. However, it is considered the speaker's attitude or view in regards to the topic.
Focusing adverb
1. Use the focusing adverb "only" before the verb "have" because it emphasizes limit to what you have.
Adverb of Certainty
1. An adverb of certainty is put in mid position. For example, after the auxiliary verb.
The adverb "usually" normally comes between the subject and the verb.
Nearby versus Near
Nearby is used as an adjective and an adverb only, not as a preposition. Near is a preposition that means close to a certain place.
Conditionals
First - Use the first conditional when you are thinking that if you do or do not do an action in the future, that result will happen.
Articles
a = Use "a" before an adjective that starts with a consonant sound describing a singular non-specific countable noun.
Use"a" before a singular non-specific countable noun that starts with a consonant sound.
Use "a" if it's the first time you introduce the idea to the person you are talking to.
an = Use "an" before an adjective that starts with a vowel sound describing a singular non-specific countable noun.
Use "an" before a singular non-specific countable noun that starts with a vowel sound.
the - Use "the" to refer to that specific thing/person that you have already talked about.
Use "the" to refer to that specific thing that you are talking about only in the specific areas that you mentioned.
Use "the" to refer to that type of place in general without having to mention any specific or exact place (e.g., the bank, the airport, the beach) reference: Cambridge Dictionary
Use "the" before the nouns that refer to entertainment in general such as the news, the cinema, or the movies.
Use "the" to refer to that one "unique" thing in this world that is known to everybody (e.g. the sky, the moon, the sea).
Use "the" for countries whose names are in plural forms like the United States and the Philippines as well as those countries that have republic, states, and kingdom in their respective names.
The definite article "the" is usually placed before the names of rivers.
Use "the" before an adjective that represents that kind or group of people being described by that adjective (e.g. the poor, the rich, and the elderly).
Zero articles/Omission of Articles
There's no need to put "the" before proper nouns.
There's no need to put the definite article "the" before the names of festivals.
The definite article "the" is not necessary before the names of lakes.
There's no need to put "a" before the names of meals (e.g. breakfast, lunch, or dinner).
No article is needed before the names of holidays (proper nouns).
There's no need to put the article "the" before an acronym when it is used as a noun.
No article is needed before a generic noun (zero article).
When using society to refer to a large group of people, or all the people in general (in one or more countries), remove the definite article "the." On the other hand, when referring to a specific organization, use the definite article "the."
Conjunctions
coordinating conjunction
and - The coordinating conjunction "and" is not encouraged to be used at the beginning of the sentence particularly in formal or technical writing. It should be in the middle to join words, phrases, or clauses. Clauses that begin with coordinating conjunctions usually become fragments or incomplete sentences. (same with because, but and so)
so versus so that
The use of "so" means "that's why" while "so that" means in order to.
in which - (wherein) - Use "in which" to describe a situation or a thing that has a certain condition or circumstance. The use of "in" means that a certain condition applies within that situation.
when versus once
Use "when" to say "every time or whenever" and use "once" to mean "from that time only."
when versus if
Use "when" to talk about the future time in which you are certain that you are going to do the action that you are planning to do, while "if" is used to talk about only the possibility of doing the action that you are planning to do in the future.
Idioms
apply to - The idiom "apply to" means to submit an application for something (reference: TheFreeDictionary)
change to - Use "change to" to turn something (such as a situation) to something or switch it to something.
follow up on something - Use "follow up on something" to obtain further information about something (reference: Merriam Webster)
Hear of someone or something- means to know about someone or something.
on average - Put a comma after "on average," which is an idiom that means the adverb "usually." It functions as a sentence adverb that modifies the sentence that follows it.
most of the time - This is an idiom that also means usually.
spend money on something - Use "spend money on something" to mean you are paying some amount for a certain product or service.
spend something on something (e.g.) spend time on something - Use "on" after the verb "spend" to indicate the object or activity that your time is directed to.
participate in something - Use "participate in something" to indicate what activity or event the person is joining.
