February 17, 2025

Anxious vs. Eager

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Is it wrong to say, "I'm anxious for to go on vacation" when you're really looking forward to it? Not exactly. "Anxious" can, technically, mean "eager." But if you want to pick the most precise word available, use "anxious" only for things you dread.

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February 10, 2025

'I Wish I Was' or 'I Wish I Were'?

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The subjunctive mood changes a normal verb like "I was" to "I were" when the statement is a wish, supposition, statement of necessity or other contrary-to-fact situation. Usually, though, it's optional.

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February 3, 2025

'Both' Can Do More Harm Than Good

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"Both doctors and nurses agree" isn't wrong, but because it could momentarily cause your reader to think you're talking about just two doctors, it's probably better to leave it out.

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January 27, 2025

'Forgo' and 'Forego'

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When you're talking about doing without something, you can do without the letter "e." "Forgo" means to give up or do without. "Forego" is rare, meaning "to go before," and is usually seen only in the expression "a foregone conclusion."

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January 20, 2025

When to Hyphenate Prefixes and Suffixes

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If you need to hyphenate prefixes and suffixes perfectly, you have to consult a style guide. There are simply too many special circumstances and exceptions to commit them all to memory. For example, in AP style you hyphenate co-worker but not coworking. But if you just want to hyphenate prefixes and suffixes well, not perfectly, here's a guideline: Omit the hyphen unless it seems too weird that way. So ungentle is fine with no hyphen, but unAmerican looks weird, so hyphenate it: un-American. Here's more detail.

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January 13, 2025

The En Dash

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Do you know about the en dash? – It’s not the em dash, —, which most people just call a dash, and it’s one of the lesser-known punctuation marks. There’s a good reason for that: in a whole bunch of editing styles, the en dash doesn’t exist. Here's everything you need to know.

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January 6, 2025

'Drive Slow' and Other Flat Adverbs

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Is it correct to say drive slow in place of drive slowly? Short answer: yes. Here's the long answer.

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December 30, 2024

'Who' vs. 'Whom' at the Beginning of a Sentence

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"Who are you going with" uses "who" as an object (the object of the preposition "with"), even though "whom" is technically the object form. But if you don't like the formality of "Whom are you going with," there's nothing wrong with using "who" instead.

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December 23, 2024

When 'Sneak Peak' Sneaks In

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When you want to write about a "sneak peek," be very careful not to let "sneak peak" sneak onto the page.

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December 16, 2024

Indexes or Indices? Plurals of Irregular Nouns

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Most nouns form their plural by adding s or, in some cases, es. But lots of words, especially words adapted from foreign languages, don't follow that pattern. Some of them give you a choice. For example, indexes and indices are both correct in English. But how do you know where to find answers? Here's what you need to know..

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