How do you express numbers in your writing? When do you use figures (digits) and when do you write out the number in words (letters)? That is, when do you write 9 and when do you write nine? 1. Number versus numeral. First things first, what is the difference between a number and a numeral? … Read more
Parallelism is one rule you learned from your English teacher that is appropriate for all sorts of writing. Parallelism makes your thoughts easier to understand, with limited danger of making it more stilted or overly formal. For example, “apples are sweet, but lemons are sour,” which is parallel, is less bumpy than “apples are sweet, … Read more
Among the most frequently used words in English, these five verbs are also the most frequently misused.
Although fighting what may be a losing battle, enough careful writers and speakers distinguish between the verbs lay and lie to make their forms and uses worth our attention.
In response to the “When to use ‘on’ and when to use ‘in” post about prepositions, Francesco Mapelli writes: I still don’t get the “He was not thinking well on that occasion.” Why is “in” wrong here?
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
Judging by the comments on the “When to use ‘on’ and when to use ‘in’” post, I wasn’t the only one to get out of school with less than a complete grasp of what a preposition is or does.
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.”
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.
It’s time to talk about being possessive. Sometimes possessiveness is good, sometimes it’s bad. However you look at it, if you’re speaking English, then you will need an apostrophe to show who owns what.
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.
Coordinating conjunctions are some of the handiest, dandiest words in the English language. Essentially, they help us string our thoughts together in a way that is complex and meaningful, and without them writing would be very short and choppy.