Nouns
Countable
pizzas
green has a plural form (greens)
fossil fuels
headaches
mind
impacts
environment (surroundings)
Noodles are usually used in the plural form.
comic book (also comic) reference: Cambridge Dictionary
beer - If you are referring to a bottle or a glass of beer. You can also say a pint of beer.
email - referring to a message sent via the internet
damages - referring to money
Uncountable
salmon
carp
jargon
evidence
slang
laundry
aid (help given to people)
footage
seafood
wear
training
evidence
beer - referring to alcoholic drinks in general
damage - referring to physical harm (injury) or disaster and catastrophe
chicken - When referring to the food, it is uncountable.
etiquette
approval
proof
Generic
Use a plural noun for generic countable nouns. A generic noun is used to make a generalization about something or to state a fact/truth.
Cases of Wrong Usage of Nouns
Takeout - is used as a noun and not a verb. It is usually used after a noun. (e.g. I ordered a happy meal takeout or I bought some spaghetti takeout for lunch.).
One word
wintertime
Nouns in the plural form
the Olympics - Put the article "the" to specifically refer to that event and use the plural form because you are talking about many sports competitions.
Numbers/Figures
below 10 - Spell out numbers below 10.
first versus at first - Use "first" to refer to the order of events. Use "at first" to mean something happened to a person or a thing at that specific time but it changed over time.
Percent
1. Spell out numbers below 10 only, the rest should be in numerals.
2. Use the % sign when using numerals and the word "percent" for numbers below 10 because you have to spell out numbers below 10.
Phrasal Verbs
1. wish for
2. relate to
3. pay for
4. occur to someone - Use the phrasal verb occur to someone if you mean an idea came into your mind.
Verbs with Help
After the verb help, we don't normally use the "ing" form since "help" is a transitive verb, it needs an object after it.
demand for
Use "for" with demand to indicate what it is that is strongly needed.
Verbs for "recently"
Use the past tense, present perfect tense, or present perfect progressive tense with "recently" because it means "not long ago."
sanctions on - Use "on" to mean the sanction is being done towards that "thing."
search versus search for - We search "a place" and search for "something."
attached to - Use "to" when something is fastened to something. For example, I attached the format to this email.
work for versus work at
Use WORK FOR + Company/COMPANY NAME/Person's Name/JOB Duration. For example, I work for ABC company. I work for Mr. Park. I work for four hours a day.
Prepositions
directions
to - Use "to" in showing directions. It implies movement to the destination.
for - Use the preposition "for" to show what a thing is intended or planned for.
at - Use "at" to tell the exact time on the clock.
at - Use "at" to talk about where you study.
in - Use "in" to talk about something inside of something such as an enclosed space (e.g. in a building, closet, car, or pocket) or when you are located "within" or "inside" a certain place or border (e.g. in Manila (city) or in the Philippines (country).
in - Use "in" when the time is more general (longer periods of time) and not specific.
into - Use "into" to mean to be involved in the situation you are talking about.
into - Use "into" to say that something is being moved from a certain place outside to the inside of something such as a thing, a place, or a system.
on - Use "on" to talk about being on the surface of something such as on the floor.
on - (on a picnic) Use "on" to show that such an activity is being experienced.
on - The preposition "on" is the one usually used before a communication medium or devices such as the internet, TV, or radio.
effect on - Use "on" for "effect" to mean the effect "relating to" that subject matter.
on - Use "on" to indicate what the subject is about or which one the subject is related to.
on- spend money on - Use "on" to indicate that you paid for a certain item or service.
of - Use "of" to indicate the person being talked about (e.g. envious of her).
for - (demand for) Use demand for when you talk about products and services and the number/amount of those products and services that the consumers/customers require.
about - (worry about) - When a person worries about some people or things, he/she is anxious or apprehensive about them. This is listed as an idiom in THEFREEDICTIONARY.COM.
to versus for - Use "to" to mean the action is directly done or has a direct effect on that person and use "for" to mean "in the person's opinion or what the person thinks about the subject."
in - involved in - Use " involved in" if you mean you engage in something.
in the beginning versus at the beginning - Use "in the beginning if you mean "at first" or the "first stage or period" of something and "at the beginning" if you are locating something which can be found at the first part or beginning of something."
