Search results for “APP”

Rule – Use commas to set off the name or title of a person directly addressed. Examples: Will you, Aisha, do that assignment for me? Yes, Doctor, I will. NOTE: Capitalize a title when directly addressing someone. Joshua, please remember to buy lettuce. Please remember to buy lettuce, Joshua. Rule - Use commas to surround …

This election year’s political dialogue has divided the country into the obscenely ultra-rich one percent and the ninety-nine percent who comprise the poor, the shrinking middle class and the, I guess you could say, tastefully affluent. Compare that with the literary one-percenters, a mulish minority of nitpickers who believe “proper” speaking and writing preserve English’s …

I know many avid readers, and I wish I read as much as they do. But to my surprise, very few of them read with a dictionary on hand. When I ask why, the answer is some variation on “It ruins the mood” or “I want to relax, not study” or the most self-deluded one: …

Last week’s grammar tip focused on the rules for using who vs. that. This week, we will learn the rules to guide us on when to use that vs. which. NOTE: We feel that maintaining the distinction between that and which in essential and nonessential phrases and clauses is useful, even though the principle is sometimes disregarded by experienced writers. …

Several readers have asked why kinship names, such as names of brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, etc., are sometimes capitalized and sometimes not. Let’s have a closer look. Rule 1: Capitalize a kinship name when it immediately precedes a personal name or is used alone, in place of a personal name. Examples Andy and …

When Jane authored the first Grammar Tip on this subject in 2009, her intention was to provide simple, concise guidance on the most commonly encountered uses of the words into and in to. But she knew that at some point we would need to explore this topic in more depth. Since issuing that Grammar Tip, …

This is from Dan, who offers us a new word and an idea worth understanding and enjoying. He suggests looking at Wikipedia's link for more paraprosdokians: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraprosdokian A paraprosdokian is a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected in a way that causes the reader …

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 …