Use nominalisations with caution Last month I wrote about verbing (turning nouns into verbs) and an e-newsletter reader pointed out that we also turn verbs and adjectives into nouns. The process of turning verbs and adjectives into nouns is known as nominalisation (nominalization if you use American spelling!). It’s also sometimes called ‘nouning’. There are […]
Use modifiers to write long sentences well Joseph M. Williams (Style: Toward Clarity and Grace) says: ‘Every competent writer has to know how to write a concise sentence and how to prune a long one to readable length. But a competent writer must also know how to manage a long sentence gracefully, how to make […]
Use italics for the full reference of an Act Reader’s question: Does the date in legislation need to be in italics? Online grammar answer: The Australian style is to use italics for the full reference of an Act. According to the Australian Style manual: For authors, editors and printers: ‘Most Acts and Ordinances have a short formal […]
Is the past tense of learn, learned or learnt? Reader’s question: What is the difference between learned and learnt as the past tense of the verb ‘to learn’? Answer: Both are acceptable and mean the same thing. Learnt is more common in British, Australian and New Zealand English, and learned is more common in US English. English has many irregular verbs that change their […]
When to use full stops with abbreviations The rules around punctuation with abbreviations are as follows. Abbreviations of first letters When a word is abbreviated after the first few letters, the traditional rule is to put a full stop after the abbreviation. Inc. cont. However, many writers no longer use a full stop with some […]
Where should you put the reference number for footnotes? Reader’s question: When using footnotes, where should the number link be located – before or after the punctuation mark (e.g. comma, semicolon)? Answer: The Australian government Style manual (2002) says: ‘Superscript placement: Place superscript note identifiers: at the end of a sentence or clause rather than immediately after the words to […]
She flouted the school rules when she flaunted her new dress at school. Flaunt Flaunt means to show off. She flaunted her new dress at the party. Flout flout means to treat with contempt, disregard or disdain. She flouted the rules. Learn more Learn more about other commonly confused words with my online Business Writing course. Subscribe to my monthly […]
Test your knowledge of commonly confused words We all have words that we commonly get confused. I often have to stop and think about some pairs such as discrete and discreet. Research for the Concise Oxford Dictionary found that most people have learnt the difference between its and it’s (only 8% got it wrong), yet many people still get confused by words […]
A quirk of history caused the abbreviation of will not to won’t Won’t doesn’t come from will not but from woll not. This is an alternative form of will not that existed into the mid-1800s. Will muscled out woll, but won’t muscled out willn’t. Read more information. Learn more about words Learn about my online writing and grammar courses. Subscribe to my monthly e-newsletter to receive […]
Many new verbs are created from adding endings to nouns When we add endings to nouns to turn them into verbs, it’s known as ‘verbing’, ‘verbification’, ‘denomilisation’ or ‘verbifying’ – ugly words to describe a common process! For example: She eyed an opportunity. He tabled a proposal. She authored a book. They accessed a lift. […]