Is this sentence grammatically correct? How to check your own writing
Short answer
Is this grammatically correct
To check whether a sentence is grammatically correct, test four things: that it has a subject and a main verb, that the subject and verb agree in number, that every clause is either joined properly or separated into its own sentence, and that each pronoun clearly refers to one specific noun. Most sentences that feel wrong are not ungrammatical at all — they are simply too long, which is a separate and more common problem.
The four-part test
Run any sentence you are unsure about through these in order. It takes about ten seconds once you are used to it.
- Subject and verb: can you point to who or what is doing something, and the doing word? If not, it is a fragment.
- Agreement: singular subject with singular verb. 'The range of options is limited', not 'are limited' — the subject is 'range', not 'options'.
- Clause joining: two complete sentences cannot be joined by a comma alone. Use a full stop, a semicolon, or a comma plus a conjunction.
- Pronoun reference: does every 'it', 'this' and 'they' point to exactly one noun? 'This shows' is the most common vague reference in student writing.
The six errors that account for most of it
In roughly the order they appear in academic drafts we review.
- Comma splice — 'The results were significant, this suggests a relationship.' Two sentences joined by a comma. Use a semicolon or a full stop.
- Subject–verb disagreement after a long phrase — 'The impact of these policies on outcomes were significant.' The subject is 'impact', so it is 'was'.
- Dangling modifier — 'Having analysed the data, the results were clear.' The results did not analyse anything. Name the actor.
- Vague 'this' — 'This demonstrates the effect.' This what? Add the noun: 'This finding demonstrates...'
- Its versus it's — 'it's' is only ever 'it is' or 'it has'. Possessive 'its' has no apostrophe.
- Run-on sentence — grammatically legal, practically unreadable. Past about forty words a marker loses the argument.
Grammatically correct is not the same as clear
'The utilisation of the aforementioned methodology facilitated the derivation of the resultant findings' is grammatically flawless and almost unreadable.
Most writing that feels wrong to a student is not ungrammatical. It is over-long, over-nominalised, or hedged into meaninglessness. Checking grammar will not catch any of those, which is why our checker also flags sentence length, passive constructions and register.
Check it yourself, privately
Our writing checker runs entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, stored or logged — which matters when the text is unpublished coursework, and is the reason we built it this way rather than calling an API.
It flags long sentences, passive voice, contractions, informal register, hedging and spelling that does not match your country — UK, US and Australian conventions are all different and markers notice.
- Paste a paragraph or a whole chapter; there is no length limit.
- Set the locale to UK, US or AU so spelling is checked against the right convention.
- Read it aloud afterwards. Your ear catches what no checker can.
What no checker can tell you
Whether your argument works. Whether the evidence supports the claim. Whether you answered the question that was asked.
Those need a reader. A grammar tool is the last five percent of the job, not the first ninety-five.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I know if a sentence is grammatically correct?
- Check four things: it has a subject and a main verb, the subject and verb agree in number, clauses are joined with a conjunction or separated properly rather than spliced with a comma, and every pronoun refers to one clear noun.
- Is my text uploaded when I use your checker?
- No. The whole analysis runs in your browser in JavaScript. Nothing is sent to a server, stored or logged. That matters for unpublished coursework, and it is why we built it in-browser rather than calling an API.
- What is a comma splice?
- Two complete sentences joined by a comma alone — 'The results were significant, this suggests a relationship.' Fix it with a full stop, a semicolon, or a comma plus a conjunction such as 'and' or 'which'.
- Why does my sentence sound wrong even though the grammar checks out?
- It is probably too long, too heavily nominalised, or over-hedged. Those are clarity problems rather than grammar problems, and no grammar checker flags them — ours reports sentence length and register separately for exactly that reason.
Keep reading
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