Love them or hate them (our proofreaders love them!!!), the semicolon is a tool in your grammar arsenal. This punctuation — ; — can be used to join two independent clauses together without using a conjunction such as "and." You do not use a capital letter after a semicolon unless it's a proper noun. They [...]
Jell-O is a gelatin dessert. Put that on your proofreading plate and eat it. Sometimes the English language is full of grammar surprises, like this homophone: jell/gel. Jell Jell is only a verb. It can mean to set or become more solid, as in a liquid or semiliquid substance. "Watching the Jell-O jell felt like [...]
Choosing the right first-person pronoun sometimes can be confusing. But there’s an easy test to self-check your grammar. Incorrect: When she’s done writing the first draft, she’ll send it to you or I. If you take out the second-person pronoun — “you” — this wouldn’t make sense: “She’ll send it to I.” Correct: When she’s [...]
We’ve all used and/or heard the expressions “free rein,” “rein it in,” and “take the reins.” All of them use the word “rein,” which can be a noun or a verb. Reins are the straps attached to a horse or other animal’s headgear. A rider uses reins to control and steer the animal. But these [...]
Although they have identical pronunciation, "peak," "peek" and "pique" mean different things: Peek is related to sight. As a noun, it means a brief or furtive look. As a verb, it means to take a look at something or look through something small. Example: She peeked around the corner. Peak is a noun or verb [...]
The terms “disabilities” and “disabled” span a broad range of physical, psychological, developmental and intellectual conditions. Some of these conditions are visible; others we cannot see. It’s important to remember that disabled individuals use diverse terms to describe themselves. Many, for example, use the term “people with disabilities.” According to the Associated Press, both “people [...]
February is Black History Month, so let’s brush up on how to write some key terms that may appear in your content. First, when describing someone's race, ask the person their preference. In 2020, the Associated Press updated its style guide to capitalize Black when referring to people in a racial, ethnic or cultural context. [...]
Is it grey or gray? It's really just a matter of vowels. No difference exists in meaning between these two versions of the same word, whether used as a noun, adjective or verb. Grey is more commonly used in British English, while gray is typically used in U.S. English. But be mindful of spelling for [...]
“Whether” is a useful word to distinguish between two different scenarios, categories and more. But using "or not" with it can be redundant and a waste of space. For example: I wonder whether it will rain much this monsoon season. I wonder whether or not it will rain much this monsoon season. In the above [...]
When else could you present a monthly grammar lesson on the word penultimate? See what we did there? If not, don't worry: Penultimate is just a fancy way of saying "next to last." Examples: November is the penultimate month of the year. The penultimate rider out of the gate in the Tour de France time [...]
