Search results for “JE”

When and how to capitalize titles of works and titles of formal rank or professional status can remain a common question. We'll focus on that topic today for additional clarity. (Note that style for capitalizing titles can vary among stylebooks and in-house style guidelines. What we share here offers a baseline that you can follow; …

Why do so many people dislike the word "moist"? It's a good question. Even if you are one of those who can't stand the sound of that particular word—and there are many who can't—you might not be able to explain why. In this discussion, we'll consider the issue people have with this much-maligned word, along …

Grammar in American English includes many finer details. One topic that involves several is punctuation in a quote, a subject that still often prompts questions from our readers. In this review, we'll explore proper punctuation in quoted content. Punctuation in a Quote: Quotation Marks Use quotation marks to set off all direct quotations. Quotation marks …

As Independence Day approaches, many of you may be wondering how to write the name of the holiday—is it Fourth of July or 4th of July? The Chicago Manual of Style refers to the holiday as "the Fourth of July" or "the Fourth." The Associated Press Stylebook lists "Fourth of July" and "July Fourth" as …

As the third Sunday in June approaches, many of you may be wondering how to write the name of the holiday—is it Father's Day, Fathers' Day, or Fathers Day? We last looked into the topic of where to properly place holiday apostrophes in a 2018 newsletter. Today we provide an update. Do You Use an …

A leading principle in learning grammar is that there are no stupid questions. However, there can be questions about the word stupid. That brings us to the topic of today's post: Is stupider really a word? Or would it be better grammar to say more stupid? Neither is very polite, and the answers might surprise …

English has two kinds of clauses: subordinate (or dependent) and independent. The difference between them is that an independent clause can stand alone and a dependent one cannot. A subordinate clause by itself is a sentence fragment. Complete stand-alone sentence: I want the ice cream that is made with soy instead of milk and cream. Independent …

What are the differences between the words capital and capitol? What do they mean, and what are the proper spellings? These are common questions that we'll address in today's post. First Things First: Both Capital and Capitol Can Be Grammatically Correct Let's begin by pointing out that capital and capitol are two different words that …

This is a common question about American English, even among those who grew up speaking the language. The reason is both can appear in print and sound the same when spoken aloud. So, should you say supposed to be or suppose to be? Say What You're Supposed To The short answer is that supposed to …

The em dash in American English is a punctuation mark that helps to convey emphasis, introduction, interruption, or a swift change of thought. In doing so, the em dash acts similarly to commas, semicolons, colons, and parentheses. In formal writing, an em dash is the width of an m and longer than both a hyphen and an …