A plain language guide to grammar, punctuation and writing well
This is a case of if it looks wrong, it's right. 'Separate' looks wrong. 'Seperate' looks right - which is why you'll often see it spelt like that. However, the correct spelling is: separate. Remember: there is always a rat in sep-a-rat-e. The following spellings also look wrong, but are correct (there's a rat… Continue reading A quick word … seperate: smell a rat?
Look at this from a recent story in Retail Week: “We aren’t adverse to a change in the leasing model." And this, from Nottinghamshire Live: "I'm not adverse to slowing down the road ..." This is a mistake you will see EVERYWHERE. People use 'adverse' when they mean 'averse'. But it rarely happens the other… Continue reading A quick word … averse to adverse
Is it all right to write 'alright'? 'Alright' is perfectly OK in informal writing, unless you're emailing someone with grammar-related blood pressure issues. Oxford Dictionaries says: There is no logical reason for insisting on 'all right' as two words, when other single-word forms such as 'altogether' have long been accepted. Nevertheless, it is still considered… Continue reading A quick word … all right or alright?
Image via Wikipedia Spellings can be difficult sums. Spot the errors: Parks maintainance (Heading on the Erewash Borough Council website) Luckily, the likes of Kate Winslet, Meryl Streep, Angelina Jolie, Melissa Leo and Anne Hathaway aren’t that high-maintainence… (Mail online) The local authority is setting up a framework contract with a single supplier for the design,… Continue reading Maintaining standards
Well, OK, that's probably a matter of opinion. But how to spell 'irresistible' isn't. I keep seeing it spelt wrongly all over the place with an 'able' ending instead of the correct 'ible' ending.
Face it Sarah Jessica Parker, you've just lost too much weight. She pulled such an unfortunate face that she looked everyone of her 45 years.
That should be:
...every one (as in 'each one') of her 45 years.
That’s Shylock speaking in Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice – showcasing the first written example of the phrase ‘bated breath’.
‘Bate’ is a shortened form of ‘abate’. However, you will see ‘bated breath’ written wrongly as ‘baited breath’ all over the place. Here are just a few examples:
Wordwatch Towers 