Editorial Policy

Grammar Simplified exists to answer one kind of question: what is the rule here, and why? This page sets out how we decide what to publish, which authorities we defer to, and what happens when we get something wrong.

What we publish

Two kinds of guide, and nothing else:

• Grammar guides explain a rule of English — punctuation, agreement, tense, sentence structure — with the reasoning behind it and examples of the rule working and failing.
• Adjective lists gather describing words for a subject, grouped by shade of meaning, with a sentence showing how each word actually behaves in use.

We do not publish sponsored posts, paid guest articles, or reviews in exchange for payment. Where a page carries advertising, the advertising is clearly separated from the guide itself and never influences what a guide says.

Which authorities we follow

English has no single governing body, so a grammar site has to say whose rules it is quoting. Ours are, in order of precedence:

• Merriam-Webster for American spelling, definitions, and usage notes.
• The Chicago Manual of Style for punctuation and formatting in general prose.
• The Associated Press Stylebook where a convention is specific to news and web writing.
• Cambridge Dictionary and Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries where a question concerns English as a second language.

Unless a guide says otherwise, it describes American English. Where British and American usage genuinely differ — toward/towards, the serial comma, quotation mark placement — we say so in the guide rather than quietly picking one.

Rules, conventions, and preferences

A lot of what gets taught as “grammar” is really style preference wearing a stern face. We try to be honest about the difference:

• A rule is something that, if broken, makes a sentence ungrammatical to native speakers — subject-verb agreement, for instance.
• A convention is settled practice that varies by style guide, like the serial comma.
• A preference is one writer’s taste presented as law — the supposed ban on splitting infinitives or ending a sentence with a preposition.

Where a “rule” is genuinely disputed, the guide says it is disputed and explains both positions. We would rather leave you able to make the call than pretend the question is settled.

How guides are produced

Guides are drafted and edited with the help of AI writing tools, then checked against the reference works listed above before publication. We think readers are entitled to know that, so we are saying it plainly rather than burying it.

What that does not change: every rule stated here is checked against a published authority, every example is read for whether it actually demonstrates the point, and any guide that cannot be verified does not go up.

Corrections

We publish a lot, about a subject where people care about precision, so some of it will be wrong. If you find an error — a misstated rule, an example that does not work, a word list with a word that does not belong — please tell us through the contact page.

• Factual errors are corrected as soon as we can confirm them.
• A correction that changes the substance of a guide is noted at the foot of that guide, with the date.
• Typos and broken links are simply fixed, without a note.

Updates

Usage moves. Guides are revised when the underlying advice changes, when a style authority updates its position, or when a reader shows us a clearer way to explain something. Substantially revised guides carry an updated date.

Advertising and independence

This site is free to read and funded by advertising. Advertisers have no input into what we publish, no advance sight of guides, and no ability to have a guide changed or removed. What data advertising partners collect, and how to opt out of personalised advertising, is set out in our privacy policy.

Contact

Corrections, questions, and requests for a guide we have not written yet are all welcome at the contact page.