Search results for “od”

When should you capitalize someone's title? We get this question quite often so here are some rules and guidelines: Guideline: Though there is no established rule on writing titles in the complimentary closing of a letter, we recommend capitalizing a person's title when it follows the name on the address or signature line. However, you …

This is from Dan, who offers us a new word and an idea worth understanding and enjoying. He suggests looking at Wikipedia's link for more paraprosdokians: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraprosdokian A paraprosdokian is a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected in a way that causes the reader …

We tend to speak plainly and succinctly but for some reason, when we write, we stuff our sentences with extra verbiage, turning streamlined ideas into confusing, out-of-shape messes. Here is a good example of a sentence that needs a workout: The network that this computer is able to connect to contains information that is privileged …

The demonstrative adjectives this/that/these/those, which may also be pronouns, tell us where an object is located and how many objects there are. This and that are used to point to one object. This points to something nearby, while that points to something "over there." Examples: This dog is mine. This is mine. That dog is …

Should we use a hyphen with a common prefix such as non or un? For example, is it non-alcoholic beverages or nonalcoholic beverages? Generally, with common prefixes, you do not need to use a hyphen unless it would avoid possible confusion.  Therefore, most writers would write nonalcoholic beverages. Examples: uninviting uninterested noncompetitive preexisting (some writers …

Most of us know clumsy sentences when we hear or read them, but we don’t always know exactly why they are clumsy or possess the skills to fix them. An E-Newsletter reader heard the awkwardness of the following sentence but was puzzled by how to reword it. The network that this computer is able to …

Thanks to Lawrence K., who responded to my tip on forming plurals of symbols by pointing out that the plurals of some abbreviations are formed in ways other than by adding an s. Example: pp. = pages Example: sp. = species (singular); spp. = species (plural) Example: cc., c.c., C.C., Cc, or cc = copy/copies …

Today I will answer a couple of questions I received from radio listeners when I was a guest. Question: Should you say "pleaded guilty" or "pled guilty"? Answer: Either one is considered correct. Question: Does "enormity" mean "something monstrous" or "something huge"? Answer: In formal writing, enormity has nothing to do with something's size. The …

Do you get confused about the proper way to use a semicolon? Semicolons do not represent a full stop at the end of a sentence, as periods do; rather, they're like the "yellow light" of punctuation marks: they signal a pause between one sentence and the next. You slow down, then stop at the end …

Many words in English cause confusion because they sound or look alike. Here are a few rules to help you with some common but tricky words. Rule 1: The word accept means "to agree," "to receive." The word except means "but," "not including." Examples: I accept your apology. I'll eat anything except cottage cheese. Rule …