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Can you form the plural of the word basis without scratching your head and turning to Google? Many Americans, including native speakers, may sometimes find themselves wondering about how to refer to more than one basis. In this brief review, we'll establish the correct way to write the plural of basis, as well as how …

Clear and expressive writing in English will mainly apply the active voice, in which a lead subject performs an action by means of the verb. In developing style and voice, writers will become proficient in facets such as mood and tone and nimble variation as well. At times we also may find ourselves wanting or …

Premise and premises are similarly spelled and, in the midst of writing or speech, can be interchanged in ways that let them weave in and out of our writing and speech with the glide of a professional skier. Can you separate one from the other? If not, you'll gain insight here as we distinguish premise …

We often use language techniques and functions in our writing and speech with such familiarity that we might not even know what they are nor what we're applying. As one more-recognizable example, when we merge will with not to form won't, we are contracting the words. Another operation we use with instinct but perhaps not …

Many of us have heard of prefixes and suffixes along the way in learning English grammar. Prefixes and suffixes both belong to a larger category, the affix. An affix is any bound morpheme attached to a root word to form a new word or word form with a new meaning. Because they are morphemes, affixes …

Do you know the difference between getaway (one word) and get away (two words)? Even native speakers of American English might get crossed up with these expressions, so we'll look at each version and how to use it precisely. That way, you won't wonder if you're getting away with using the incorrect version. Let's get …

We are familiar with numbers and the function they serve: We use and look at them just about every day. Recognizable enough in our checkbooks and calculators, numbers also have their own categories in writing. For example, the following sentences contain both ordinal and cardinal numbers: 1. Donetta took first place in the spelling bee. …

If you leave something in the oven for too long, it's probably going to burn. That's frustrating, but even worse is having to make a note about it later. Was your food burned, or was it burnt? What's the distinction between the words? In this quick post, we'll discuss the differences between burned and burnt …

Any language has its accepted daily misuses, even as they miff the grammatical purist. In English, we might often deal in statements with solecisms such as: Please inform Sheila and I about the tickets. I must of left my backpack on the bus. Every dog has it's day. We're still in awe of the enormity …

A modifier is a word, phrase, or clause used to provide additional information in a sentence. The information is not vital to the sentence's meaning, but it often gives details that offer readers extra clarity. Examples I love when Samantha wears that jacket. Josef waited patiently for two hours. Kathy plans to work as a …