Do Writers Really Have to Learn All That (Yucky) Grammar?
In a word, yes. In two words: absolutely yes. I hear groans. I hear protests. You hated English Comp in…
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Not Always “As” You “Like” It
Do you recall the 1950s’ cigarette commercial jingle that went like this: “Winston tastes good, like a cigarette should”? I…
Are You Fortunate or Fortuitous?
Here are two words that appear to share a root but do not, and are therefore often used interchangeably and…
Semicolons: Commonly Misused Bits of Punctuation
The semicolon is the most commonly misused punctuation mark. Bryan Garner (A Dictionary of Modern American Usage) calls the semicolon…
Make a Dash for It
If you’re not familiar with printers’ terminology, you may not know the term em dash. But as a writer and…
What Are Those “Long Hyphens” All About?
I’d like to dash off a not-so-short post today on en dashes, since sorting out the family of dashes—hyphens, en…
Are You Literally Being Literal?
How many times have you heard people throw the word literally around? It’s one of those words that has become…
Hopefully, You’ll Learn Something from This Post
Or, to be more correct, the title should read “I hope you will learn something from this post.” Back in…
When “Where” Should Be “In Which”
Writers are so used to using the word where in a general sense that I imagine many don’t stop to think…
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