Search This Blog

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Top 10 Grammar Tips for March

10. Loose is something your pants get when you lose weight.

9. Don't use the word literally when you mean figuratively.

8. They're means "they are." Their is possessive.

7. Correct: Let George and ME take you to the zoo.
Incorrect: Let George and I take you to the zoo.
Helpful tip: how would you say it if the words "George and" was removed from the sentence?

6. Correct: I wish he were here.
Incorrect: I wish he was here.
It's the subjunctive tense. Look it up, and you'll never mess it up again.

5. It's throes of passion; not throws of passion.

4. Ability is qualitative and capacity is quantitative.

3. Wherewithal refers specifically to something financial. Thus, you shouldn't ask, "Does he have the wherewithal to complete the science assignment?"

2. These are redundant:
ATM Machine, PIN Number, UPC Code, SAT Test, PDF format, HIV virus.

1. It's toe the line, not tow the line.



3 comments:

  1. Okay, so now can you explain the difference between affect and effect. I know, I know...affect is a verb, except when it's not (i.e. "the patient's affect was flat") and effect is a noun, except when it's not (i.e. the spending will effect a change in our debt ratio). Go for it, Jody! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Like you said, treat affect as a verb. The rare exception when affect can be used as a noun is that specialized use in medical/psychiatric sense with the example you gave. So ignore the possibility any other time.

    Treat effect as a noun with the exception below.

    As a verb, if you can substitute "bring about" then the proper verb is effect. E.g. "If elected, she will effect change."

    As a verb, if you can substitute "to influence" then the proper verb is affect. E.g. "If he plays, he will affect the outcome of the game."

    ReplyDelete