Every rule, and how hard it binds

38 rules match. Showing 1–25. Clear filters

1. GRM-004 Pronoun–antecedent agreement IF a pronoun refers to an antecedent AND the antecedent is known, THEN align person and number while respecting singular THEY ELSE request the missing referent. Hard constraint
2. GRM-005 Unambiguous pronoun reference IF a pronoun has two or more plausible antecedents OR none, THEN replace it with the intended noun phrase ELSE retain. Hard constraint
3. GRM-006 Stable grammatical person IF a passage shifts person without changing speaker, audience, or viewpoint, THEN restore the established person ELSE preserve the motivated shift. Context default
4. GRM-007 Tense consistency within a time frame IF tense changes but event time and narrative viewpoint do not, THEN restore the established tense ELSE keep the meaningful time shift. Context default
5. GRM-009 Complete comparative relation IF a comparison can attach to more than one comparison set, THEN state the full set or rewrite ELSE retain. Hard constraint
6. GRM-016 Parallel grammatical form IF coordinated items perform the same function AND use mismatched forms without rhetorical purpose, THEN make their structures parallel ELSE retain. Context default
7. GRM-017 Modifier beside its target IF a modifier can attach to the wrong head, THEN move it beside the intended target or expand the phrase ELSE retain. Hard constraint
8. GRM-018 Repair dangling introductory modifier IF an introductory modifier’s implied actor is not the following subject, THEN make the actor the subject OR expand the modifier into a clause ELSE retain. Hard constraint
9. GRM-020 Avoid fused participle logic IF an -ing construction implies a cause, sequence, or actor that the sentence does not support, THEN state the relation in a finite clause ELSE retain. Hard constraint
10. PUN-002 No comma splice IF two independent clauses are joined only by a comma, THEN add a coordinator, use a semicolon, or make two sentences ELSE retain. Hard constraint
11. PUN-003 Comma before coordinating conjunction IF a coordinating conjunction joins two independent clauses, THEN place a comma before it unless the clauses are very short and unambiguous ELSE retain. Context default
12. PUN-004 Comma after introductory material IF introductory material is long, clausal, or potentially misread, THEN add a comma before the main clause ELSE use the lightest mark that preserves clarity. Context default
13. PUN-005 Set off nonrestrictive material IF a modifier adds nonessential information rather than identifying the referent, THEN set it off with paired punctuation ELSE do not set it off. Hard constraint
14. PUN-006 Do not isolate restrictive material IF a modifier identifies which person or thing is meant, THEN remove punctuation that falsely marks it as optional ELSE evaluate as nonrestrictive. Hard constraint
15. PUN-007 Serial comma follows declared style IF a series contains three or more coordinated items, THEN apply the selected serial-comma policy consistently AND add a comma when omission causes ambiguity ELSE retain. Context default
16. PUN-012 Possessive form follows number and style IF a noun is possessive, THEN apply the declared singular/plural/proper-name convention consistently ELSE retain. Context default
17. PUN-013 Hyphenate ambiguity-prone compound modifiers IF multiple words jointly modify a following noun AND grouping is not immediately clear, THEN hyphenate the compound ELSE omit unnecessary hyphens. Context default
18. PUN-015 Parentheses subordinate removable detail IF material is useful but structurally secondary AND the sentence remains grammatical without it, THEN parentheses are available ELSE integrate or delete it. Context default
19. PUN-017 Quotation marks require a quotation function IF quotation marks appear, THEN verify direct quotation, title convention, coined term, or explicit distancing; otherwise remove scare quotes. Hard constraint
20. PUN-019 Ellipsis marks omission or trailing thought IF words are omitted from quoted material OR speech deliberately trails off, THEN use an ellipsis according to style; ELSE do not use it as vague decoration. Context default
21. SYN-014 Avoid ambiguous scope of only, not, and even IF a focusing or negative operator can modify more than one constituent, THEN move it directly before the intended scope ELSE retain. Hard constraint
22. SYN-015 Resolve misplaced relative clause IF a relative clause can attach to the wrong noun, THEN move it beside the intended antecedent or repeat the noun ELSE retain. Hard constraint
23. SYN-016 Keep correlative pairs balanced IF BOTH/AND, EITHER/OR, NEITHER/NOR, or NOT ONLY/BUT ALSO joins items, THEN place each half before parallel units ELSE retain. Hard constraint
24. CLR-006 Replace vague reference words IF THIS, THAT, IT, THEY, FORMER, or LATTER has an uncertain referent, THEN repeat or summarize the referent ELSE retain. Hard constraint
25. NAR-008 Keep narrative tense stable IF narrative tense changes without a time-frame or mode shift, THEN restore the established tense ELSE retain. Context default