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Do you use a singular or plural verb to match a collective noun such as team or staff? The answer is, It depends. If these nouns are acting as a unit, use a singular verb. Example: The team is heading for practice this afternoon. If the sentence indicates more individuality, use a plural verb. Example: …

Do you ever wonder if you should double a letter when adding a suffix? For example, why does shop become shopping, not shoping since hope becomes hoping, not hopping? This week's tip will help you spell correctly when adding suffixes. We have Lawrence K. to thank for sending this suggestion as well as for many …

Sentences and lists are awkward when they contain a series of items with inconsistent grammatical structure. But as your reader scans through a series of items with parallel grammatical structure, the relationships between different items of information become clear. Here’s an example: Which of the two sentences below is easier to follow? At the February …

The word advice is a noun. It means recommendation. Example: My sister gave me great advice about applying to colleges. The word advise is a verb. It means "to give advice," "to inform," "to recommend." Example: Can you advise me about colleges that offer bioengineering degrees?   Pop Quiz The principal gave the graduating seniors …

Questions can often arise about how to make the plural and plural possessive forms of numbers, letters, and abbreviations. The following guidelines will help you apply a consistent style for everyday use. Plural of Letters Rule: The plurals for letters are typically not formed with apostrophes. However, do use an apostrophe and an s for …

Many words in English cause confusion because they sound or look alike. Here are a few rules to help you with some common but tricky words. Rule 1: The word accept means "to agree," "to receive." The word except means "but," "not including." Examples: I accept your apology. I'll eat anything except cottage cheese. Rule …

Rule: With words that indicate portions—some, all, none, percent, fraction, part, majority, remainder, and so forth —look at the noun in your of phrase (object of the preposition) to determine whether to use a singular or plural verb. If the object of the preposition is singular, use a singular verb. If the object of the …

Sometimes it can be easy to confuse dashes with hyphens when writing or editing content. For example, you might see text such as 9am-5pm in one reference and 9am–5pm in another. Which is correct? The two different marks do not interfere with our understanding of the intended information; however, one mark is more precise than the other. …

When talking about something that didn't happen in the past, many English speakers use the conditional perfect (if I would have done) when they should be using the past perfect (if I had done). For example, you find out that your brother saw a movie yesterday. You would have liked to see it too, but …

A subscriber recently wrote in with a question that's a good followup to last week's Tip of the Week, Writing Numbers: "When are hyphens used with numbers? Is it 13 feet or 13-feet; 12 hours or 12-hours?" Rule: Generally, hyphenate between two or more adjectives when they come before a noun and act as a …