• Use active voice.

Active sentences contain: S (subject)  + V (verb) + O (object):

George sings a song.

In the sentence, George is the subject, sings is the verb which tells what George does, and the object is a song (this is the receiver of George’s action).

• Link different ideas using a conjunction.

In the English language, one can combine two basic sentences with S+V+O by joining them with coordinating conjunctions: but, or, so, and, yet, for, nor. 

For example: Dhon drinks coffee, and Alex likes sodas.

• Use a comma to connect two ideas.

Commas are used before the coordinating conjunction: 

She is healthy, but she is fat.

• Use a serial comma in a list. The serial comma is the last in the list, so make sure not to forget it when writing. It comes before and: 

Kimberly likes reading novels, watching films, swimming, and shopping. 

• Use a semicolon to join two ideas. For example: 

Lucas is hyperactive; he does not sit still for long periods.

• Use the Simple Present Tense for habitual actions. These are activities you do regularly (always, often, sometimes, usually, and so on): 

Janice sings every day.

• Use the Present Continuous Tense for current actions:

Sandrene is working with her brother now. 

• Use the Present Perfect Continuous Tense when the action has not finished as well:

 I have been drinking coffee all day. (It is still the same day, and I haven’t stopped drinking coffee.)

• Past actions use regular and irregular verbs. Add (e)d to regular verbs: 

For example: Everton talked with us last night.

Irregular verbs are unique because they are formed differently from regular verbs, so it is important to know the list of irregular verbs: 

I drank orange juice before bed last night.

• Use the Present Perfect Tense with words or expressions of unfinished time: 

They have run three miles this morning (it is still morning). 

• When talking about two actions in the past, use the Past Perfect Tense for the older action. For example:

The bus left at 9 am. We arrived at 9:15 am. When we arrived, the train had left.