The best way to learn is through stories. The Glamour of Grammar is not a textbook. It’s a story of language from one who loves its bones. You will remember so much more about language because the lessons here are attached to tidbits, anecdotes and analogies. I wholeheartedly recommend the audiobook. Clark narrates his ownContinue reading “The best way to learn is through stories. A review of The Glamour of Grammar by Roy Peter Clark”
Tag Archives: writingtips
Is it OK to end a sentence with a preposition?
Where are you from? π From where are you? π¬ People get themselves in knots trying to avoid ending a sentence with a preposition. Roy Peter Clark comes up with three magic words you can add to avoid this. So that you don’t have to face the horror π± of ‘from’ being the last word ofContinue reading “Is it OK to end a sentence with a preposition?”
Is it pole or poll?
Here’s a handy graphic to show the difference.
Is it who’s or whose?
For everyone who gets who’s and whose confused… If it’s not who is/who has, it’s whose.
Is it lay or lie?
π Stop the press. At some point I shared my advice on the lie/lay confusable. I thought I did a fairly decent job explaining the difference. BUT! Proper dues to Roy Peter Clark who offers this tip: π‘ Use the vowel sound to remind you. Lay as in place. And Lie as in recline. That’llContinue reading “Is it lay or lie?”
Is it farmers’ market or farmers market? Assassins’ guild or assassins guild?
What does a farmers market have in common with an assassins guild? Well, I consulted this MW article about the former’s apostrophe (or lack thereof) and wondered whether I could apply the principle to the latter…https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/is-there-an-apostrophe-in-farmers-market-punctuation-possessive “Style guides try to make a distinction between possessive phrases and those that are merely descriptive. Since a farmersContinue reading “Is it farmers’ market or farmers market? Assassins’ guild or assassins guild?”
Is it shrunk or shrank? (Did Honey, I Shrunk The Kids get it wrong?)
Did you know some people consider there to be an error in this film title? The argument goes that it should be called: Honey, I SHRANK the kids. Shrank is the past tense of shrink.* Shrunk is the past participle. If he’d wanted to be all passive and wash his hands of responsibility, Rick MoranisContinue reading “Is it shrunk or shrank? (Did Honey, I Shrunk The Kids get it wrong?)”
Is it phase or faze?
It didn’t phase me. βIt didn’t faze me. βοΈ F-A-Z-E is the spelling you want. Isn’t it interesting how we always use it in the negative. People always say they weren’t fazed. They rarely say they were. We seem to prefer discombobulated for this scenario. Maybe because it’s such a silly word. It takes theContinue reading “Is it phase or faze?”
Mistakes Were Made. Use this zombie hack to identify the passive voice.
Do you know this zombie hack? π§ββοΈπͺπ§ββοΈπͺπ§πͺ I don’t know when tips became hacksβ¦ Or whether this one should be a trick. Let’s go with zombie hack. That sounds seasonalβ¦ π Speaking of seasonal, Britain has a new Prime Minister. Wow, that jibe veers into political commentary. That’s not like me at all. So I’llContinue reading “Mistakes Were Made. Use this zombie hack to identify the passive voice.”
Is it it’s or its?
ππ’π πΆπ πΌπ»πΉπ π²ππ²πΏ ππ΅πΌπΏπ π³πΌπΏ πΆπ πΆπ. I don’t mind admitting it took me far longer than it should have to learn this rule. I don’t remember anyone ever saying it to me as bluntly as this. ‘It’ (apostrophe) ‘s’ is only ever short for ‘it is’. And it confused me because it seemsContinue reading “Is it it’s or its?”
CherryEdits 