From claude-english-buddy
Reviews English grammar in developer prose (commits, docs, emails) focusing on articles, subject-verb agreement, tense, prepositions, and comparatives.
npx claudepluginhub xiaolai/claude-english-buddy-for-claude --plugin claude-english-buddyThis skill uses the workspace's default tool permissions.
Core grammar rules covering the categories where non-native developers most often slip. Every rule below is drawn from the legacy writing-guide; no new rules are invented here.
Detects and corrects recurring English errors by non-native speakers in developer contexts: article misuse, preposition confusion, tense mismatch, and 'I am agree'-style patterns. Useful for code review and documentation.
Applies Strunk's Elements of Style rules to edit documentation, commit messages, error messages, UI text, reports, and explanations for clarity and conciseness.
Share bugs, ideas, or general feedback.
Core grammar rules covering the categories where non-native developers most often slip. Every rule below is drawn from the legacy writing-guide; no new rules are invented here.
| Wrong | Right | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| "Fix bug in authentication" | "Fix the bug in authentication" | Specific, identifiable noun = use the |
| "Create a new the file" | "Create a new file" | Already have a = drop the |
| "I use the React" | "I use React" | Framework / tool names take no article |
Quick check:
the.a / an.| Wrong | Right | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| "There is many issues" | "There are many issues" | Plural subject → plural verb |
| "The data show" | "The data shows" | data is singular in modern tech usage |
| "None of the tests pass" | "None of the tests passes" | None = singular in formal writing |
Notes:
everyone / someone / nobody take singular verbs.| Form | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
it's | it is / it has | "It's broken" = "It is broken" |
its | possessive (belonging to it) | "The module and its tests" |
Test: replace with "it is". If the sentence still works, the apostrophe belongs.
| Use | For | Example |
|---|---|---|
who | People | "The developer who wrote this" |
that | Things, restrictive clause | "The function that handles auth" |
which | Things, non-restrictive clause | "The module, which was added last week, has a bug" |
Restrictive clause = essential to identify the noun, no commas, use that.
Non-restrictive clause = extra info, set off with commas, use which.
| Wrong | Right |
|---|---|
| "depend of" | "depend on" |
| "consist in" | "consist of" |
| "different of" | "different from" |
| "search a solution" | "search for a solution" |
Prepositions are memorised per verb; there is no general rule.
Stay in one tense inside a single paragraph unless you are explicitly comparing before-and-after states.
| Bad | Good |
|---|---|
| "The hook reads stdin and wrote the log." | "The hook reads stdin and writes the log." |
| "We will add caching and we stored it in Redis." | "We will add caching and store it in Redis." |
Common idiomatic tenses by context:
| Context | Dominant tense |
|---|---|
| Commit message subject | Imperative ("Fix X") |
| PR description body | Present ("This change adds…") |
| API documentation | Present ("Returns a user object") |
| Changelog entry | Past or imperative ("Added Y") |
| Design document | Present or future ("The service will…") |
Mass (no plural, no a) | Countable (pluralize, use a) |
|---|---|
| information, advice, feedback, progress | a file, two files, an error, errors |
| software, hardware, equipment | a module, modules |
| research, work | a task, tasks |
Common slip: "an information" → "a piece of information" or "some information".
| Wrong | Right |
|---|---|
| "more faster" | "faster" |
| "the most simplest" | "the simplest" |
| "more better" | "better" |
Rules:
-er / -est (fast → faster → fastest).more / most (useful → more useful → most useful).more faster, most simplest are always wrong).This skill covers grammar mechanics only. Related concerns live in sibling skills: