By Mary Morel | June 2017 What’s wrong with these sentences that Liz Boulter gives in her Guardian article, Excuse me, but I think your modifier is dangling? ‘Hopping briskly through the vegetable garden, John saw a toad. Gently warmed in … Read More
By Mary Morel | June 2017 Non-native English speakers sometimes have difficulty knowing whether to use a singular or plural verb with some nouns. For instance, it seems odd to use a singular verb with a ‘pair of’ when we’re … Read More
By Mary Morel | April 2017 The first book on business writing I ever bought was The Handbook of Nonsexist Writing: For writers, editors, and speakers by Casey Miller and Kate Swift (The Women’s Press, 1981). I still have it on my … Read More
By Mary Morel | March 2017 Commas can be costly. Take a look at these three comma court cases. US$10 million overtime dispute hinges on the Oxford (serial) comma The first comma case is about the Oxford comma (also known … Read More
By Mary Morel | March 2017 There are four types of brackets: Parentheses (often called round brackets or brackets) Square brackets [ ] (sometimes called box brackets) Angle brackets < > Braces { } (often called curly brackets) Parentheses are common in business … Read More
By Mary Morel | February 2017 Language evolves, yet we often cling to the rules we were taught at primary school in the belief that resisting change keeps the language pure. But, whether we like it or not, change does occur and some … Read More
By Mary Morel | January 2017 Apostrofly Definition: an insect that lands at random on the printed page, depositing an apostrophe wherever it lands. Discovered in 2002 by British journalist Ian Mayes Apostrophes in expressions of time Question: Do you … Read More
By Mary Morel | December 2016 Punctuation with ‘however’ Question: I have a question relating to punctuation when the word ‘however’ is used in a sentence. Workplace law requires hazardous risks to be eliminated, however, if it is not reasonably … Read More
By Mary Morel | November 2016 Punctuation with brackets Question: A colleague often uses a full stop after a bracket that has an exclamation mark at the end: (So it looks like this!). Is it correct to have a full … Read More
By Mary Morel | November 2016 Writing has become more personal over the last 10 years I recently ordered Everybody Writes by Ann Handley (Wiley, 2014) because a colleague recommended it. The day it arrived, I settled down in a comfy … Read More