Incisive, Decisive, Concise, and Precise
Here are some adjectives that might befuddle you. Often writers interchange the words precise and concise, but there is a…
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Wreaking Havoc
I don’t mean to wreak havoc on your life, but here’s a set of confusing words that you need to…
Getting Possessive with Gerunds
Let’s talk about the use of possessive pronouns with a gerund (word ending in ing). It sounds more complicated and…
Cumulative versus Accumulative
My friend, who works on a college campus, cringes when students talk about cramming for their accumulative exams. It’s not…
More Messy Plurals
Creating plurals would be a snap if it were always as simple as adding s or es to a noun….
Using Hyphens to Avoid Confusion
If I called you a short story editor, would I be remarking on your height? I would be, if I…
I Would if I Could . . .
Some people might consider the distinction between could and would to be only a matter of degree of politeness (would…
Are You Getting the Just Deserts You Deserve?
Sometimes we think bad people should get what they deserve, but we shouldn’t liken that punishment to eating day-old pastries….
Can You Distinguish What’s Distinct?
So many words in the English language sound similar, so we often think they mean the same thing. Such is…
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