The Story Has the Right Structure. But Something Still Feels Off.
Last chapter, you learned how to check a news story's structure.
You know the 5Ws and 1H. You know what a strong lead looks like. You know the inverted pyramid puts the most important facts first.
You're building real editorial skills.
But here's a new challenge. A writer hands you this story:
"The Grade 5 students has submitted their projects last Friday. Everyone were excited about the results. The teacher, Ms. Reyes, announce the winners during the flag ceremony on Monday."
The structure looks fine. The lead is there. The 5Ws are mostly covered. But read it again slowly.
"Students has submitted." That doesn't sound right.
"Everyone were excited." That doesn't sound right either.
"The teacher announce." Definitely wrong.
Three grammar mistakes. All in three sentences. A copyreader catches every single one. That's what this chapter is about — grammar. The rules that make sentences correct, clear, and professional.
Why Grammar Matters in Copyreading
Grammar is the set of rules that makes a language work correctly.
When grammar is wrong, sentences become confusing. Readers lose trust in the story. And the school paper looks unprofessional — meaning it gives people a bad impression of your team.
A copyreader's job is to make sure every sentence is grammatically correct before it reaches readers. There are four grammar areas you need to master as a copyreader. Let's go through them one by one.
Grammar Area 1: Subject-Verb Agreement
Subject-verb agreement means the subject and verb in a sentence must match. If the subject is singular (just one), the verb must be singular. If the subject is plural (more than one), the verb must be plural.
"Student" is one person. One person uses "was," not "were."
"Teachers" is more than one. More than one uses "were," not "was."
Some words look plural but are actually singular because they refer to one group acting together. "The Science Club" is one group, so we use "has."
Grammar Area 2: Tense Errors
Tense tells your reader when something happened — in the past, present, or future.
In news writing, past events use past tense verbs. Present situations use present tense. Upcoming events use future tense. An error occurs when a writer switches tenses in the middle of a story without a logical reason.
"Was held" is past tense. "Celebrate" is present. Changing it to "celebrated" keeps everything consistently in the past.
The program is ongoing and still runs every Friday — so the present tense "collects" is correct.
Grammar Area 3: Pronoun Errors
A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun — like he, she, they, it, or their. An error occurs when the pronoun does not match the noun it is replacing, or when it is unclear who or what the pronoun refers to.
"Student" is singular. While singular "their" is common in speech, standard NSPC and traditional school journalism guidelines prefer singular gender-neutral matches like "his or her" when referring to a singular individual whose gender isn't known.
"Students" is plural. It must use the plural pronoun "their."
The reader cannot tell if "He" refers to JM or Oliver. A copyreader replaces the confusing pronoun with the actual name.
Grammar Area 4: Punctuation and Capitalization
Punctuation and capitalization are not just symbols; they are structural rules that separate thoughts and identify unique entities.
Three or more items in a list require commas to separate them.
An introductory phrase (like "Last Monday") precedes the main sentence and needs a comma directly after it.
Capitalization Rules for News Writing:
Always capitalize:
- The first word of every sentence
- The names of specific people (Principal Reyes, student Zion)
- The names of specific places (Bagong Lipunan Elementary, Manila)
- The names of specific days, months, and holidays (Monday, June, Araw ng Kagitingan)
- Official titles when they come directly before a name (Principal Reyes, but write the principal, Mrs. Reyes, when the title follows or is separated)
"principal reyes announced the cancellation of classes on friday."
"Principal Reyes announced the cancellation of classes on Friday."
Quick Recap: Four Grammar Areas Every Copyreader Checks
| Grammar Area | What to Check |
|---|---|
| Subject-Verb Agreement | Does the subject match its verb? (Singular with singular, plural with plural) |
| Tense | Are the verbs consistent? (Past events must stay in the past tense) |
| Pronouns | Does the pronoun match its noun? Is it completely clear which noun it refers to? |
| Punctuation & Capitalization | Are periods, commas, and capital letters used correctly according to formal style? |
Fill in the Blank: Concept Check
Complete each sentence using the correct word: subject-verb agreement, capitalization, tense, pronoun, or punctuation. Type your answer and click show answer to verify.
✏️ Practice Time
Identify sentence mistakes, fix common grammatical errors, and edit a complete paragraph draft.
Fix Sentence MistakesRead each sentence, identify the error type, and type the fully corrected sentence.
Edit a Short News ParagraphFind the five grammar errors and write a fully corrected version.
"The school journalism club have submitted its entries for the division press conference last week. The team worked hard and trains every day after class. student adviser ms. dela cruz said all members showed great improvement. She gave each members a certificate of participation after the event"
🔍 Self-Check Guide
| What to Check | Done ✅ | Try Again 🔄 |
|---|---|---|
| I can spot subject-verb agreement errors in complex subjects like collective nouns | ☐ | ☐ |
| I can align narrative tenses correctly in historical/recent news events | ☐ | ☐ |
| I can apply proper capitalization to official titles before personal names | ☐ | ☐ |
📊 Simple Rubric
🧠 Fix the Mistake Quiz
Read each sentence. Select the grammatically correct rewrite among the choices!