Tag Archives: proofreading

❓ Loud cackling laugh or loud, cackling laugh? Is cackling laugh a noun in itself, or is cackling an adjective describing the noun? If we establish that laugh is the noun, cackling is the adjective. Loud is also an adjective describing the laugh. So, you’re listing adjectives. These are co-ordinate adjectives, each in turn modifyingContinue reading “Should I use commas in lists of adjectives? Co-ordinate and cumulative adjectives.”

Today has been dubbed the ‘day of hugs’. 🤗 And, funnily enough, hugging has come up in my work this morning by way of a dangling modifier! 🔎 Moving back, the hug was planted on her from an unwanted source. ❌ Unless the hug is ‘moving back’, this sentence construction is wrong. ‘Moving back’ modifiesContinue reading “What is a dangling modifier?”

🇬🇧 It’s Mother’s Day here in the UK. ❓ Did you wake up wondering where to put the apostrophe in your mam’s card? 😆 ✅ Well, it’s your lucky day as I can confirm it should go between the ‘R’ and the ‘S’. Yes, more than one mum is celebrating her special day today, butContinue reading “Mother’s Day or Mothers’ Day? Where should the apostrophe go?”

🔎 Quick bit of UK spelling advice. Practice vs practise. 🇬🇧 If you don’t have trouble with advice and advise, then you won’t have trouble with practice and practise. Advise is to practise what practice is to advice. You give someone ‘advice’ (with the ‘c’, it’s a noun, a thing.) You ‘advise’ someone (with theContinue reading “Is it practise or practice? (UK spelling)”

❓ Confused about fewer or less? When people say there’s a rule about this, they are usually on about countable and uncountable nouns. 🔢 Something you can count? Like pens? Or dolls? ✔ I have fewer pens than you.✔ You have fewer dolls than me. ⏳ Something you can’t count? Like time? Or information? ✔Continue reading “Is it fewer or less? Countable and uncountable nouns.”