Some Challenging Verbs

A verb is the main part of any true complete sentence; it’s the word that describes an action, an occurrence, or a state of being. As important as this part of speech is, verbs are often used incorrectly. Following are some common errors. Share This:

Adding Syllables to Words Does Not Add Meaning

Created Words Without Meaning People use several “enhanced” words to make themselves sound more intellectual. However, the reverse, sadly, is more likely. One of the most common is preventative (which, by the way, the Microsoft Word® spell checker allows). The correct word is preventive. However, not only does one hear this word spoken, but it

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Slang and Colloquialisms

I know only two words of American slang, ‘swell’ and ‘lousy’ I think ‘swell’ is lousy, but ‘lousy’ is swell. ~ J.B. Priestley What do you think “far out” might mean to someone trying to learn English? Would they relate it to distance? Could they ever understand that it meant “rad”? Oh, sorry. We meant

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Linking Clauses with Conjunctive Adverbs

A word that connects one phrase or clause to another is called a conjunction (literally join). Common examples are and & or. When an adverb is used this way, it’s called a conjunctive adverb. Conjunctive adverbs, which we’ll call simply “clause links”, may show, for example, cause and effect, sequence, contrast, or comparison. Here’s a

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Misused Conjunction

A very common mistake, which has been around for a long time, is the word that should follow the verb try. Example of incorrect usage: One should try and write better. The word try requires a preposition, not a conjunction. (A conjunction literally joins two equivalent or related words, phrases, clauses, or sentences.) The sentence

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Writing Numbers

There are some interesting rules about how to write numbers in your text. You’d think that the easiest and clearest thing would be to write numbers as numerals (e.g., 3, 7, 12). Yet, there are so many places where it really doesn’t work, as you will see in this post. Share This:

Nouns and Pronouns

You’d think that nouns and pronouns would be easy because we use them every day. But proper word usage often trips people up. Masculine, Feminine and Neutral NOUNS The “women’s liberation” movement has forced a change in certain nouns, many of them ending in -man (eg, chairman). This sometimes works well and can be an

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