Search results for “Ff”

Can you guess which word I see misspelled most often? Did you guess misspelled? You’re getting warm. Actually, it’s grammar. From my experience, I think it’s safe to estimate that 20 percent of the English-speaking world spells it with an -er ending. Before anyone points an accusing finger at anyone else, we might want to …

Prepositions are certain words that go directly before nouns. They often show direction; for example, below, above, over, under, around, through, in, out, between, among, to, toward(s), etc. Other common prepositions include of, for, from, with, like. Rule: You shouldn’t use or end a sentence with an unnecessary preposition, i.e., when the meaning is clear …

A verb is called a regular verb if its past tense and past participle are formed by adding -ed (waited, insisted) or sometimes just -d (breathed, replaced). Verbs in English are irregular if they don't have a conventional -ed ending in the past tense. Example: Go (present tense), went (past tense), gone (past participle) Note: …

Have you wondered whether there is a right way and a wrong way to use the words farther and further? The different uses of the two words can be subtle. Let's have a closer look. Farther: Refers to physical distance only. Examples: We had to walk farther than the map indicated. Reno is farther from …

Let’s visit the terms editing, proofreading, and formatting. Focus on editing first, checking the content for cohesiveness, clarity, paragraph structure, and overall structure. When you’re satisfied with the content, focus on proofreading, looking for consistency in formatting, margins, text styles, grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Finally, focus on formatting, ensuring consistency in the document’s appearance. Within …

How do you punctuate if something in quotes ends in a necessary exclamation point or question mark but the sentence continues? The Chicago Manual of Style offers this example: Tichnick’s angry reply, “I do not know the man!” took us all by surprise. Note the comma after reply but no comma after the exclamation point.

NOTE: Please see our article Diving Back Into Dialogue: Part II, for an expanded discussion of this topic. Internal dialogue is used by authors to indicate what a character is thinking. Direct internal dialogue refers to a character thinking the exact thoughts as written, often in the first person. (The first person singular is I, the …

For the past tense of to plead, you may use either pleaded or pled. Example: He pleaded not guilty before his trial. Example: He pled not guilty before his trial. Note: In the strict legal sense, one cannot plead innocent. Word of the Week Avuncular: Like an uncle, especially in kindness or tolerance. Example: He …

Many nouns in English have a plural form either with an s/es ending or without. For example, when is it correct to use youth vs. youths, fish vs. fishes, or hair vs. hairs? Use youths and hairs when countable. Example: Three youths were given awards for community service. If youth is being used collectively, do …

Dictionaries don’t all agree on the definitions of these words and neither do style manuals. So we will attempt to shed more light on the distinctions. Abbreviations According to Dictionary.com, an abbreviation is a shortened or contracted form of a word or phrase, used to represent the whole, as Dr. for Doctor, U.S. for United …