Flammable Did you know that both flammable and inflammable mean ‘capable of being set on fire’? Nonflammable means ‘not capable of being set on fire.’ Always use the word flammable to mean ‘capable of being set on fire’ to avoid misunderstanding! Continual Continual implies ‘happening over and over again.’ His continual tardiness finally got him…
Here’s the deal. There are basically three schools of thought regarding the use of any more and anymore: Anymore is a misspelling of any more. Don’t do it. Anymore and any more are just two ways of spelling the same thing. Don’t worry about it. Just be consistent in your writing. Anymore and any more…
All of-Except with pronouns, ‘of’ is unnecessary (e.g., ‘all the shoes,’ but ‘all of them’). As to whether-whether or not-Whether is usually sufficient. Commence or initiate-Use ‘begin’ or ‘start’ instead. Currently, presently-Currently means it is happening now-Presently means it will happen soon. Data takes a plural verb. Datum is singular and takes a singular verb.…
How do I know when to use ‘affect’ versus when to use ‘effect’? Affect is a verb. It means to influence. Think of ‘affect’ as an ‘action.’ Both ‘affect’ and ‘action’ begin with the letter ‘a.’ Examples: Your response to this question will affect my opinion of you. His screaming didn’t affect her at all.…
‘Compose’ and ‘comprise’ are two verbs that are easy to mix up if the writer isn’t aware of their differences. ‘Compose’ means ‘to form by putting together,’ while ‘comprise’ means ‘to include, contain, or consist of.’ In both cases, we are dealing with parts and a whole. Hint: when using ‘comprise,’ the whole always comes…
When is it okay to use ‘myself,’ and when must I use ‘me’ or ‘I’? All three words are pronouns. That means that they take the place of nouns. So if my name is Elvira and I say, “Please give it to me,” I mean, “Please give it to Elvira.” ‘Me’ and ‘I’ are personal…
The abbreviation ‘e.g.’ comes from the Latin exempli gratia, which means ‘for example.’ The abbreviation ‘i.e.’ comes from the Latin id est, which means ‘that is.’ Great. So what does that mean? Use ‘e.g.’ to precede items that are examples of the term that precedes it but not necessarily an exhaustive list. Example: Green vegetables…
The verbs ‘assure,’ ‘insure,’ and ‘ensure’ share a similar meaning-“to make certain or secure.” They aren’t completely interchangeable, though. Learning their differences will ensure your company’s assurance in your ability to insure documents against mistakes. Assure-to build confidence or remove stress. He assured her that everything was fine. Insure-to protect against financial loss or to…
A simple way to know which pronoun is correct is to transpose the pronouns or the clause: Don’t let anything come between you and__. Don’t let anything come between me and you. Note: ‘me’ is the object of the preposition ‘between.’ While it may be impolite to refer to me first, at least it’s not…
Oh, don’t we just love the English language? There are so many words that can be confusing. Here are some more to add to your list from Gerald J. Alred’s Handbook of Technical Writing: ‘Liable’ means “legally subject to” or “responsible for.” ‘Libel’ refers to “anything circulated in writing or pictures that injures someone’s good…