DailyWritingTips

Loose or Lose?

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There’s no formula for what I do,” said King, who added that if he tried to analyze and formulate his approach to writing, he might loose his touch.

The word “loose” in this quotation from a site about publishing is incorrectly used. King might lose his touch.

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Mind Your -ed’s

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The English verb ending -ed is a curious construction.

Although always spelled -ed, it has three different pronunciations. Two of them can lead to misspellings:
/ed/ as in faded
/d/ as in turned
/t/ as in wrecked

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When to use “on” and when to use “in”

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Nate asks: What are the proper usages of the words “in” and “on” in a sentence? I often confuse the two. Here are some examples: “The boat is in/on the water,” “We are in/on the planet,” “We’re going to the concert in/on July 1st.”

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Me, Myself, and I

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Just as the personal pronouns I and me are frequently used incorrectly–the subject form I used instead of the object form me, and vice versa–the reflexive pronoun myself sometimes crops up where I or me belong.

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All Pronoun Cases Are Created Equal

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Some writers and speakers seem to believe that “I” is somehow more high class than “me.” Snooty characters on soap operas are especially fond of this construction. The fact is, “I” and “me” are class neutral. They simply have different jobs to do.

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