May 22, 2023

Surprisingly Burdensome 'The'

"The" puts a huge burden on your reader. Unlike "a," it suggests that your reader should already know about the thing you're referencing. That's why, sometimes, using "the" instead of "a" can be confusing or even rude.

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May 15, 2023

The Three Types of Verbs

Some verbs, like "make," take objects: He makes furniture. They're called transitive verbs.

Others, like "stand," don't take an object object: I'd prefer to stand. These are intransitive verbs.

A third type, be "seem," refer back to the subject: He seems nice. These are called linking or copular verbs.

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May 8, 2023

Gauntlet and Gantlet

You can run the gauntlet or the gantlet. And you can throw down the gauntlet, but not the gantlet. Here’s the difference between these two almost-interchangeable words.

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May 1, 2023

Palate, Palette, Pallet

Your sense of taste is your palate. Colors form a palette. You stack merchandise on a pallet.

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April 24, 2023

When spell-check helps — and when it doesn't

Spell-check is an invaluable tool for catching mistakes in your writing, but you can't rely on it for everything.

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April 17, 2023

Choosing Specific Nouns and Verbs

"The person went to the place to get the things" is less engaging for readers than "The bodybuilder moonwalked to Victoria's secret to try on silk robes." So you should always choose the most specific nouns and verbs possible.

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April 10, 2023

The Reason Why?

The word "why" in "the reason why" is unnecessary. Does that mean it's wrong? No.

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April 3, 2023

False Ranges?

People say it's wrong to use "ranging" or "range" to describe things that aren't number ranges, as in "menu offerings are diverse, ranging from fresh seafood and meats to pastas." But it's fine if you don't care what those readers think.

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March 27, 2023

When Can a Noun Work Like an Adverb?

In "Tomorrow's a new day," tomorrow is a noun. But in "I'll see you tomorrow," it's an adverb. Monday is not considered an adverb in the dictionary, but it still works like one in "I'll see you Monday." The reason: Even words that aren't categorized as adverbs can function as adverbials.

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March 20, 2023

'Aren't I' is ungrammatical, so why is it OK?

Normally, "are" goes with a plural subject like "we" and "am" goes with "I." Yet the construction "aren't I" is perfectly correct and a great lesson on the power of idiom.

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