A comma splice occurs where a comma joins two or more independent parts of a sentence. The comma should not do this, but I see it every day. Here's an example: The CEO is on leave, her executive assistant will handle all queries. The above sentence has two parts, each with a subject and [...]
Check your grammar knowledge. Here are three sentences for you to fix: 1. Woolworths are one of the biggest employer's in Tasmania. 2. Its Rosie here, ready to help with your enquiries at our new store. 3. The Chair will give the CEO and I a lift to the meeting. [...]
‘However’ is similar in meaning to ‘but’, with a longer pause built in. What’s tricky is that ‘however’ isn’t interchangeable with ‘but’, and it’s punctuated differently. In fact, punctuating the word ‘however’ is about the most common problem we see as editors. Here are some guidelines: But But is a ‘conjunction’ in grammar, and it [...]
One of the wonderful laws of language that we know intuitively is the one that governs word order. It's called the rule of ablaut reduplication. Native English speakers have such an ear for it that it's highly unlikely they would ever get it wrong. This rule explains why we don't say zag-zig, cross-criss or hop-hip. For those of us [...]
For plain-English advocates who prefer short sentences, semicolons as a joining device are a no-no; but in the right document, for the right audience, they can greatly improve long sentences and bring variety to your writing style. At Hit Send we see some pretty odd sentences with semicolons, so here are some tips for [...]
Are your English skills keeping up with your modern lifestyle? Today is National Grammar Day – well it is in the US – and that’s my excuse to write to you about contemporary English. We all try to keep our skills up to date, and our English should be no exception. Short of time? Cut straight [...]
When editing, we encounter this fairly frequently. The question is: do nouns beginning with 'h' take the indefinite article a or an? Fortunately, the answer is easy – it depends how the word beginning with ‘h’ sounds – that is, whether the ‘h’ is pronounced or not. For example, in ‘a hot dog’ the h is pronounced, but [...]
Hit Send runs a series of grammar tips and thoughts on our Facebook page. Here's a selection of the best for you. Misspelled Monday On Misspelled Monday, I recall this useful spelling principle. A school principal is a prince and a pal (well, once you reach year 12), and the same applies to anything of foremost importance. A [...]
If you are writing in Word, change your language from US English to Australian English. (Select the whole document, and – in my version of Word – go to Tools then Language.) You will avoid spelling errors such as trialing, fetal, behavior, fulfillment, center, canceling and theater, not to mention all those zzzzzs. Don't [...]
When editing prose, I spend quite a bit of time eliminating random initial caps. I've heard this gratuitous capitalisation referred to as the 'Manhattan skyline'. Once you are referring to your organisation in one word (the company, the committee, the university) you can drop that initial cap (e.g. the Association) and Then your Writing [...]
