Search results for “gre”

As November 11 approaches, some people may wonder how to write the name of the November 11 American holiday that commemorates the end of world-war hostilities in 1918 and 1945 as well as all who have served the U.S. Armed Forces. Do we use an apostrophe when spelling Veterans Day? The answer is no. According …

For some people, punctuation in English might be a fuss over details. For others, it provides vital markers for clear, precise, and eloquent writing. For yet others, a missing apostrophe can represent a great expense. In October 2020, an Australian man claimed in a Facebook post that a real estate agent did not pay his …

Some people may not be able to say what a euphemism is, but there’s a good chance they often use euphemisms, including sometimes without being aware. In today’s grammar post, we’ll explain what euphemisms are and how to use them. What Exactly Is a Euphemism? A euphemism is a mild term—typically an idiomatic one—that’s used …

You may have seen three dots within text when reading a sentence (…). This punctuation mark is called an ellipsis. An ellipsis represents an omission of one or more words within a quoted passage. The plural of ellipsis is ellipses. The ellipsis serves efficient writing by allowing us to abbreviate content or otherwise include only …

The classic letter opening To Whom It May Concern was once incredibly common and popular. You might be seeing it used less often these days, which might lead you to wonder when the salutation is proper to include in a letter or email. We will address that topic and more in this discussion. The Concern …

A relative pronoun substitutes for a noun to introduce a subordinate (dependent) clause, which is one that must be joined with an independent (main) clause to complete the sentence in which it appears. A dependent clause led by a relative pronoun is also referred to as a relative clause. You might hear it called an …

Than and then look and sound alike, and both are used in casual conversation all the time. Because of their similarity, they can sometimes be tricky to keep straight, especially in writing. In today's post we'll review the differences between than and then so you know how to use both correctly within your communications. The …

A common debate in English grammar can concern whether commas need to be used before conjunctions such as and, or, and but. These debates may stem from the fact that different people have been taught different guidelines about this punctuation. Style guides often differ about it as well. Today's post will help to clear things …

A main way writing differs from speech is that it often has less-immediate versatility in stressing intentions and feelings behind the words being used. Unlike writing, speech offers instantly recognizable aspects such as verbal pacing, nonverbal cues, gesticulation, and inflection. To achieve desired emphasis, writers must become adept with their available tools. Italic, bold, and …

Suppose you wake with the strange sensation that you have just been in a desert made of brown sugar in a room where it was raining toasted marshmallows. Was all that sugar something you had dreamed, or had you dreamt of something sweet? If you're someone who focuses on improving your mastery of American English …