Sunday, October 9, 2005
I Can't Accept Your Exception to the Rule
Like the words affect and effect, accept and except are often confused. Misusing them, however, is an egregious error that can give a very bad impression of your communication skills. Accept is a verb that means "to take something that is offered." You can accept the terms of a contract, accept a... Sign in to see full entry.
posted by editormum at 5:24 PM Comments (0) (link)
Sunday, October 2, 2005
And I Wondered: Is It All Right to Start My Sentence That Way?
An erudite reader has asked my opinion on the permissibility of beginning a sentence with a conjunction. This is an interesting case, as it's one of the few times when I will tell you that your high school grammar teacher was wrong: It is not always wrong to start a sentence with and, but, or or.... Sign in to see full entry.
posted by editormum at 11:45 AM Comments (3) (link)
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
The effects of improper usages can affect your life!
"Effect" and "affect" have the unfortunate ability to drive people insane. As homophones (or homonyms), their similar sound makes choosing the correct spelling difficult. But there is an easy way to select the correct one. "Affect" is a transitive verb meaning "to act on, cause change in" or... Sign in to see full entry.
posted by editormum at 7:26 PM Comments (1) (link)
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Subject --Verb Agreement
It's important, even in a casual writing forum like a blog. And as I have seen not one or two, but literally dozens of violations of this basic grammar rule here on Blogit and on another blogging site that I frequent, I'm going to give you the lowdown on SVA. Nouns are either singular or plural. (Or... Sign in to see full entry.
posted by editormum at 8:06 PM Comments (0) (link)
Monday, September 19, 2005
If You Meet a Murderer, Will You Mete Out Justice?
Watch these tricky little sound-alikes, because misusing them can really make you look bad. Both are verbs (well, most commonly used as verbs). Meet means to come face to face with, to come together with. (Example: We will meet in the conference room. ) Mete means to dispense or hand out. (Example:... Sign in to see full entry.
posted by editormum at 6:48 PM Comments (0) (link)
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
ETAOIN SHRDLU
Do you know what it is? "Etaoin shrdlu" is a nonsensical phrase used to indicate nonsense or gibberish. It originated with the Linotype compositor, whose keyboard was set up with the letters in order of frequency of use in the language. The twelve most commonly used letters in the English language... Sign in to see full entry.
posted by editormum at 7:51 AM Comments (0) (link)
Thursday, July 14, 2005
Who Died in That Kilt?
I have recently seen the proliferation of a really egregious error caused by a homophone in a common idiom. The idiom in question is "dyed-in-the-wool," which is never spelled "died-in-the-wool" unless someone has actually passed away while encased in sheeps' fur. In medieval England, you could dye... Sign in to see full entry.
posted by editormum at 10:04 AM Comments (3) (link)
Wednesday, July 6, 2005
Help Stamp Out Apostrophe Abuse!
Never use the apostrophe (that's the little mark like this ' ) to make words plural. It's wrong; it's annoying, and it makes your writing look amateurish. The plural of apple is not apple's ---it's apples! When you see 's at the end of a word, you should automatically think one of two things:... Sign in to see full entry.
posted by editormum at 3:41 PM Comments (4) (link)
Friday, June 24, 2005
Get Your Hands off My Tutu!
Apparently there is some confusion about which form of the word pronounced /tu/ to use in a given situation. To is a preposition meaning "toward" or "directed at." As in: I went to the store. Give the book to John. Too is an adjective meaning "excessive" or "also." As in: That pepper was too hot for... Sign in to see full entry.
posted by editormum at 9:13 AM Comments (2) (link)
Friday, June 17, 2005
The Gender of Common Objects
You may not know that many nonliving things have a gender. For example: 1) Ziploc Bags -- They are Male, because they hold everything in, but you can see right through them. 2) Copiers -- They are Female, because once turned off, it takes a while to warm them up again. It's an effective reproductive... Sign in to see full entry.
posted by editormum at 12:50 PM Comments (4) (link)
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About this Blog
A professional editor, writer, and English tutor answers your questions about the finer points of grammar, word usage, and other technical aspects of the writer's craft. E-mail questions to editormum@usa.com, or use the Comments section of a previous post. Happy Writing!
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