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English grammar tips

Commonly confused and misused words in the English language

Commonly confused and misused words

There are some words in the English language that sound alike but have different meanings (these are known as homophones). There are also words that have similar meanings but are often misused. If you want to be taken seriously as

Chris 07/09/2020 English grammar tips No Comments Read more

The Oxford comma and why you should consider using it

The Oxford comma

The Collins dictionary definition of the Oxford comma is “a comma between the final items in a list, often preceding the word and or or, such as the final comma in the list newspapers, magazines, and books”. The history of the

Chris 06/16/202006/16/2020 English grammar tips No Comments Read more

Malapropism – what is it and how did it get its name?

malapropism

In my blog post Frequently misused words – damp squid and other blunders I included some words which are often misused, so now let me introduce you to the world of the malapropism. What is a malapropism? If you don’t know

Chris 01/18/2018 English grammar tips No Comments Read more

Split infinitives – yes, no or don’t really care

Split infinitives

If you don’t know what split infinitives are, here’s one of the most famous examples. It was spoken at the beginning of many of the television episodes and films of Star Trek (it was first used for an episode in September

Chris 01/18/2018 English grammar tips No Comments Read more

Clichés – why you should avoid them like the plague

Clichés

Clichés are words and phrases that have been used so often they have ceased to have much impact. When they were first written they may have been original and colourful but overuse has guaranteed that they are now anything but.

Chris 01/09/201801/10/2018 English grammar tips No Comments Read more

Online English grammar resources for aspiring writers

online English grammar resources

If you are an aspiring writer but your English grammar is a bit rusty, take a look at the following selection of online English grammar resources where you will find a range of useful tips and advice. Online English grammar resources

Chris 01/09/201811/08/2022 English grammar tips No Comments Read more

Words that sound or look alike

words that sound or look alike

In my blog Frequently misused words – damp squid and other blunders I talked about words that are frequently used incorrectly and so I thought I would continue on a similar theme but this time with words that sound or look alike

Chris 12/13/201712/13/2017 English grammar tips No Comments Read more

Are hyphens really necessary?

Are hyphens really necessary

There is some controversy over the use of hyphens (even are hyphens really necessary) and no doubt the debate will go on. But what are hyphens and why do some of us think they are an important part of the English language?  Hyphens

Chris 12/13/2017 English grammar tips No Comments Read more

Frequently misused words – damp squib and other blunders

Frequently misused words

This blog is all about frequently misused words so let’s start with Damp squib which I have used in the title. The correct phrase is Damp squib (when something is less impressive than expected) but it is often incorrectly written and pronounced as Damp squid. Now you

Chris 12/12/201710/07/2021 English grammar tips 1 Comment Read more

The use of apostrophes – banana’s 70p a kilo

The use of apostrophes

Can you spot what is wrong with banana’s 70p a kilo in the title to this blog post? No? Then probably like many other people you are confused about where and when to use apostrophes (‘). In English, there are just

Chris 12/12/201712/12/2017 English grammar tips No Comments Read more
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