Tuesday, November 20, 2012

5 More Endangered Words

New words come into use, old words slowly fade away. It’s a natural, all-too-familiar cycle. We’ve already covered words that may be headed toward extinction. Here are five more words in various stages of endangerment. But, who knows? Maybe some of them can still be saved—but should we save all of them?

Tag isn’t a word that’ll disappear anytime soon, as long as things still cost money and come with price tags.

Friday, November 16, 2012

Whilst vs. While—Which Is Correct?

Whilst and while are two words with identical meanings—usually. But you can’t always use whilst instead of while.

Typically, Brits use whilst and Americans use while. That’s the main difference. When used as a conjunction or an adverb, while and whilst are interchangeable:

There wasn’t much Stanley could do while he waited.

There wasn’t much Stanley could do whilst he waited.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

What is a Reflexive Pronoun?

Reflexive pronouns are words ending in -self or -selves that are used when the subject and the object of a sentence are the same (e.g., I believe in myself). They can act as either objects or indirect objects. The nine English reflexive pronouns are myself, yourself, himself, herself, oneself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, and themselves.

Grammatical terms might seem complicated and a bit arbitrary when you first hear them, but they really aren’t, once you get to know them.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Freelancers–You Can Move Past Burnout. Here’s How.

It might start out resembling a normal workday.

Being a freelance writer is easy, and nothing ever goes wrong, you tell yourself.

You’re there. The requisite coffee is there. The well-worn keyboard sits just below the screen, which pulses steadily with notifications of various tasks, deadlines, and expectations. You’re used to this. Some part of you might even feed on it.

But then, something abnormal happens.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Comma Before Which

  • Use a comma before which when it introduces a nonrestrictive phrase.
  • Don’t use a comma before which when it’s part of a prepositional phrase, such as “in which.”
  • Don’t use a comma before which when it introduces an indirect question.

Comma Before Which in Nonrestrictive Phrases

A nonrestrictive phrase adds a little bit of extra (but not essential) information about a noun phrase that you’ve already mentioned in your sentence.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

What Is the Singular They, and Why Should I Use It?

Last year, Grammarly polled our social audiences to see if they supported gender-neutral pronoun usage. The results were a bit surprising: more than half of the audience polled felt that the idea of gender-neutral pronouns was a nonstarter.

With this knowledge, I’d like to make an appeal to our audience: consider the singular they. Language has changed a lot in the last year, with the singular they being voted the most important word of the year, and numerous dictionaries adding gender-neutral usage notes.

3 Poems You Can Memorize and Recite (to Impress Your Friends)

Reading poetry is a wonderful experience, but have you ever memorized and recited a poem? Saying the words aloud gives the poem new life and highlights some of the nuances in the language. Here are three short poems you can memorize and recite for your friends and family.

“First Fig” by Edna St. Vincent Millay My candle burns at both ends; It will not last the night; But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends— It gives a lovely light.