There are four odd punctuation rules in the American system that you may not be aware of. I am certain every language has its own ways that might not make absolute sense in terms of spelling, usage, or punctuation. Heaven…
Do You See or Hear What I Do?
Do you see or hear what I do, I wonder? Where do you get your ideas for articles? Do you see something, hear something, or react to something that stops you in your tracks? Something you could teach to others?…
Every Day Should be Gratiday!
Yes, of course I made the word up, because I believe that every day should be gratiday! But it occurred to me over the past week that we really need to be grateful for what we have more than one…
Time Magazine: A Wow Issue!
I just got a new subscription to Time magazine, something I hadn’t had in years. Thanks to a friend who gave me a couple of copies over late summer, I decided to get my own. So, this past week’s double edition…
Communication Can Be Tough!
As I’ve aged, I’ve realized how many times communication can be tough, even when we try our best. Have you ever considered how little you or any one of us knows about so many things? I learned something today about…
Quiz on Subject-Verb Agreement
How about a quiz on subject-verb agreement! It’s been quite a while since I last offered you a quiz, so … I hope you knock this one off in a couple of minutes (there are only 5 questions) and know…
Giving Thanks (thanktitude)
While thanktitude isn’t a real word, it fits the fill for me as it really means giving thanks. In the U.S., this weekend marks the beginning of our year-end holiday season (for most, anyway). It starts with Thanksgiving, and goes…
Vocabularies and Tough Words
In this era of mankind, we have extensive vocabularies with some tough words, no matter our language. Obviously early humans didn’t have words for things, at least not words they uttered out loud to exchange an idea with another human.…
Homophones: Oh–Oracle
Homophones Oh–Oracle Woohoo, three weeks in a row! I’m finally back on track to post several articles a week, all in an effort to help others remember or learn ways to use the American system of grammar, usage, and language.…
What Are the Odds?
Do you ever wonder “what are the odds” that something will or won’t happen? I think we all saw the amazing result of the FanDuel Sportsbook’s error in posting the odds on a bet a few weeks ago — and…
Comma or and?
So, do we use a comma or and before nouns? Brand Message Expert Daisy McCarty asked me recently about using a comma or and in a sentence for one of her clients: The company focuses on creating elegant, sensible solutions that allow…
Another Quiz for You!
Hah, another quiz for you! It seems from the engagement so far for the American Grammar Checkup quiz I posted just yesterday morning that you’re all in the mood to learn — to guess — to find out that you ARE…
Careless Commenting
With all the opportunities on social media to be seen — writing our own stuff and/or commenting on others’ articles — there’s no lack of ways to showcase our abilities, right? But what kind of impact are we making?…
Lessons Learned
Do you ever think back to some lessons learned from unexpected sources? Have you ever reread a book you’ve had on your bookshelf for some time–a business book that was once “HOT!” but is now seen by many as passé?…
Nit — Noes
Since 2014, I’ve been publishing several different types of articles, all based on days of the the week. Over time, a couple have dropped away, and I’m intent on bringing them back for others to learn from. Today’s article is…
Tagging Others on Social Media
Have you noticed how many writers here on LinkedIn and other platforms are tagging others, either at the beginning of their article or in it? I know the reason is often to alert their network to an article they’ve written…
The Power of Talking with Others
Have you ever noticed how the power of talking with others can help to solve a problem we’re focused on that we can’t seem to solve? We go back and forth, wondering how to make the problem go away, disappear.…
Laughter Really IS the Best Medicine!
I think most of us have heard that laughter really is the best medicine, right? There’s something wonderfully contagious about it, and it sure can smooth out a tough moment or two. And even though we’re busy business professionals, we’re…
Spellcheck and Grammar Check …
There are two online tools I am grateful for: spellcheck and grammar check. Since I cannot spell for beans, spellcheck is a life- and reputation-saver. Even though I’m an editor and a corporate trainer who teaches American grammar, which includes…
Still Another Quiz!
Girl Scouts of America: Changing the Narrative
Raise your hand if you’ve never heard of the Girl Scouts of America. I’m looking all around and I don’t see any hands. No surprise there, right? We all know about Girl Scouts – their badges, their projects, their COOKIES.…
The Shoe That Grows: Changing the Narrative
The shoe that grows? Are you kidding, Susan? Nope. Read on. You’ll see. It’ll be worth it. Since I started this “Changing the Narrative” series a few weeks ago, I’ve been looking for intriguing stories of individuals or small nonprofits…
He She They Their Them
He She They Their Them — pronouns that are often hard to use correctly! I wrote a short post the other day, mentioning a few common issues I see surrounding word usage, and one reader (Judy Resnick) wrote about the…
Finding Positive Stories in a Negative World: Changing the Narrative
Lately, I have been almost obsessed with finding positive stories in a negative world. In the past year or more, it seems as though the U.S. press has been showing us news that is almost always about the negative events…
Hiring an Editor: Hacks to Save you $$
Are you thinking of hiring an editor to help with you with your project? Are you officially a blogger / author / writer? However you label yourself, you’re writing for others to see. How did that happen? Why are you…
A Backpack is Enough
A backpack is enough … for what? Reading Karthik Rajan’s recent personal story on limitations reminded me of a story I wrote several years ago about when my version of the American Dream changed irrevocably. Like many here, I grew…
Are You Writing a Book? Maybe Your First One?