The conjunction "while" is used when there are two actions that are happening at the same time while the preposition "during" is used when you want to talk about a specific time in which an action or event happened (e.g. during the pandemic).
agree with versus agree about - Agree with is used when you have the same opinion as another person or when you agree with something like an idea, opinion, or decision. Agree about is used when you agree about something like a topic, a decision, or an idea together with a group of people who hold the same opinion as you.
doing something + after work or after working?
It's more natural to say after work (to say after you come home from your job) than to say after working (to say that after you labored or exerted physical or mental strength).
Pronouns
who versus whom - Use "whom" if you can replace the subject with "him" and not "he."
my - Use "my" to show that what you are talking about belongs to you.
any - Use "any" to refer to the existence of "a single amount/number" or "some" of the things that you are talking about.
anything - Anything refers to a range of things under the category of the thing you are referring to.
One - Use "one" to refer to a specific thing within the set of things that are possible or available (reference: Cambridge Dictionary)
One of - The phrase "one of" means part of or a member of a category of people or things so this should be followed by a plural noun.
other and another- Use "other" (as a determiner) to refer to some additional things that are the same in class or category as the thing you mentioned. Use "another" (as a determiner) to refer to an additional thing of exactly the same kind (e.g. another book).
that/which - "That" is used to talk further about your subject and the information you will use to describe your subject is important to identify that subject (restrictive or essential adjective clause) while "which" is used to add extra or additional information about the subject that you are talking about (non-restrictive or non-essential adjective clause).
I - As a rule of courtesy or being polite, put "I" at the last position when you have two or more subjects.
same subject + parallel verbs
If you have the same subject in your sentence, you do not have to mention the same subject in the next clause; however, if the verb in the next clause is not parallel with the verb in the first clause, put the subject again in the next clause. In other words, it's okay not to repeat the subject only if the verbs of the clauses in your sentence are parallel with each other.
Punctuations
Comma
1. Use a comma after "also" if it begins a sentence.
2. serial comma - Use a serial comma after the last item before "and" or "or" if you have three or more items on your list.
3. Put a comma after the "if clause" when it is preceding the main clause.
4. Use a comma after the introductory adverbial element "sadly" if it describes the whole sentence.
5. Put a comma after "recently" if it begins a sentence and is modifying the whole sentence.
6. Use a comma after "actually" if it is an introductory word.
7. Put a comma when hopefully (as an adverb) is used at the beginning of a sentence.
8. Put a comma before "such as" if the phrase after "such as" are just examples or is a non-essential clause (parenthetical clause). Otherwise do not put a comma if the phrase after "such as" is an essential clause: you are giving a kind or example of the thing you are talking about. See the example in Merriam Webster's definition of "such as."
9. Put a comma before the "which clause" to add extra information.
10. Put a comma before "though" as you are attaching the dependent clause to your independent clause by using the word (though) that shows contrast.
11. Use a comma after the conjunctive adverb "however," which functions to show contrast. Conjunctive adverbs are usually followed by a comma.
12. Use a comma after unfortunately when it is at the beginning of the sentence and functions as a disjunctive adverbial. It means that what you are saying is not really significant to your sentence. However, it is considered the speaker's attitude or view in regards to the topic.
13. Use a comma when you have to separate the introductory clause from the main clause.
14. Put a comma after the introductory word "now," since it begins a sentence.
15. Put a comma after "for example," wherever its position is in a sentence if you are giving specific examples of the things that you said.
16. Put one period only after the abbreviation p.m. even if that ends the sentence.
17. Use a comma after "moreover" if it begins a sentence and is modifying the whole sentence.
Omission of Comma
1. We don't put a comma before "because" since it joins a subordinate clause (a clause that can't stand alone because it doesn't have a complete thought) to the independent clause.
2. There's no need to put a comma after "that," especially if it functions as a conjunction to talk further about your subject since you have to continue what you have to say without any pause.
Semicolon and Comma
1. Use a semicolon before "therefore/nevertheless/however/ thus/for example, furthermore/otherwise, and the like" and a comma after it if you are joining two independent clauses.
