Found at the New York Times: Traditionalists, of course, find nothing wrong with using he to refer to an anybody or an everybody, male or female. After all, hasn’t he been used for both sexes since time immemorial? Well, no, as a matter of fact, it hasn’t. It’s a relatively recent usage, as these things go. And it wasn’t… Continue reading All-Purpose Pronoun
Author: Kim Siever
I am a copywriter and copyeditor. I blog on writing and social media tips mostly, but I sometimes throw in my thoughts about running a small business.
Follow me on Twitter at @hotpepper.
How to use parallel construction correctly
From Grammar Girl: A common problem in writing today is the false series. It happens when a writer combines three or more seemingly related elements in a series, but the syntax is wrong. When you get the sentence right, you’re said to be using parallel construction. How to Use Parallel Construction Correctly
Can you start a sentence with “which”?
From Grammar Girl: You could perhaps say, “I ate all the cookies. Big mistake.” Here, “big mistake” is a sentence fragment, but it’s OK because it allows you to emphasize your point. “Which” clauses that appear at the beginning of a sentence or paragraph are likewise incomplete sentences, and you are allowed to use them… Continue reading Can you start a sentence with “which”?
Canadian Style Tip #36: School subjects, courses & degrees
This post is part of the Canadian Style series. 4.12 School subjects, courses and degrees Capitalize the names of languages. Do not cpitalize the names of other disciplines when used in a general sense. Capitalize them when referring to school sbject or the names of particular courses. I started taking French in grade 6. I… Continue reading Canadian Style Tip #36: School subjects, courses & degrees
Canadian Style Tip #35: Fractions
This post is part of the Canadian Style series. 5.08 Fractions In non-technical writing, spell out simple fractions, especially when used in isolation: The recipe calls for one-quarter cup of flour. I ate two thirds of my sandwich.
Canadian Style Tip #34: Use of commas in dates
This post is part of the Canadian Style series. 7.20 Use of commas in dates You do not need commas when writing dates in the order day-month-year. If you use month-day-year order, a comma separates the day and year. The year should be followed by a comma within a sentence. I was married 5 May… Continue reading Canadian Style Tip #34: Use of commas in dates
Regan
Meet Regan, our eight-year-old boy. Actually, he’s our only boy. Some people would say this is a posed portrait. I mean, he is looking at the camera after all. But if you knew Regan, you’d know that this is who he is. He is full of energy. He is the most spontaneous of our children.… Continue reading Regan
Subject-Complement Agreement
From Grammar Girl: A complement—that’s m-e-n-t—is a noun that completes meaning (1). Take the sentence “She is my sister.†The words “my sister†are the complement. There’s no agreement problem in that sentence, it’s all singular, but what about a sentence like this: “The two girls ate their sandwichâ€? Does this mean the girls shared… Continue reading Subject-Complement Agreement
Canadian Style Tip #33: Block format quotations
This post is part of the Canadian Style series. 8.06 Block format quotations Do not enclose in quotation marks a block quotation set off from the text. It does require indentation, single spacing, and double spacing above and below.
Canadian Style Tip #32: Words commonly misused un- and non-
This post is part of the Canadian Style series. 12.03 Words commonly misused or confused: un- and non- Un- means opposite of, whereas non- means other than. Compare un-Christian conduct and non-Christian religions.