Tenses In English Grammar

September 26, 2011

Past, present and future can be a nightmare for those learning English, and also for native English writers. Below are some basic examples of using tenses to help you master this discipline. Past Tense: I was at the game yesterday. I had a pizza to eat last Saturday. You were once a great player. He [...]

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Using Adjectives – Get It Right!

September 21, 2011

There are quite a few pairs of adjectives that sound, look and almost feel like they mean the same thing, when in fact they don’t and can make you end up looking a bit silly. So, today, I have set out 7 of the most common for you to get to grips with. 1. Alternative [...]

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The 5 Rules To Becoming A Successful Freelance Writer

September 19, 2011

Writers are two a penny these days, or at least so it seems when you look at how many people are advertising their services across the web and on freelancing sites. So how does one get ahead in the game? How does one compete with writers from the likes of the Philippines and Kenya who [...]

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6 English Sayings You Ought To Know

September 12, 2011

Oh the good old English with all their colloquial sayings, it’s a language unto its own! English sayings make for very useful alternative ways of expressing yourself when writing. The majority are metaphorical and make for fun visuals, jumping out at the reader and straying from the path of boring generic ways of writing about [...]

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Anymore or Any More?

September 5, 2011

This is one of those words that makes you question your writing skills every now and again. Does it look right? Should it be anymore or any more? Let’s find out. Firstly, consider that many dictionaries see this as two ways of spelling the same word. Some scholars, on the other hand, say that “anymore” is [...]

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Singular They?

August 18, 2011

Every time I use “they” to refer to an individual it feels strange. Occasionally I use he/she, depending what I am writing and on the frequency of the reference in that particular paragraph. However, it does feel weird writing: “A person can still feel lonely even if they have company. They may simply be surrounded [...]

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Cannot or Can not?

August 16, 2011

Recently one of readers sent in query for an essay, wondering when to use “cannot” and when to use “can not”. So, Kiyra, here is your answer. Type “can not” into MS Word and you may be forgiven for thinking that you have done something wrong. Yet you haven’t, at least not according to long [...]

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Yours Sincerely or Yours Faithfully

August 15, 2011

If I had a dime for every time I was asked whether to write yours sincerely or yours faithfully at the end of a letter I’d be able to take a holiday. So let’s clear this up. In 1928, H. W. Fowler explored this area and clarified as follows: Yours faithfully (to unknown person on [...]

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Utmost Vs. Upmost

August 12, 2011

I have seen the words utmost and upmost confused in pieces of writing on many occasions. This isn’t surprising. What tends to happen is writers just go with the word that sounds most appropriate, but the fact is these two words mean entirely different things. Upmost comes from the Middle English word “utmest”, which is [...]

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Enquire vs. Inquire

August 10, 2011

I received an email from a reader asking me to explain the difference between inquire and enquire. This is an interesting one so thank you Tom from Arizona for prompting this post. What you will find is that most websites say you can use these two words interchangeably, and if you are writing American English [...]

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