If I want someone to, say, bring me a screwdriver, I probably say something like this: Will you please bring me that Robertson screwdriver? I use “will you” virtually every time I need someone to do something for me. I’ve had people tell me it sounds stuffy or too formal, but I have my reasons. You… Continue reading Why I use “will you” when making a request
Category: Writing
Hot Pepper Highlights: 7 November 2014
Here are the links I shared this week that people liked the most. It’s been a busy week. :) Comma splices: How to knock this opponent out cold 24 Typography Terms Every Marketer Should Know 7 Practical Ways to Find Content Your Followers Will Love Use this simple trick to smash writer’s block 31 Advanced… Continue reading Hot Pepper Highlights: 7 November 2014
Spaces after periods: one or two?
I have edited all sorts of documents over the last 28 years. I couldn’t even begin to count how many pages that’d be. Just in the last year and a half that I’ve been in business full-time, I’ve edited at laest a thousand pages. One common correction I make is changing two spaces following a period to… Continue reading Spaces after periods: one or two?
Hot Pepper Highlights: 31 October 2014
Here are the links I shared this week that people liked the most: Difference between insure and ensure It’s No Longer a Question Whether to Use Social Media for Customer Service Here’s Why There’s No Dislike Button on Facebook 8 Types of Photos You Should Never Use on Your LinkedIn Profile 5 ways to wake… Continue reading Hot Pepper Highlights: 31 October 2014
Do you use these two words that aren’t words?
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?
Hot Pepper Highlights: 24 October 2014
Here are the links I shared this week that people liked the most: My 10 most popular grammar posts Faulty parallelism: what it is and how to fix it 5 Things You Should Be Doing on LinkedIn Why Are These the Top 10 Hardest Languages in the World? Difference between than and then Ignore these… Continue reading Hot Pepper Highlights: 24 October 2014
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?
Hot Pepper Highlights: 17 October 2014
Here are the links I shared this week that people liked the most: 24 People Who Shouldn’t Be Allowed To Decorate Cakes Why I use the Oxford comma Difference between sitting and seating Top Holiday Social Media Trends for 2014 113-Year-Old Woman Lies About Her Age to Join Facebook Absolutely! Jimmy Fallon Breaks Down the… Continue reading Hot Pepper Highlights: 17 October 2014
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.
Hot Pepper Highlights: 10 October 2014
Here are the links I shared this week that people liked the most: When to use “I were” Capitalize dad and mum/mom Why using a spellchecker isn’t good enough My 10 most popular grammar posts Why Ello Suddenly Went Viral How to chop your word count like a lumberjack 10 Social Media Mistakes That Could… Continue reading Hot Pepper Highlights: 10 October 2014