Grammar

This easiest way to send a reader sound asleep is by being repetitive. Not only by repetitive elements in the story but by grammatical repetition. This is an easy trap to fall into, particularly in dialogue. Even four or five uses of ‘he said or she said’ will be enough to induce reader slumber. A…

Inside is the opposite of outside. Logically. So, the opposite of hangover must be hangunder then? And is the positive of disappointed, appointed? The ‘un’ and ‘um’ prefixes are easier though. Simply a matter of sound, phonetics and clear logic. An umbrella can’t be an The ‘un’ and ‘um’ prefixes are easier though. Simply a…

While some may not know, I don’t have a reputation for positivity. This is not to say I don’t like positivity, it’s just that it isn’t as much fun. For one thing, positive sentences aren’t as long as short non-negative ones. Secondly, positive sentences don’t let you use the fun apostrophe nearly as much except…

Let’s just ing it, huh? One of the most common word forms in English is ‘ing’. Sometimes referred to as the gerund, present participle or progressive form. It has such a multitude of uses that a single label just cannot be affixed to these amazing three letters. So broad is their use that Michael Swan prefers…

The Present in English grammar is very, very big! The grammatical term of the present in English is a bit of trap. Yes, it is tense, but when combined with the four basic aspects of simple, progressive (or continuous), perfect and perfect progressive the concept of the present being the now type present goes out…

When is spelling, bad spelling? I read an Amazon Kindle review recently, which made a point of criticising a book for its bad spelling mistakes. The review was less than complimentary, and I immediately classified it as one written by one of the infamous one-star troll reviewers, who unfortunately still inhabit Kindle reviews. However, when I…