What you learned in English class will help you with syntax about as much as what you learned in driving lessons will help you with mechanics—you get by fine until one day you find yourself stopped in the middle of a sentence with smoke coming out from under the hood. In this webinar, we're going … Continue reading Webinar: A linguist’s guide to grammar
Tag: grammar
Webinar: Good grammar: It’s more than gut feel
Some writers have a good intuitive feel for grammatical correctness—or lack thereof. But professional editors need more than intuition; they need to be able to name the mistakes in order to explain their changes and help writers improve. Learn how to identify, name, and eliminate the most common grammatical gaffes, the ones that embarrass the … Continue reading Webinar: Good grammar: It’s more than gut feel
The Nitpicker’s Nook: November’s linguistic links roundup
The Nitpicker’s Nook is a monthly collection of language-related articles, interviews, and blog posts from around the Web. If you read something that would make a good addition, email your suggestion to [email protected]. By Emily Chau If you weren’t already convinced of the importance of proofreading, take a look at this major gaffe in an … Continue reading The Nitpicker’s Nook: November’s linguistic links roundup
Book review: The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century by Steven Pinker
By Ana Trask If you want a comprehensive, in-depth guide that answers questions about grammar, usage, and style, turn to Steven Pinker’s The Sense of Style, which was just released in September (2014). There are different types of styles—plain, practical, classical, and postmodern—and they can overlap. Pinker is a proponent of classic prose, which steers … Continue reading Book review: The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century by Steven Pinker
Wordplay: None of these people are right
Wordplay is a regular column by editor and language writer James Harbeck in which he tastes and plays with English words and usages. You have probably encountered, every now and then, people who will aver that none can take only a singular conjugation, never a plural: never none are, always none is. The argument they present … Continue reading Wordplay: None of these people are right
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