When should I use...? Part 2

Friday, 25 September 2009 14:27 Written by Andrew Halloway

Continuing where I left off last time, here are some more similar sounding and similar spelt words that have different meanings... and when you should use which.

1. Practice or practise?

These two are very often confused. Practice is a noun, practise is a verb. Or, more simply, practice is a thing and practise is a doing word.

E.g. Josh liked football practice all apart from practising penalties. Or, I went to the doctor's practice because he practises what he preaches.

Read more...

When should I use...?

Wednesday, 26 August 2009 16:35 Written by Andrew Halloway

There are some very similar sounding and similar spelt words that have similar but slightly different meanings, so it's difficult to know when to use which!

Here's my guide to a couple of the most common ones...

Read more...

Six of the best!

Monday, 03 August 2009 10:30 Written by Andrew Halloway

The best pieces of advice on these English queries you are ever likely to find!

1. Farther/Further

Are you ever confused about which one of these to use? Don't be. These two words are now used interchangeably to mean exactly the same thing. But if you want to be pedantic and share your superior knowledge of the English language with others, there is a difference between the two! Farther refers to length or distance, whereas further means 'to a greater degree', 'additional,' or 'additionally'. It refers to time or amount. So...

Read more...

10 more simple mistakes to avoid

Friday, 03 July 2009 10:22 Written by Andrew Halloway

Here are ten more common mistakes that, if avoided, will help your writing look more professional:

1. Plurals don't have apostrophes!

This one could easily have made my top ten list of mistakes, it's so annoying. How many times do you see people write apostrophes before the 's' of a plural for no reason? E.g. DVD's instead of DVDs, CD's instead of CDs. Just because you are using an acronym (abbreviation using initial letters of each word) doesn't mean you need an apostrophe when pluralising it - just add the 's' like you do for most other plurals. Remember: apostrophes are only for contractions, e.g. isn't (where the apostrophe indicates an absent letter or letters) and ownership, e.g. John's.

Read more...