When you are writing or editing for a British company, it’s important to remember that some spelling rules change when you cross the Atlantic. To be safe, however, ask before you edit spellings, as some companies use a mixture of both! -or Color Labor Favorite -our· Colour· Labour· Favourite -er· Center· Theater· Kilometer -re· Centre·…
The word or phrase Why it’s nonstandard Say this instead Irregardless The prefix Ir- and suffix -less both mean ‘without,’ making ‘irregardless’ a one-word double negative. Regardless Impact (as a verb) Shortening ‘has an impact on’ to ‘impact’ is a sign of laziness. Some nouns just aren’t ready to be verbs. Affect Conversate Chopping the -ion…
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…
Craig Lamison of KBR has asked an interesting question: Why do we say, “The boat is 100 feet long,” but alternatively say, “It was a 100-foot boat”? First, according to Alred’s Handbook of Technical Writing, When we write about measurements, we should always express the units of measurement as numerals. If the measurement is one…
Must, Shall, and Will Use ‘must’ instead of ‘shall.’ Must denotes obligation (You must attend!) or indicates a necessity to act (You must behave). Shall imposes an obligation to act, but it may be confused with the prediction of a future action. Shall is commonly used today in questions requesting an opinion or a preference…
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…
Do you have trouble with spelling? Is it ‘lose’ or ‘loose’? Remember this: “The goose got loose.” Both have two ‘o’s! Is it ‘stationary’ or ‘stationery’? Remember this: “Stay stationary.” Both have ‘a’s! Remember this: “Envelopes are called stationery.” Both have ‘e’s! Is it ‘affect’ or ‘effect’? Remember this: “‘a’ comes before ‘e’ in the…
They’re = they are They’re finished with the work. Their = belonging to them Their work is finished. There = a place We left our fishing gear there. You’re = you are You’re my favorite hero. Your = belonging to you Your red cape is distracting me. Who’s = who is Who’s going to take…
When to use ‘biannual/semiannual’ and ‘biweekly/semiweekly’ ‘Biannual’ and ‘semiannual’ both mean twice a year. ‘Biennial’ means every two years. ‘Biweekly’ meetings occur every two weeks. ‘Semiweekly’ meetings occur twice a week. Since most people can’t keep them straight, just say “every other week” or “twice weekly.” A note from our Editor Question: “As ‘bimonthly’ means…