And other rules related to using hyphens in your writing — A recent inquiry from a coworker about whether to use a hyphen after the prefix “pre” in a certain word led me to do a quick search for random rules related to hyphens. As I’ve found with most anything to do with English grammar, many rules exist related to this…

Including whether (and how) to use ‘and/or’ in your writing — or avoid it altogether — In my three posts about subject-verb agreement (Part I, Part II, Part III), I cover the topic of when to use singular or plural verbs following certain types of subjects pretty darn extensively. And yet, there’s still more to talk about on this topic. Take the question of which type…

And when to use singular or plural verbs with these particular pronouns in your writing — My college-age kiddos sometimes ask me questions related to grammar. Recently one question had to do with whether to use “is” or “are” with “none” in a sentence. While once upon a time I would’ve insisted that “none,” which means “not one” in Middle English, should take a singular verb…

Including whether to use a comma in a sentence with a compound predicate — When your job involves proofreading, it also involves questions about punctuation. A recent discussion about the use of commas in certain situations made me realize I needed some clarity related to commas and compound predicates. You’re likely familiar with compound sentences, which are composed of two independent statements joined by…

Including which adjectives to use with which to strengthen your writing — When it comes to grammar, it seems that nouns are often taken for granted. Early on, babies learn the names of miscellaneous things such as “tummy,” “nose,” “toes,” “toy,” “bottle,” “dog,” or “car.” At some point, children learn that such things are called nouns and that nouns can also be…

And what the heck ‘ablaut reduplication’ has to do with your writing — In my first post on the order of adjectives, I reviewed the order in which adjectives should be placed according to many authorities on the English language: opinion, size, physical quality, shape, age, color, origin, material, type, and purpose. I also noted that placing multiple adjectives according to this order…

How putting adjectives in a certain order can help improve your writing — When I posted online last month about my post All About Adjectives: Part II (Denver Edition), a friend mentioned a news story she’d recently heard about the order of adjectives, something she hadn’t known existed. I wasn’t taught about the order of adjectives in school, either, but find the subject…

And how to use sequence of tenses correctly in your writing — In my first post in this two-part series, I discussed the different types of verb tenses and their “moods.” Now let’s look at a special issue related to verb tenses, “sequence of tenses,” or how verbs (or verb phrases) in clauses agree. Before we can do that, though, we need…

And how to use verb tenses correctly in your writing — When I lived in Nashville another lifetime ago, a fellow coworker/word nerd was surprised to learn I was unfamiliar with the pluperfect tense. Turned out I was unfamiliar with many of the official (and alternative) names for verb tenses; I’d simply figured out how verb tenses worked and managed to…