Are you writing a book of 50 to 200 pages? Do you plan to find an editor to work with you to ensure your book is professional in all ways? Do you plan to self-publish? Are you concerned about cost?…
Homophones: Principal and Principle
I was talking on LinkedIn recently with Tom Dietzler, who wondered if I could help with two words — homophones — that he kept getting mixed up. Of course, he’s in great company; a lot of writers confuse these two.…
Happy New Year 2018!
Aaack! It’s almost time to say Happy New Year 2018! 2017 is nearly gone, and I’m sure I won’t be the only one looking back at the year, thinking about the ups and downs it held, or what the new…
No Apostrophes in Plurals!
No apostrophes in plurals! I am certain this will be someone’s pet peeve. Probably provoke some shivers. A lot of writers are using an apostrophe to form plurals of nouns, which is simply wrong. The information below shows how to…
Could’ve — Should’ve — Would’ve
I think it’s due to the sound here, but a lot of writers are making a real error when they write out could’ve, should’ve, or would’ve. Yes, the letter f can have the sound of v, as in the word…
Using A and An Correctly!
Is there anyone out there using a and an correctly? Sad to say, many of us learned this incomplete version of using a and an when we were kids: “Use a before words beginning with a consonant, and use an…
Affect & Effect
For most of us writers, affect will be a verb and effect will be a noun. Each can be used differently, but it’s far less common. If you can see how to use effect correctly, you’ll know whether affect or…
Alot / Allot / A Lot
The non-word “alot” has an amazingly strong hold on many writers, even with spellcheckers separating the two parts of it. I will bet that some writers override their spellchecker, pulling those four letters back together, muttering something like “Stupid program!…
MORE Devilish Details: Capitalization
Are you ready for more devilish details: capitalization? So far I’ve written three posts (#1, #2, #3) on devilish details that can derail even the best article, because many writers are not putting their best selves forward. They’re turning readers away due…
Using Too Many Adverbs?
Curious: Would you even know if you’re using too many adverbs? Do you know exactly what an adverb is or what other parts of speech it modifies / describes? All parts of speech have their uses; together they allow us…
Thankful for …
What am I thankful for right now? Back in 2014, some friends mentioned that blogging was becoming popular on LinkedIn and told me I should consider writing a blog (I hadn’t even known what a blog was!). They nagged me…
Homophones: New — Night
Homophones: New — Night Here are five more pairs/groups of words known as homophones (words that sound alike or almost, anyway), but are spelled differently and mean something different. They’re the toughest words in English to use correctly, because it’s…
Naval — New
With all the possibile things to write about, sometimes I forget to put out a regular Tuesday Tricksters or Wednesday Words post! So, here are a few more difficult-to-remember words, because they sound alike (or nearly so, anway), but don’t…
Details that Hurt LI Profiles
There are a number of devilish details that hurt LI profiles! There have been hundreds – if not thousands – of articles written in the last few years on how to create a powerful and professional LinkedIn (or other platform)…
Indefinite Pronouns
Regarding indefinite pronouns, one of my connections (Ranjith Abraham) sent me this note: “I was reading an article and came across inconsistent usage of anybody, anyone, somebody, someone.” Would you please address the differences (if any) among them?” What Ranjith…
Kindness
I’m sure I’m not the only human on the planet to be fearful lately; many of our leaders are stomping around, saying stupid things, going back and forth on fundamental ideas of love and kindness, and generally keeping many of…
More Devilish Details in a New Quiz!
More Devilish Details Since many readers of my posts seem to love quizzes — short ones that don’t seem too daunting — here’s another one for you! And for the one that preceded this, click here. Which ones are correctly written…
Tuesday Tricksters: Mustard — Nark
Welcome to another edition of Tuesday Tricksters, posts intended to help all writers of English remember that there are words called homophones that sound the same (or nearly so), but mean something different and are spelled differently. Spellcheck is useless…
Tuesday Tricksters: Helpful Hacks
Here are some helpful hacks to use with Tuesday Tricksters! For the last three years, I have posted on most Tuesdays about words that make many writers look bad: homophones. They’re the ones that sound like another word (or nearly,…
Use the Oxford Comma!
Why use the Oxford comma? An exchange with one of my readers on Medium in The Writing Cooperative – Joe Varadi – prompted me to write this follow-up to my The Devil is in the Details post about details we often miss as…
Some Senseless Punctuation Rules
Every language has some senseless punctuation rules, right? Well, I can only speak for the American ones, but we sure do have them! We all live by some rules – legal, financial, societal – and we do know what we’re…
Devils and Details!
Ah, devils and details. You’ve heard expressions that include that idea, right? Well, for me, because I’m an editor / copyeditor, I see typos everywhere — and I know many of you do as well. We can’t know if the…
The Curse of the Announcer
The curse of the announcer seems to be everywhere! Part of sports talk. Part of our inner conversations. Everywhere! I love watching sports — even some sports that some sports fans don’t think are actually sports. I love watching pro…