Five Linguistic Oddities in the Media

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Farther, Further: What's the Difference?

Some authorities offer differentiated meanings for farther and further, but the short answer to the question of which to use for what is that you can just

2 2024-12-21 17:03 查看原文

3 More Examples of Misplaced Modifiers

Words and phrases that provide additional information to clarify relationships between people, places, or things should, for the sake of clarity, be carefully

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3 Examples of How a Comma Can Change Meaning

Omission of a lowly comma often alters the intent of a sentence, as demonstrated in the following examples, each followed by discussion and a revision.

1 2024-11-29 02:14 查看原文

3 Common Types of Phrasal-Adjective Hyphenation Errors

One of the most ubiquitous categories of error in written composition is failure to provide a visual clue to readers that two or more words preceding a noun

1 2024-11-27 14:35 查看原文

The Dash Family's Roles

The en dash is the oft-neglected middle sibling of the horizontal-line family of symbols that serve to connect words and numbers for various reasons.

1 2024-11-28 19:17 查看原文

3 Cases of Missing Parenthetical Punctuation

In each of the following examples, a complementary comma that provides closure for a parenthetical phrase is missing. Discussion after each sentence explains

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7 Types of Punctuation Errors

Each of the following sentences below demonstrates a specific type of error involving internal punctuation, usually involving a problem with a comma.

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3 Types of Superfluous Use of Semicolons

Proper use of semicolons is sometimes seen as such a challenge that some teachers of composition recommend not using them until one develops a more

1 2024-11-30 10:06 查看原文

3 Sentences with Hyphenation Problems

In each of the following sentences, one or more hyphens is missing from a phrasal adjective, but another solution is available: A relaxation of the syntax is

1 2024-11-28 19:17 查看原文

3 Errors in Using Parentheses

Parenthetical marks can cause difficulties for writers—and, as a result, for readers. In each of the following examples, parentheses are misused; discussion

1 2024-11-27 06:02 查看原文

How to Focus When You're Writing

Do you ever find yourself distracted when you’re writing?

1 2024-11-27 07:47 查看原文

The Right Climate

With some words, a single letter can completely change the meaning. Take the letter 'c' and the words climactic and climatic. There's not much difference in

1 2024-11-28 08:48 查看原文

Not Nice At All

My high school English teacher banned the use of the word nice. She said it was a lazy adjective. Although she was a bit harsh, there was some truth in what

1 2024-11-30 06:12 查看原文

Word of the Day: Pedantic

Pedantic (pə-dăn'tĭk) is an adjective that represents an excessive concern for precision and formal rules. It can also refer to the ostentation of knowledge.

1 2024-11-29 14:17 查看原文

10 Types of Hyphenation Errors

I’ve written more than once about hyphens, including this previous post, but it remains a troublesome topic, so I’ll approach it from this direction, too: the

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The Argentine and Ukraine

A reader wonders about the phrase “the Argentine”:

2 2024-12-09 08:30 查看原文

What the heck are "learnings"?

Reader Paul wonders about

1 2024-11-30 20:11 查看原文

Useful Stock Phrases for Your Business Emails

When I wrote a post on email etiquette, one reader, Juan, left a comment to ask for some advice (I’ve changed his punctuation a bit for clarity’s sake):

2 2024-11-29 02:12 查看原文

25+ Pieces of Writing Software You Should Know About

Of course, all you really need in order to write is a notebook and pen. But there are lots of software packages that can make life easier for writers.

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Prevaricate vs Procrastinate

Two commonly confused words are prevaricate and procrastinate. They are similar in being quite formal, Latinate, words but have different meanings.

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