Search results for “as”

Winter might be coming, or you might have a spring in your step. The seasons tell us a lot about climate, mood, and even which fashions and foods are in style. But grammatically, they can sometimes summon a stump to trip over. For instance, do you know if you should capitalize the names of seasons when you're …

An adverb is a part of speech that modifies other sentence elements such as verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. It may also describe infinitives, gerunds, participles, phrases, clauses, or even the rest of the sentence in which it appears. Adverbs address information such as when (she is leaving now), where (she stops here), how (she …

English grammar has its share of technical terms, so unless you regularly teach or study the language, you might furrow your eyebrows if you hear things such as present perfect tense or infinitive verb. Many of us may use such components in our writing and speech without being fully aware of what they are. That …

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 …

The en dash and the em dash offer different functions for punctuation. They also have different ways they can be made using a keyboard. In this brief discussion, we’ll review common uses of the en dash and the em dash as well as methods for forming them with your keyboard. En Dash An en dash …

If you grew up attending American schools, at some point you probably received the advice to "write in the active voice." Although English instructors tend to hold passive-voice statements in lesser esteem, many English speakers (including college graduates) still often use them. Some speakers also might apply the passive voice without being able to readily …

Many may wonder whether to add an apostrophe to master's degree, something than can confuse even those with a highly advanced education in working with words. We will address a few facets concerning this term, including apostrophes, possessive use, and capitalization. Do You Use an Apostrophe When Spelling Master's Degree? The most direct answer is …

While some of our articles focus on minor grammar points or innocent, common mistakes, here we want to tackle a bigger issue. Some people may struggle with the difference between was and were. Because these are both frequent words that might be used throughout the day, understanding how and when to apply each one can …

One of the most entertaining facets of communication can also be one of the most frustrating: That's because people don't always mean exactly what they say. We refer not to lies or falsehoods, but to statements that aren't aimed to be accepted or understood by their literal meaning. For example, if a friend tells you …

The past is many things—but it’s not the same as passed. Passed: gone ahead of; approved Past: a former time; beyond If you ever find yourself struggling with the grammatical difference between the two, you aren’t alone. They sound identical when spoken aloud and have somewhat related definitions. However, they do have different meanings, and …