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Grammar
Posted by: Cathy Dann
18 / 09 / 12
What do data, bacteria, agendas and paninis all have in common? Their ability to ignite a singular vs plural debate. Why so much confusion? Well, firstly, it comes down to how you view foreign words that have been incorporated into English. Should they retain the grammar of their original language, or adopt our ways? Secondly, […]
05 / 09 / 12
Over the past year, we’ve been running a series called 60-second fix in our monthly e-bulletin. Now it’s time to find out whether you’ve been paying attention. Challenge your colleagues to a quick round … How did you get on? Full marks, we hope! Feel free to show off in the comments field below. […]
19 / 07 / 12
If you mix up your words, it can affect a reader’s opinion of you – and that, in turn, can have a detrimental effect on your business. So here’s how to get affect and effect straight. Almost always, the following will apply: effect is a noun and means ‘a result or a consequence’ or the […]
Adverbs convey information about how things happen, as well as when, where and to what extent. As the name suggests, they modify verbs – but they can also modify adjectives, other adverbs and whole sentences, writes Cathy Relf. For example, in the sentence ‘I need to see you urgently,’ the adverb urgently tells us about […]
19 / 05 / 12
Every now and then, you’ll come across someone who insists that different to and different than are wrong, and that only different from is correct, writes Cathy Relf. For the most apoplectic example, we’ll cite the now semi-defunct Queen’s English Society’s, who complain: ‘At a conservative estimate, it can be said that some 90% of […]
Posted by: Catie Holdridge
20 / 04 / 12
For a writing-training company, we run surprisingly few grammar and punctuation courses. To be more precise, we run few courses that focus solely on grammar and punctuation – even though more people come to us asking for training in just this area than in any other. And why? Are we phasing the subjects out? Do […]
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