Have you ever quoted something or someone, neared the end of that quote or sentence and begrudgingly put a period or exclamation point inside or outside the quotation mark, not really knowing whether it's right but hoping no one will notice? We've all been there. But a few simple rules can make you feel [...]
A “cue” refers to either a signal or a billiards stick, whereas a “queue” is a line. Nick jumped right on cue when he saw the spider. Cue the music; the parade is starting. Having received the order, the baker put another chocolate cake in the queue. I’m dying to see this movie, so I’m [...]
Don't lie to yourself. This grammar rule can sometimes be so confusing it makes you want to lay the rule book down and walk away or just lie down altogether. First, let's forget about the lying to yourself part. "To lie," as in to tell an untruth, is its own separate meaning that's pretty clear-cut. [...]
When two or more subjects are joined with the word “and,” use a plural verb. But when one subject is the main focus and a second subject is just tagging along, use a singular verb. You’ll know when a subject is tagging along, because it will be set off in commas. For instance: Plural subject: [...]
Think about a movie you just had to tell your friends about. A book you couldn’t put down. A television program you binge-watched. What was it that made you come back for more? The story. Decent writing is great. Wonderful acting and superb cinematography are to be appreciated. But without a compelling story, these [...]
We're living in a fast-paced world, and we tend to jam a lot of things together. We even make up words like hangry, J-Lo and whatev. Words that begin with prefixes — take, for example, "redo" — are the result of us getting our point across faster. After all, it's faster to say "redo" than [...]
Create a company style guide. It’s been there, on your to-do list since you assumed your role. And yet, every week, there it remains. It seems like such a daunting task and, really, why bother? You only have two people on your team and you’re all on the same page when it comes to content [...]
So many options. So tempting to type a hyphen, hit the space bar, type another word and see your hyphen magically turn into an en dash. No one will notice ... But an en dash just isn't an em dash, is it? It's shorter. Em dash: — En dash: – Hyphen (for size): - Historically, the [...]
You see it both ways so often that its inconsistency has become consistent, but it still gets under your skin. Should an em dash (—) have spaces before and after it, or should it touch the words it separates? First, what is an em dash? An em dash can be used in pairs to encompass [...]
Words matter. Words educate, inform, entertain and uplift us. They can also confuse, irritate or depress us. Writers carefully select the words they choose — whether for a headline, book dialogue, tagline or product name. Yes, words matter. But so do the rules of grammar that surround them. Many writers excel at research, interviewing [...]
