Technically, the words I’m about to list are words. People use them in everyday speech. In fact, one of them has been in use since at least the 18th century. Actual examples that aren’t words would be things like juritaly and hopikilre, both of which I just made up. Anyhow, so what are the two… Continue reading Do you use these two words that aren’t words?
Category: Grammar
Are you using “myself” incorrectly?
Myself is a reflexive pronoun. It is used to reflect back to the subject of a sentence. For example, in the sentence “I gave myself the day off“, “myself” reflects back to the subject “I”. On the other hand, in a sentence like “Joe, Bill, Jim and myself went to the game last night“, “myself”… Continue reading Are you using “myself” incorrectly?
Difference between accept and except
Two of the most commonly confused words are accept and except, which is kind of odd since their meanings are nothing alike.
The top 10 writing articles my readers read the most
I was going through my site analytics today, and thought I’d check out what writing articles have been the most popular. After seeing a few surprises (#1 in the list below is more popular than even my home page), I thought I’d share the 10 most popular writing articles here on the Hot Pepper Blog.
Passive voice: what it is and how to avoid it
This post was originally published in 2008. You may have heard the term “passive voice” mentioned before. For those who haven’t heard it or would like some clarification on it, I thought I’d say a few words on the topic. It is one of the most prolific issues in communication.
Using “only”
Those who know me well know that I have innumerable pet peeves when it comes to grammar. One of them is the use of ‘only’. Here’s a common use of the word only: “It would only take a few seconds.” What’s wrong with that, you may ask. The error is in the placement of the… Continue reading Using “only”
Double negatives: when to use them and when to abhor them
I can’t believe I haven’t written an article on double negatives yet! Double negatives are basically two negative words used to present a single negative meaning. A famous example are two lines from Pink Floyd’s Another Brick in the Wall:
Faulty parallelism: what it is and how to fix it
One of the most common grammatical errors I see on the web is faulty parallelism. I assume most writers are not even aware of the error. Faulty parallelism exists when two potentially related actions differ in structure. Let me illustrate.
“I were he” or “I were him”
The following is a reader submission. Would you mind elaborating on which is correct and why: If I were him I would think twice before cutting his hair. Or If I were he I would think twice before cutting his hair. Or If I were (he or him) I would think twice before cutting my… Continue reading “I were he” or “I were him”
Dictionaries don’t decide what words mean
You’ve probably heard by now that several dictionaries recently altered the entry for “literally” to include a definition that basically means the opposite of literally, that it can be used to described things that aren’t actually literal. I noticed in some of the responses to these events that people are quite irate that dictionaries have redefined… Continue reading Dictionaries don’t decide what words mean