A plain language guide to grammar, punctuation and writing well
User-friendly hints and tips on how to improve your grammar, punctuation and writing skills.
A recent BBC news story about pop star Dua Lipa's Twitter activities included the following: "The BBC has reached out to her management for comment." This is just horrible. And it's an easy one to put right: don't write 'reached out to' when you mean 'asked'. The BBC later changed its version to read 'has… Continue reading A quick word … don’t reach out
Can you start sentences with ‘and’? Yes. And you can also start sentences with ‘but’. But not too often. And not indiscriminately. Interested in this topic? Read David Crystal's blog post to find out more.
Wordsworth, the butler here at Wordwatch Towers, likes things to be in good order. Including words. So, reader (hope you're OK, Gladys), we have him to thank for this one. Why don't we write: "the blue big boat"? Or: "a square huge table"? Or: the "meal French lovely"? As Mark Forsyth, author of The… Continue reading Word order, wrong words, and old chestnuts
I’m so ashamed. The butler claims he told me ages ago (he didn’t) and is now sulking in the pantry. I considered pretending that I knew all along but my reader, Gladys (who seems to be spending a lot of time with the butler lately), would never forgive me for lying. So I have to ‘fess up.… Continue reading A confession and some lovely words
Flippant? Oxford Dictionaries? Who said so? Oh, Oxford Dictionaries. Just for the record, here’s Oxford Dictionaries’ definition of ‘flippant’: 'Not showing a serious or respectful attitude' And here’s why (as reported in the Guardian today) Oxford Dictionaries fessed up to such undictionary-like behaviour: A Canadian anthropologist, Michael Oman-Reagan, tweeted Oxford Dictionaries last week to ask… Continue reading Rabid sexism… Oxford Dictionaries says sorry
Ensorcelled? Really? Why send your readers away (probably never to return) to consult a dictionary when 'enchanted' or 'fascinated' would work just as well (probably better) in this case?
Well, the cover looks good... (that bit wasn't me). Here's the blurb: This is a basic guide to writing well. Aspects of grammar and punctuation that commonly cause confusion are demystified in plain English. You'll find clear instructions on the correct use of possessive apostrophes, commas, speech marks, hyphens and semicolons. Other topics include the… Continue reading Available now: Wordwatch for Kindle
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