This is a guest post by Jacquelyn Landis. If you want to write for Daily Writing Tips check the guidelines here. My copyediting students occasionally stumble when they see a sentence like this one: All the shirt needs is/are buttons. Which is it? The singular is or the plural are? Most of us know instinctively … Read more
Fledge (flĕj) means to furnish with feathers necessary for flight. It refers to birds, but it is also used figuratively, where it means to take care of something until it is ready to fly (e.g., a project or product). On September 30th the company will roll out another fledgling product, Google Wave, for a test … Read more
Motivated by the lively debates about where to put commas, and the controversy over “gone missing,” I’ve added some up-to-date British references to my print reference library. The three newcomers to my shelves are: Penguin Dictionary of English Grammar by R. L. Trask, 2000. As the title implies, this guide arranges topics and terms in … Read more
Lexicon (lĕk’sĭ-kŏn’) is a dictionary or vocabulary. It contains the words and expressions of a language. It can also refer to the collection of terms used in a particular profession or field (e.g., the lexicon of philosophy). She winced at his response of such a gratuitous “Wow”: it said little for his seizure of her … Read more
Do you want to share your favorite writing tip with our readers? Perhaps you want to talk about your pet peeves? Well, now you can. We are officially accepting guest articles. And it gets even better: if our readers really like your content we might extend you an invitation to become a paid staff writer. … Read more
Paul Russell writes: I am loath to admit, or maybe loathe to admit, that I always thought the correct expression was “loathed to admit” But having Googled, I find the “loath” version scores about 1.1m pages,”loathe” around 55,000 with “loathed” in a lowly last place at 32,000. Please can you tell me which is correct, … Read more
Liaison (lē’ā-zŏn’) is a link, connection or bond. It is commonly used to describe a communication or co-operation between two groups or units within an organization (e.g., co-operation between two different military forces). The person who works to connect two groups or units can also be called liaison (e.g., liaison officer). Hollywood and the Pentagon: … Read more
A reader has asked me to comment on the following sentences: Didn’t they do good……. The boy did good. The word good has numerous definitions and nuances. I started to count all those listed in the OED entry, but gave up, there were so many. The chief use of good is as an adjective: Read … Read more
Our lives are defined by time. I challenge you to keep track of the number of times you say the word “time” in the course of a single day: What time is it? How much time do I have? It’s about time! We spend time, waste time, lose time, and save time. When we’re ready … Read more
In current informal usage the words if and whether are used more or less interchangeably, as in these examples from the web: I Don’t Know If The New Phone Has A Frontal Camera, But It Should Do you know whether the new iPhone 3 will have the capacity to handle emails . . . I … Read more
English speakers use the word vocabulary to mean “a collection of words.“ We distinguish between “reading vocabulary” and “speaking vocabulary.” Teachers assign children “vocabulary lists,” that is, lists of unfamiliar or specialized subject words to learn. Speakers of Old English referred to the words they knew as their “wordhord.” In OE poetry, a common expression … Read more
If you have been reading this blog for awhile, you probably know that I (Daniel) believe that virtually anyone can benefit from having a blog, especially aspiring writers. How come? First of all a blog will force you to write every day, and this practice will do wonders for your writing skills. Secondly, a blog … Read more