Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Mustache vs. Moustache: Which Is Correct?

  • Mustache and moustache are both correct spellings of the same word.
  • Mustache is the most common spelling in the United States.
  • Moustache is is used in other English-speaking countries.
  • Mustachio is usually spelled without an “o” in the first syllable, although in the UK it is commonly written as a plural: mustachios.

From the pencil mustache of John Waters to the bushy moustache of General Melchett, upper-lip hair comes in variety of styles.

Monday, October 10, 2011

Warning: If You Don’t Know These Top 11 English Expressions, Your Life Abroad Could Be Really Hard

Guest Post By Akmal Akbarov at EnglishClubPro.com

Have you ever been in this situation? You meet with your friend, start the conversation, and suddenly stop because you can’t remember a certain word.

Or here is another situation. You may be abroad. You go to a shop and either don’t remember or simply don’t know the exact the word for this “tool you need for that certain thing that you have to do with the other thing.”

Friday, October 7, 2011

Essential History and Guide for Modern Acronym Use (Part 2 of 2)

Guest post from Scott Yates

Abbreviations and acronyms have embedded themselves in English as somewhat of an auxiliary language. If you thought Latin was a dead language, it isn’t. It lives somewhat zombie-like in some very common abbreviations like, e.g., i.e., etc.

(Notice how the “etc.” in that last sentence did double-duty there? No extra charge for that. 😉

(Same goes for the double-duty parenthesis at the end of the last parenthetical winky-face.)

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Grammarly Announces Winner of 3rd Annual $1,000 Scholarship

On January 12, Grammarly launched its third annual scholarship essay competition, encouraging students to share their thoughts on one of two writing prompts:

  • What is poetry, and how does it influence your writing?
  • What is the funniest book you have ever read? Talk about why the book was funny and how it impacted you.

We received an overwhelming response from students of all ages, in all disciplines.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Good Grammar Can Keep You Out of Trouble. Here’s How.

We’ve all heard the bad grammar horror stories: gory rumors of a brilliant job candidate missing out on an opportunity because of a misplaced comma or frighteningly funny-not-funny tales of a political candidate mangling a perfectly good one-liner (making it mean even less than it did originally).

Then, of course, there’s the seemingly never-ending barrage of listicles recounting the 10 Most Hilarious Grammar Mistakes You Have To See Before You Die or waxing lyrical about #Grammarfails That Only Grammar Lovers Will Understand.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

I Before E Except After C: 9 Helpful Spelling Rules

Learning spelling conventions can help you write with confidence. Which of the following rules are new to you?

S or ies?

To make a noun plural, you usually add S. However, you might have noticed that some words that end in Y deviate from the norm. For example, babies is the plural form of baby. How do you know when to change Y to ies? Look at the letter before the Y to find out. If it is a vowel, then add S.

Friday, September 30, 2011

Avoidance Tactics: Common English Mistakes

by Laura K. Lawless, writer at eLearnEnglishLanguage.com

Everyone makes mistakes when writing, sometimes due to simple typos, and other times because they just don’t know any better. Most people can spot their own typos when proofreading, but that only works when you know that it’s a mistake—what about when you don’t? Even native speakers mix up words that either look similar or have similar meanings, but there are simple techniques that can help you avoid some of these common mistakes.