Where to start

[itsallgonetitsup91]

My grammar/punctuation is awful. Spelling is also terrible but I can use spellcheck. I want to improve. This morning me and my dp spent 15 minutes reciting a 3 sentence email I'd written to see if it was 'right', we both just gave up and sent the fucking thing.

I live somewhere that has a strong regional accent/dialect so the way I say things is definitely not the way they should be written, so even when I read things back aloud I can't tell if they're right or not.

I was okay in school - I've got worse as I've got older and out of practice but I need to get better again because it is embarrassing. Where do I start? Please correct me I have 20 minutes, 5 days a week to dedicate to improving.

[ThomasRichard]

I'm not an expert by these are my suggestions:

• for pronunciation, try listening to the Today program on Radio 4 each morning. I listen to it in the car as I'm going to work;
• grammar: buy a student revision guide and work through it;
• grammar 2: buy a broadsheet newspaper. The Torygraph Telegraph, Guardian, Times or Independent will do. You'll notice the sentence structure and soon pick it up.

[itsallgonetitsup91]

Thank you lovely, these are great ideas!

[MrsHathaway]

I think it's even simpler than that. Read a lot of printed material. Using the Internet a lot gives you a lot of exposure to bad spelling and other errors, whereas printed material tends to have been more closely edited.

Showing yourself lots of good examples will help.

[CocktailQueen]

Buy yourself a good but easy to read grammar guide like Bill Bryson's Troublesome Words and read an entry a day? Read a key stage 2 or 3 English SPAg guide and do the questions - they explain the topic, give examples and give you test questions. Ones from Rising Stars or Schofield & Sims are good. Hth!

[Stealthpolarbear]

wel your op seems good to me.
they're vs their
aloud vs allowed
what in particular do you think you struggle with?

[thinkfast]

"my DP and I" rather than "me and my DP"

Well you did ask...