How can you ensure your emails are grammatically correct?

2 Review your verb tenses

Verb tenses indicate when an action or a state of being occurs. Using the wrong verb tense can confuse your reader or imply something different from what you intend. For example, if you write "I will send you the report by tomorrow", you imply that you have not finished the report yet. If you write "I have sent you the report by tomorrow", you imply that you have already finished and sent the report. Make sure your verb tenses are consistent and appropriate for the context and the purpose of your email.

3 Check your subject-verb agreement

Subject-verb agreement means that the subject and the verb of a sentence match in number and person. For example, if the subject is singular, the verb should also be singular. If the subject is plural, the verb should also be plural. Subject-verb agreement can be tricky when the subject is a collective noun, a compound noun, or an indefinite pronoun. For example, the collective noun "team" can be either singular or plural, depending on whether you want to emphasize the group as a whole or the individual members. The compound noun "coffee and tea" is plural, while the compound noun "bread and butter" is singular. The indefinite pronoun "everyone" is singular, while the indefinite pronoun "some" can be either singular or plural. To avoid errors, identify the subject and the verb of each sentence and make sure they agree.

4 Avoid run-on sentences and fragments

A run-on sentence is a sentence that contains two or more independent clauses without proper punctuation or conjunctions. A fragment is a sentence that lacks a subject, a verb, or a complete thought. Both run-on sentences and fragments can make your email hard to read and understand. To avoid run-on sentences, use a period, a semicolon, or a comma and a coordinating conjunction to separate independent clauses. To avoid fragments, make sure each sentence has a subject, a verb, and a complete thought.

5 Use parallel structure

Parallel structure means that the elements of a sentence that are similar in function or meaning are expressed in the same grammatical form. Parallel structure can improve the clarity, coherence, and rhythm of your writing. For example, if you write "I like reading, to write, and hiking", you are not using parallel structure, because the three verbs have different forms. A parallel structure would be "I like reading, writing, and hiking". To use parallel structure, identify the elements that need to be parallel and make sure they have the same form.

6 Seek feedback

One of the best ways to improve your grammar is to seek feedback from others. You can ask a colleague, a friend, or a professional editor to review your email and point out any errors or suggestions. You can also use online tools or apps that can check your grammar and provide explanations and examples. However, remember that feedback is not always definitive or authoritative. You should always use your own judgment and common sense to decide what works best for your email.