Period
1. If you are following the American style, the period should be inside the quotation marks.
Question Mark Before or After the Quotation Mark
1. Put a question mark after the quotation mark if the whole sentence is a question. If the question is only the quoted part, then put the question mark inside the quotation.
2. Quotation marks are placed around a single word for emphasis if you can't use word processors. If you can, the single word should be italicized. (reference - Grammarly)
Apostrophe
Put an apostrophe and an s to indicate that your subject owns something.
Capitalization
1. Idioms are not capitalized in the sentence.
2. East, north, south, and west are not capitalized if used as directions.
3. East, north, south, and west are capitalized if used as proper nouns.
4. East, north, south, and west are capitalized if they are part of a proper noun.
4. The names of government departments are considered proper nouns so they are capitalized.
5. Make the first letter of the word in upper case when it begins a sentence.
6. General nouns such as lakes are capitalized.
7. Capitalize the name of the department as well as the word department.
8. Capitalize names of events or holidays because they are proper nouns.
9. Capitalize names of languages.
10. The names of the days are capitalized because they are proper nouns.
Reported Speech
In reported speech, the rule that is "the tense of the verb is usually one tense back in time" is followed.
Adjectives
the same - Use "the same" to indicate that two things are precisely identical or something is just like another thing.
Verbs
Future tense
Use "will" when we make decisions right at the moment of speaking.
infinitives
Use the to-infinitive form to show your purpose (infinitives of purpose) For instance, to develop your skills.
cause someone/something to do something (Macmillan Dictionary) - e.g., cause the sea level to rise
Causative verbs are also followed by infinitives e.g., cause the sea level to rise
The verb "invite" can be followed by a direct object and then the infinitive. (reference - British council)
forgot to versus forgot doing something - The verb forget is followed by to-infinitive if you refer to "forgetting a future action," such as something that you want to do or need to do while "forget + gerund" is stating about an action that you should have done in the past but you forgot doing.
try + ing versus try + infinitive - Use try + gerund (verb +ing) if you mean you are trying something to see if it works well or to see what the result of trying to do a certain action is. Use try + to-infinitive if you mean you tried to do something even if it is too difficult or hard to do it.
Present Tense
1. Use the present tense of the verb for "hope" when you talk about the future.
Present Progressive/Continuous Tense
Use the present perfect progressive/present perfect continuous tense to indicate an action that happened in the past and is still continuing at the present moment.
Verbs with "to"
subscribe to - This means you are signed up to a particular service and receive something using that service at a certain period of time (e.g. subscribe to a magazine or subscribe to Netflix).
ask to - Ask + to-infinitive is used when someone is requesting something:
Some verbs are followed by the to-infinitive. Check the list on this website: British Council
Used to
The structure be (is/are) + used to is followed by a noun phrase. The noun phrase is usually in the "ing" form (e.g. used to working).
transitive verbs
Transitive verbs don't need a preposition after them. They need a direct object right after them (e.g. consider it)
Difference between Listen and Hear
Listening is intentional (done on purpose) while hearing is not.
Past Perfect tense with since
Use the present perfect form of the verb after "since" because you are talking about an action in the past that is still happening now.
Talk to versus talk with
Use "talk with" when you have an exchange with another person and "talk to" when the conversation is one-sided.
Find versus find out - Find out means discovering or learning some information or fact (s) about something while find is stating how you see something in a specific situation.
like + verb + ing
Use the verb+ ing after the verb like if you want to say something about that thing that you like doing.
Quantifiers
1. Use "a few" to mean "some" and "few" to mean "not many."
Vocabulary
Nouns
personalization versus customization
In personalization, the company tailors its products or services to (a) customer's (s') specific needs while in customization, the company can change its products or services based on the requests of (a) customer (s) to suit their preferences or needs.
Regulations for versus regulation of
If you say regulations of," you are referring to the policies that belong to what you are talking about. If you say "regulations for," you are referring to the policies that will be implemented on the thing that you are talking about.
Abbreviation
1. The abbreviation for personal computer (PC) should be in uppercase.
2. The abbreviation for okay (OK) should be in uppercase.
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