I truly do not understand how people mix up the words loose and lose, but they do frequently. And, in doing so, they seriously jack up their writing. Loose (notice the two "o"s) means not fitting closely or tightly. If you need a trick to remember this, try thinking of those two "o"s. Having two is loose writing. They give the word more … [Read more...]
Nerd Note: Among the Words Used Incorrectly
Between and among are among the words frequently used incorrectly. Between and among are not interchangeable. Between means in the middle of two things. For example: The boy sat between his parents during the movie. Among means surrounded by. For example: He was among friends. Go forth and use words correctly! … [Read more...]
Nerd Note: They’re There
They're going to their house. They will call you when they get there. I bet you can't say that three times quickly! There, their and they're was a common response when I asked my Twitter friends about their grammar pet peeves. Therefore (not part of the response), it seems only appropriate to address their usage here. There is a place, … [Read more...]
Nerd Note: The Punctuation Goes Where?
Sometimes it just feels like you have too much punctuation to place in a sentence. You know, when you have a regular punctuation point and you need to place quote marks around something. I bet you wonder if the punctuation mark goes inside or outside of the quote mark. I know I've considered this more than once. The answer—it depends on the … [Read more...]
11 Tips for Editing Your Own Writing
You thought of a great idea, gathered the information and used your keyboard to create a piece of art. Now comes the tough part—editing. If editing other people's work is challenging, editing your own writing is downright painful. It's difficult to edit your own work for several reasons. First, it's your art. Your writing is a personal form of … [Read more...]
Book Review: Woe Is I
I'm a nerd. You can ask anyone who knows me. I'm nerdy about a lot of things, but words are my primary geek obsession. I always have loved words. I believe that words, used carefully and correctly, can change the world. Notice that I wrote "used carefully and correctly"? Too many times words are used carelessly and incorrectly. We've all … [Read more...]
Nerd Note: The End of the Punctuation/Emoticon Debate
When I have a grammar question, I go in search of an answer. I'm a nerd like that. The problem with my query on using punctuation with emoticons was that there didn't seem to be an answer. For example: I love it when it rains! or I love it when it rains Which is correct? Using three different punctuation marks seemed odd, but so … [Read more...]