October 11, 2024
There are four different sentence structures to choose from: simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex. Each has a different assortment of independent and dependent clauses, and using a variety of structures makes your writing more interesting to read! Let’s start off Read more…
A clause is a combination of a subject and a predicate (e.g., she ran; I discovered; he reads). There might be more information added in, such as direct objects, adjectives, adverbs, etc. (e.g., she ran four miles quickly; I discovered Read more…
October 7, 2024
Parentheses are a great tool you can use to add extra information or commentary to your text. If you want to toss in some examples or clarifications, they’re super handy. Little jokes and sarcastic comments love to be nested inside Read more…
October 3, 2024
These two abbreviations get mixed up constantly. Most of the time, people use “i.e.” incorrectly when they mean “e.g.” But sometimes it’s the other way around. A big part of the problem is likely that both “i.e.” and “e.g.” are Read more…
Parentheses have all kinds of different functions: In academic papers, you’ll see them used for citations and maybe even in a few mathematical equations. In more casual writing, they’re used to insert extra information or relevant commentary. They’re handy if Read more…
October 1, 2024
Let’s take it back to the basics and talk about what the heck an apostrophe is and how to use it in your writing. Where Does It Come From? Oh, yeah. I said we’re taking it back, so we’re taking Read more…
September 28, 2024
It’s back! That pesky apostrophe is once again confusing people with two words that sound exactly the same but actually mean COMPLETELY different things. “Your” and “You’re” sound like the same word when we say them out loud, which is Read more…
September 17, 2024
“It’s” and “its” mean two COMPLETELY different things. These two little words get mixed up all. the. time. In fact, I’d say it’s one of the most common errors that I come across while copyediting. About this error, Lynne Truss Read more…
Adjectives are words that describe a noun or pronoun. They might tell you the shape, size, color, weight, material, or various other qualities of the noun. But before you go tossing adjectives all over your writing, it’s important to know Read more…
I recently published an article about adjective order, and one of the types of adjectives that are listed in that article is determiners, which includes words like “our,” “these,” “a/an,” and “the.” While my husband was reading that post, he Read more…