This poll is part of a series that Grammarly is running aimed at better understanding how the public feels about writing, language learning, and grammar.
Please take the poll and share your thoughts in the comments. We can’t wait to hear from you!
If you are interested in more, check out last week’s poll.
Happy Dictionary Day!
October 16, 1758, was the birthdate of the American lexicographer Noah Webster. If you’ve ever wondered who decided that Americans should write color while the British write colour, Noah Webster is your guy.
To celebrate our love of lexicography, here are ten wonderful words to add to your vocabulary today:
Antipode n. A direct or extreme opposite.
Geoff Foster, of The Wall Street Journal’s “The Count” sports column, collaborated with Grammarly, the popular automated proofreader, to put NFL fans to the test. Each official NFL team site was analyzed looking at the top 150 fan comments (10,000+ words) for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors.
Grammarly ranked all 32 NFL team fan bases from worst to best. Whose smack talk was the most eloquent?
Even though the words aid and aide have similar meanings, are written similarly, and are pronounced the same, they cannot be used interchangeably.
Aid can be a verb, a noun, or an adjective. It is synonymous with the words “help” or “assist” when used as a verb, and again “help” and “assistance” when used as a noun:
Guest post by Anais John
You probably use tons of expressions, idioms, and slang phrases every day that don’t make literal sense. If you ever thought long and hard about why you say something a certain way, you could probably make a guess. However, some English expressions are so crazy and unusual that it is impossible to guess where on earth it originated from — unless you know the history.
We’re a lil obsessed with slang, y’know?
According to multiple studies conducted in 2016, the English language is becoming less formal in several contexts. It’s time to talk about slang.
While grammar pedants love to decry slang as lazy or sloppy, in reality, slang often represents the next English language trend. As this infographic shows, words often go from trendy and edgy to mainstream in a relatively short period of time.
Do you have an interview coming up? You are probably preparing for it all wrong! Typical job candidates spend most of their time rehearsing answers. Instead, they should be looking for ways to evaluate their potential employer. Here’s how to use your job interview to find out if a job is right for you.
Harvard Business Review reported that, on average, workers change jobs once every three or four years.
If you’ve ever fantasized about wielding a red pencil that could correct grammatical mistakes in the text messages you receive, you’re in for a treat. There’s a new app on iTunes called Grammar Snob, and it gives you the ability to correct grammatical mistakes in texts. All you need to do is download it, wait until you receive a text message containing one of the mistakes covered by the app, place a corresponding sticker over the mistake, and hit send.
Clauses are groups of words that contain a subject and a verb. Why should you care about them? Have you ever told someone you loved them? Or written a letter to a friend? Likely, you did it with the help of clauses. You would find your ability to communicate severely limited if you had to express your thoughts without these serviceable units of speech. Why, even asking why you should care about clauses would be impossible!
Writing is like going to the gym—you’re excited for the end results, but it takes a lot of hard work to get there! You know daydreaming won’t get you the perfect beach bod or the next New York Times bestseller, so how do you reach your goals?
Just as tracking your fitness progress is a healthy way to stay focused and motivated to work out, tracking your writing stats is a fantastic way to take your writing to the next level!
As a writer, you may be working harder than you need to if you are not using the available tools for your job. The old adage “there’s no need to reinvent the wheel” certainly applies to this situation. Have no fear, we’re here to help with eight writing tools that all writers should consider adding to their toolboxes.
1 LiveScribe Pen
Do you get writing inspiration from your daily life?
This poll is part of a series that Grammarly is running aimed at better understanding how the public feels about writing, language learning, and grammar.
Please take the poll and share your thoughts in the comments. We can’t wait to hear from you!
If you are interested in more, check out last week’s poll.
What is the difference between sometime and some time? And where does sometimes fit into the equation? Don’t worry, the answer is simpler than you might think.
There are two ways to use sometime as one word.
Should you place a comma before so when it joins two clauses in a sentence? The answer depends on whether the clause introduced by so is an independent or dependent clause. If so begins an independent clause, a comma should precede it, but if it begins a dependent clause, leave it out.
Let’s have a look at how commas are used before so in the middle of a sentence.
An independent clause is a clause that would convey a complete thought if it were to be set apart as a sentence on its own.
When it comes to giving aspiring writers advice, famous authors have suggested everything from imagining you’re dying (Anne Enright) to abstaining from alcohol, sex, and drugs (Colm Tóibín). The one pointer that nearly every personality seems to agree on, though, is that anyone dreaming of penning the next great novel should read, read, read.
And while the rule seems to be the more books the merrier, here are a few top recommendations for those counting on being the next F.
Critiques must be handled with a deft touch, somewhere between soft-pedaling and soul-crushing. This advice will help you give constructive feedback that will leave the writer excited to make improvements rather than looking for the nearest rock to crawl under.
As a managing editor, I’ve helped writers produce more readable content. I thought I had a knack for giving useful writing feedback.
In the battle for the worst call habits, we’ve had some solid contenders. Our followers overwhelmingly agreed that background noise and calling instead of chatting in person are two of the worst. Do you agree? Vote for the absolute worst below.
Background Noise Nuisances
We’ve all joined a call where the other participants sounded like they were either in an echo chamber, a wind tunnel, or the middle of Times Square.
We invent words all the time: movie, jeggings, Internet . . . Did you know underwhelmed has only been around since the 1950s? Of course, we drop words just as often. When was the last time you met a cordwainer? But important words tend to stick around and influence other words in all kinds of interesting ways. Let’s take a look at one of these words, which also happens to be one we hear a lot this time of year: peace.
You know when it gets really cold outside, and you exhale and see the steam coming out of your mouth?
