What’s wrong with me? Both speakers and writers seem averse to correctly using this basic pronoun. Instead of using me when appropriate, they end up sounding hoity-toity by asking, “Could you bring a glass of Merlot for the lady and myself?” or “Let’s keep it just between you and I.” In both of those examples, […]
Quick: What is a noun? No matter where you went to elementary school, your brain probably leapt into action, screaming, “I know that! I know that! A noun is a person, place, or thing.” And that’s true. A noun is a person, place, thing, or concept. And what is a verb? Your brain triumphs again:
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“Make every word tell.”Strunk and White, The Elements of Style In preparing for a recent writing training, I received 60 pages of sample documents. I found myself writing, “omit needless words” at least once on every page, as writers wrote sentences like “The company frequently from time to time receives discounts on its products.” and
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Which is more engaging?She said… or She shrieked, she whispered, she yelled, she lisped, she bellowedHe walked… or He hobbled, he strode, he strutted, he limped, he prancedThey did… or They eviscerated, they surpassed, they glorified, they overcame, they exulted Verbs enliven language. They are your single greatest weapon against dullness. By adding this one
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Responding to a ComplaintHere is an email received by a short-term apartment rental agency:It is pretty amazing how inept your agency is. You promised me that the apartment would be clean before Mr. A came back. They came into an apartment that was not clean and called me to complain. They ordered a cleaner to
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