Grammarly review: does Grammarly work?
Most of us have felt the limitations of the typical grammar- or spell-check at some point. And who hasn’t stared in bewilderment at one of Word’s seemingly random squiggly lines and cried: ‘What do...
View Article‘I’m looking forward to’ or ‘I look forward to’?
Blog reader Annemarie asks: For a while now, I have been wondering whether I should write ‘I look forward to [doing something]’ or ‘I’m looking forward to [doing something]’. In all my English lessons,...
View ArticleIs it 'stadia' or 'stadiums'?
Blog reader Jo asks: I recently watched a television interview with David Cameron during which he used the term ‘stadia’ as the plural of stadium. It sounded very affected, but is it correct? Stadia is...
View ArticleWhat's the difference between 'fast' and 'quickly'?
Blog reader Paul asks: I’ve seen ‘fast’ and ‘quickly’ used as though they were interchangeable. Is this correct? Strictly speaking, fast is an adjective while quickly is an adverb. Fast refers to...
View Article'Whether' or 'whether or not'?
Blog reader Helen asks: Can I have some advice on how to use ‘whether’? As in ‘whether to write something’ or ‘whether or not to write something’. Leaving out ‘or not’ feels incomplete but putting it...
View ArticleWhat is the difference between 'ie' and 'eg'?
Blog reader Fritz asks: I realised just recently that I have been using ‘eg’ and ‘ie’ as though they were interchangeable, yet I have a nagging suspicion that this isn’t the case. Can you enlighten me?...
View ArticleGrammar pedants: you’re helping less than you think
It seems to happen at least once a week. Usually it’s in my Twitter feed or on Facebook. Occasionally it’s on LinkedIn. Regardless, I rarely make it through to Friday without someone promoting a post...
View ArticleThe easiest way to settle office grammar disputes
Like it or not, we all end up getting thrown into arguments about whether something we’ve written is ‘correct’. This could be a colleague picking you up on your apostrophes. Or it might be a subtle...
View Article60-second fix: discount on or discount off?
If you’re feeling generous and you’re offering money off something, is that a discount on or a discount off the usual price? This was recently the subject of much heated debate here at Emphasis HQ....
View ArticleHow to know if you should write ‘public is’ or ‘public are’
The English language is littered with grey areas and apparent paradoxes that cause confusion. One of our readers, Richard, got in touch to ask our advice on just such a troublesome topic. Hello...
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