Search results for “gre”

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 …

Understanding restrictive clauses is a valuable skill in applying English grammar. With this information, you'll gain further insight into how sentences are constructed for clarity. The Anatomy of a Restrictive Clause A restrictive clause is a dependent clause that modifies a word (noun). The information it gives is necessary for description or identification. In other …

You may have heard of helping verbs, which are also referred to as modal and auxiliary verbs. In this discussion, we'll review what a helping verb is and how it works with another verb. What Is a Helping Verb? A helping verb is a verb that combines with a main verb to form a verb …

Those who study the art of composition are likely to hear references to mood and tone along the way. The terms may seem or sound synonymous, but they identify different aspects of substance in writing. If you're looking to further develop the style and impact of your writing, particularly as emotional depth is concerned, you …

Those who write in American English may sometimes wonder when to abbreviate a word as well as how to abbreviate it. This review will help address those questions. An abbreviation is a shortened or contracted form of a word or a phrase (e.g., Mister to Mr.). If you're ever in doubt about when and how …

Although they may have nearly identical spellings, loose and lose have different pronunciations and entirely separate meanings. In today's post, we will break down the meaning and usage of each word. The Meaning of Loose Loose is commonly used as an adjective meaning "not tight" or "not contained." Here are a few examples of loose …

The which vs. that usage dilemma pops up when working with dependent clauses—also known as subordinate clauses—that require one of these two relative pronouns. A dependent clause contains a subject and a predicate but cannot stand alone as a complete, independent sentence. Which and that are used with essential (also called restrictive) clauses, which contain …

Are there any three identically pronounced words in the English language that can give people so much trouble? Even those who grew up with these words in school can confuse them. If you doubt this, simply visit your favorite social media site after reading this article. There's a chance you could see incorrect usage, particularly …

You might sometimes wonder whether it's all right to use the word alright. As it turns out, there is a mostly right answer to that. The Meaning of All Right and Alright The two-word expression all right is a short way of saying "all is right." That phrase itself is a quicker version of the …

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 …