So, you’re checking out at the grocery store and you have eight items in your basket. The Express Lane clearly says “10 items or less” and you wait in that line. You stand there staring at the sign. Wait a minute! Was that was how you were taught to write at school? Surely “less” is wrong! Shouldn’t it be “fewer”? You’re(…)
Some people remember that their teachers told them a dangling participle is a bad thing. But that’s all they remember! It’s hard to avoid dangling participles unless you know exactly what they are. First, a (present) participle is a verb form ending in -ing. Dancing, laughing, eating, drinking, sleeping, dreaming, and so on! (You can also(…)
Perhaps the most difficult words to master are the ones that sound alike but have different meanings. I recently wrote an article about the distinction between compliment and complement. Someone asked me the other day about the words, discreet and discrete. They sound alike, but the spelling can be confusing. Discreet means tactful or unobtrusive.(…)
They often say that you learn most of what you need to know at a very early age. Successful people are very small when they learn to share their toys, play fair, clean up their own messes, flush the toilet, and say they’re sorry. But one thing that teachers often tell us very early in(…)
Is it just me, or have you noticed that these two abbreviations are often used interchangeably? They shouldn’t be! While i.e. and e.g. are both abbreviations for Latin terms, i.e. stands for id est and means roughly “that is” or “in other words,” while e.g. stands for exempli gratia, which means “for example.” Not the same thing(…)
Two commonly confused words are compliment and complement. It’s easy to see why. After all, they sound the same. Use compliment when you are talking about an expression of admiration or praise. For example: When I wear my new jacket, I frequently receive compliments. My boss complimented me on my punctuality and orderly approach to my work.(…)
In a previous article, I ranted about the use of apostrophes for plurals. I hate them! Someone asked me if it was correct to make acronyms plural with an apostrophe. The answer is simple. No. It doesn’t make any difference. You shouldn’t use an apostrophe to make an acronym plural. For example: There are four ATMs(…)
Just think of all the time you’d save if you could type an ampersand instead of writing out the word “and”! Despite the undisputed benefits, you’d be breaking style conventions and displaying bad taste. The style guide published by Johns Hopkins University makes the point well: Use only when the ampersand is part of the(…)
I don’t want to be one of those nitpicky people who point out little grammar mistakes. Those people frighten me! Because honestly, I know I’m not perfect. I probably make all sorts of grammar mistakes without even realizing it. But there’s one mistake that kind of amazes me because it’s so common – and even(…)
Two words in English often cause confusion: principal and principle. After all, they have exactly the same pronunciation! You can easily figure out which one to use like this. See if the word, chief, would also work. Let’s think about a few sentences: The principal investigator is responsible for submitting the final report. I wouldn’t do that because(…)