Don't "wreck" your writing by misusing adverbs as adjectives, and don't "get lost" misusing adjectives as adverbs.
Don't "wreck" your writing by misusing adverbs as adjectives, and don't "get lost" misusing adjectives as adverbs.
Topics: adverbs, adjectives, writing tips
Are you the reigning politico among the political junkies around your office water cooler this week? Or have you sworn to watch nothing but movie channels, ESPN Classic, and (is it this bad?) those cable sales channels? If the former, read on and test your savviness. If the latter, well, put that "Donald Trump is MY President" bumper sticker on your car, and reach for your clicker right now.
Topics: word test, vocabulary test
It is not uncommon to see commas, semicolons, and periods confused when it comes to joining two independent clauses for forceful and effective writing. Make your writing more powerful by understanding the proper use of the semicolon.
Topics: punctuation, periods, independent clauses, effective writing
Garth Brooks said, "You aren't rich until you have something money can't buy." Well, you're on your way to rich, because you have today's GrammarPhile blog post, and it can't be bought with money!
Okay, you're in a multi-person conversation, and somebody presents a provocative conjecture. A back-and-forth ensues in which facts are presented and arguments are made. A conclusion is drawn. Someone speaks the letters "Q-E-D." People nod and disperse.
Topics: abbreviations, Latin abbreviations
Did you know that it is Mark Twain who gets credit for saying that everybody talks about the weather but nobody does anything about it? He also wrote that thunder is good, thunder is impressive, but it's lightning that does the work.
Topics: vocabulary test
In the United States, one of our major holidays is Independence Day, also referred to as the Fourth of July. In neighboring Canada, as anywhere else outside America, the same day is noted simply the fourth of July, of course. (Yes, they have a fourth of July in Canada.) What about capitalizing (or capitalising) other calendar and time designations? Here is a list we hope you find useful.
Topics: capitalization
In punctuation-speak, a point is a period. Here's a tip on using points.
Topics: punctuation, abbreviations, points, periods
There's a LinkedIn poll that's been active for the last few days asking people to vote on writing mistakes that make them crazy. Thought you might like to get in on the poll.
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