Grammar Confessions

The Grammar exam is right around the corner. So what?? I haven't mastered all the rules yet. Which means, I still have a lot of studying to do. Since we spent this week reviewing for the test, I thought I should go ahead and publicly confess my grammar weak points. Maybe if I try & make sense of these tricky rules in writing, I'll be better prepared than I was before publishing this post. Ladies & gents..it's grammar go time.
Active & passive voice

•  Active: used to emphasize the actor; when in doubt, use active. 
• Passive: used to de-emphasize the actor and emphasize the action; used for bad news. 

 Example:
 Active-Sarah made several mistakes on her practice exam (Wrong! Sarah shouldn't be emphasized, because let's face it...we all made mistakes on that exam).
Passive-Several mistakes were made on the exam ( several mistakes are emphasized & Sarah, the guilty actor is omitted).

Who vs. Whom

• Who is used in place of a pronoun; think of who as being he (subjective case)
• Whom is being acted upon; think of whom as being him..BOTH END IN M, you're welcome (: (objective case)

Example:

1. Give the check to whoever will be in the office. (though whoever is the object of give the check to, the subjective case takes precedence)

2. Whom do I love? (*him)

Effect or Affect?

• Affect is an action (begins with an A) & usually used as a verb, meaning to influence.
• Effect is a noun (doesn't begin with an A) & is the consequence of something. If used as a verb, it means to cause. 

Example:
1. Some say your lack of sleep will affect the quality of your grades.
2. The dimmed lights in the room had an immediate effect on my ability to focus.