Words such as rather, pretty, very, and little are the leeches that infest the body of prose, sucking the blood of words. We should all try to do a little better, we should all be very watchful of this rule, for it is a rather important one and we are pretty sure to violate it […]
Some word pairs flummox even the most literate writers. We use a word to say one thing, but its opposite form seems not to exist. Or does it? In some pairs, apparent opposites have the same meaning. English is a mongrel language with a motley history, which means that our words don’t always make sense.
Are You Gruntled that Irregardless is a Word? Read More »
Someone recently wrote to me, “Your welcome to join us at the dinner reception.” While I appreciated the dinner invitation, the writer undermined herself by making the basic mistake of writing your instead of you’re. She meant to say, “You are welcome to join us,” but that’s not what she wrote.
Am I being a curmudgeon to mention this? Perhaps. But if I’m a grouch, I’m not alone. For millions of readers, these mistakes matter. When you are building your personal and business brand, can you afford to assume that your readers don’t care about precision in language?
Don’t embarrass yourself: Use the Right Words Read More »
People often wonder whether they can omit words like which and that. Grammar checkers might advise you to nix these words, but relative pronouns like which and that play important roles.
Is it okay to omit relative pronouns like which and that? Read More »
Writers often wonder about the difference between ‘which’ and ‘that.’ The words function differently depending on the sentence you use them in
What’s the difference between ‘which’ and ‘that’? Read More »
