Are You Done or Finished?
A child pushes a plate away at the end of the meal and announces, “I’m done.” The well-intentioned but misinformed…
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Watch Out for Superfluous Adjectives
A little goes a long way when it comes to adjectives. And you can have too much of a good…
The March of the Adjectives
Adjectives add color to writing. In case you forgot what an adjective is, they are those words that modify or…
Turning Verbs into Nouns May Be Bad for Your Writing
In the previous post on nominalizations, I talked about how nominalizations are formed and briefly touched on a general approach…
Eradicating Zombie Nouns
Zombies are big in movies and TV these days. But zombie nouns have been the bane of good writers for…
Are You Different From or Different Than?
Comparisons. We live in a world in which we are often called upon to make comparisons. Does WalMart or Target…
I Both Anticipate and Expect a Reaction
Two words that share similar nuances are anticipate and expect. Both mean “to look forward to.” But anticipate also carries the idea…
Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda
“Coulda, woulda, shoulda” goes the regretful refrain made popular by a song of the same name. It’s the lament any…
Are You Eager or Anxious?
Despite the fact that they are often used interchangeably (and Merriam-Webster calls them synonyms), anxious and eager do not mean…
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