Sentence grammatical options

Action oriented noun phrases

More then one way to describe the action

Verbal noun

A brilliant painting of the landscape won the competition

• Form: Noun phrase subject (a brilliant painting).

• Focus: The product or result — the finished painting itself.

• Nuance: The painting as an object is brilliant, and that object won.

• Tone: Static, evaluative, objective.

Gerund

Brilliantly painting the landscape won the competition

• Form: Gerund phrase subject (brilliantly painting).

• Focus: The process or manner — how the act of painting was carried out.

• Nuance: It’s the skillful act of painting (not just the finished product) that led to victory.

• Tone: Dynamic, active, more performance-oriented.

• Concrete, natural, everyday English. It emphasizes the actual activity.

Using infinitive phrase

Less good, formal, slightly archaic, out of context (competition is action oriented):

To paint the landscape brilliantly won the competition.

Very similar to Brilliantly painting…, often sound more abstract or formal, while gerunds feel more natural and flowing.
Tone difference: Abstract, formal, even slightly archaic. It emphasizes the general idea or goal.

Infinitive phrase can work for formal, general rule:

To err is human; to forgive, divine

If the action is concrete:

Many gardeners surround their gardens with wire fencing. It is the best way for farmers to prevent rabbits from eating their vegetables.

To surround their gardens with wire fencing is the best way for farmers to prevent rabbits from eating their vegetables.

Keep the subject with for infinitive phrase:

A restaurant earns …

For a restaurant to earn five stars means it has superior food and service.

Flow

• With list of verbal nouns, turn one to a verb

Your explanation of the expectations of the community was clear. \

You explained the community’s expectations clearly.

Finite or non-finite clause?

A to-infinitive clause lets you compress ideas without repeating a subject or tense, which can make academic or technical writing more concise and elegant — but finite clauses are clearer when you want explicit subjects, tense, and independence.

Common comparative constructions

Comparative Type	Marker(s)	Example	Notes	Common Grammatical Role
Basic comparative (-er / more / less)	-er, more, less	She is taller than John.	Compares degree of adjective/adverb.	Predicative complement or modifier (e.g. taller than John modifies is or girl).
Equality comparison	as … as	He is as tall as his brother.	Expresses equality.	Predicative complement or degree modifier.
Superlative	-est, most, least	She is the most talented student.	Marks highest/lowest degree.	Predicative complement or modifier within NP.
Comparative with NP standard	than + NP	Smarter than John	NP gives comparison target.	Post-head complement of adjective/adverb.
Comparative with finite clause	than + finite clause	Less self-aware than they believe themselves to be	Clause provides standard of comparison.	Complement of comparative adjective/adverb.
Comparative with infinitive clause	than + to-infinitive	Better than to ignore the issue	Compares actions or choices.	Subject complement or clausal complement.
Correlative equality	as … as + clause	As confident as I thought he would be	Clause expresses basis of equality.	Complement of adjective/adverb.
Elliptical comparative	than + (implied clause)	She runs faster than me (→ than I do)	Verb omitted but understood.	Complement (elliptical clause).

List, one item more important

**Using emphasis
Tee ball players should try the hardest, play by the rules, and have fun, with having fun being the most important.

Using a final modifier
Tee ball players should try the hardest, play by the rules, and have fun—the most important of these is having fun.

Using apposition
Tee ball players should try the hardest, play by the rules, and have fun, the last being the most important.

Using subordination
Although tee ball players should try the hardest and play by the rules, having fun is the most important.

Adversative coordinator
Tee ball players should try the hardest, play by the rules and have fun — yet having fun is most important.

Natural descriptive
Tee ball players should try their hardest, play by the rules, and, above all, have fun.