grammar

Grammarly Review 2018: The Best Free Grammar Checker

Although I've been running this site for a while, I had yet to use or write a Grammarly review until recently! Grammarly is the best free grammar checker on the internet. About a month ago, I decided to install the Grammarly Chrome plugin for the first time and have been amazed. It is a really awesome tool that helps me check the grammar in my blog as I go. Since I loved the tool so much, I wanted to share my experience in this review of Grammarly to let you know how you can use this awesome free grammar checker, too! What is Grammarly? Grammarly is a free online grammar checker that lets you proofread articles, essays, emails, book chapters, and more for common grammar and spelling mistakes as well as typos. You can either write directly in their editor or upload documents you have written. There's even a Google Chrome plugin that will edit documents and blog posts created outside of the Grammarly website. I used the plugin to edit this post! Hopefully this Grammarly review will convince you that Grammarly is an amazing tool. They also offer a premium service that will uncover deeper grammatical issues and plagiarism detection. I think you’ll agree with me when I say typos and grammar mistakes are embarrassing. Grammarly takes the guesswork out of proofreading. Features Grammarly has a number of unique features that make it the best grammar checker on the market: Grammar checking: It has a highly effective grammar checking feature that can greatly benefit writers and bloggers. It has very high accuracy which was quite surprising coming from an automated tool. Integrates seamlessly with [...]

2018-05-31T02:25:25+00:00 Blog, Grammar|2 Comments
Read More

Capital vs. Capitol

Capital and Capitol are one of the most frequently confused pairs of words since the distinction between the two is subtle and the words are used infrequently unless you work in finance or in the government. Capital and Capitol are an example of homophones, words that sound the same, but have different meanings and spellings.   Etymology of Capital and Capitol Let us take a close look at the words “Capital” and “Capitol”. The words “Capital” and “Capitol” both are derived from the Latin word “caput” which means “head”. “Capital” was derived from the words “capitalis” and “capit'le” which means “of the head” and “wealth” respectively. “Capitol” was derived from the word “Capitōlium”, the well-known temple of the gods in Greek history that was located on top of Capitoline Hill.   Meaning of Capital The word “capital” can mean the capital of a city, the resources (both human and financial) of a business, or the uppercase letters in a word. Examples of the correct use of “Capital”: 1. Meaning – Capital city: In 1853, Olympia became Washington’s capital city. 2. Meaning – Alphabet in capital/uppercase letters The name “Bill” begins with the capital letter “B”. 3. Meaning – Capital of a business The startup raised successfully a capital of $1 million in the first quarter itself. 4. Meaning – Extremely important Finding a solution to the sudden outburst of the people was of capital concern.   Meaning of Capitol In the U.S., “Capitol” is the name of a popular government building where the U.S. Senate and members of the congress are housed. The word “Capitol” with a capital “C” is used to address the U.S. [...]

2017-10-23T15:22:24+00:00 Grammar|0 Comments
Read More

Hanged vs Hung

There is a lot of confusion surrounding the use of the word "hang" and its tenses. The question here is, are these words interchangeable? And if they are not, what is the difference between hanged vs. hung? Should you use hanged or hung when referring to that picture on the wall? The main point to remember is that hung is used when referring to inanimate objects while hanged when referring to people. Hang is the present tense form and means to suspend, decline downward or to cling tightly to something. Hanged is the past tense as well as past participle of hang. Hanged in most cases is used to refer to death by hanging. For example, in a sentence, we can say, The traitor was hanged in the public square. The word hanged has a very specific use. Hung is another frequently used word. It is a regular past tense of hang. In fact, it is used more often than hanged. In a sentence, we can say that: She hung the picture on the wall Hung is used with all the inanimate objects like shelves, paintings or ornaments. Most people claim that the two words can be used interchangeably especially when referring to putting people to death. However, it is less customary to use the two interchangeably in Standard English. Hung might be the conventional word to use if referring to hanging someone out of malice but without intending to kill or put to death. It is also vital to understand the origin of these two words. A majority of us wonder why there is two past tense for the same word. According to The New [...]

2017-05-30T08:09:23+00:00 Grammar|0 Comments
Read More

10 Most Common Grammatical Errors

We have all made grammar mistakes at some point whether in writing or when we are sending messages to other people. Social media has been detrimental to the proper use of the grammar since most people use short forms when texting which in turn affects their grammar, especially spelling. Grammar errors manifest themselves in many ways including misspellings, wrong use of tenses, and wrong punctuation. This is probably why we need copy editors when dealing with serious publications. This article will take you through some of the most common grammar mistakes that people make. 1. Run-on sentences These types or errors usually occur when two independent clauses are joined together without the right kind of punctuation.  The run on sentences can be fixed by; You can decide to separate two clauses into different sentences. Use a comma with a subordinating conjunction like before, because, until, while, although, e.t.c. And lastly, only connect clauses that are closely related in thought otherwise they remain on their own. 2. Errors relating to pronouns A pronoun can be defined as a word that is used instead of a noun. Examples of pronouns include I, she, he, who, many, whose and many others.  Pronouns can be divided into three: Subject pronouns like her, Object pronouns like her Possessive pronouns, for example, hers. Here are a few rules that will help you avoid pronoun grammar mistakes. Only use subject pronouns if the pronoun is the subject of the sentence. Example: He cleaned the car. You can use subject pronouns to rename the subject in a sentence. Example: This is the speaking. When using a pronoun, it should agree [...]

2017-05-06T14:02:57+00:00 Blog, Grammar|0 Comments
Read More

What Exactly Is a Copy Editor?

At times it is almost impossible to write an article without any grammatical mistakes hence the need for a copy editor. A mistake in a publication lowers the credibility of the whole company and takes a long time to regain the trust and credibility. Copy editors are people who go through a written material to correct any errors whether they are grammatical, punctuation or spelling. Some publications may have a particular style in which they want their articles to be written and copy editors go through the materials to make sure all the rules have been followed. A copy refers to the written material, whether handwritten or typed. In news publications, a copy editor also looks for mistakes that could them in trouble like defamatory statement and errors regarding facts.  Depending on the publication policies, the copy editor can rewrite what they feel does not conform to the organization's guidelines. Some, however, prefer to return the copy to the editor who had assigned the work rather than rewrite it. Many people do not distinguish between copy editing and line editing. Line editing involves looks at the creativity, and the language used to in writing and do not necessarily focus on spelling and grammar. So What Exactly Does a Copy Editor Do? A good copy editor should have a command of language so that they can effectively point out the mistakes in a copy. A copy editor corrects grammatical errors, punctuation, and spelling. Corrects wrong usage of word or phrases Changes passive voices to active voices if there is the need to do so. Gets rid of unnecessary words and inappropriate jargon in a copy. Removes [...]

2017-05-06T14:02:57+00:00 Blog, Grammar|0 Comments
Read More

Your Readers Judge You for Those Minor Typos

  Have you ever laughed at a typo you saw in the menu at your favorite restaurant? It may not have deterred you from the delicious "Chicken Farmesan," but it certainly caught your attention. Recently, several psychologists have researched why we easily notice these typos and sometimes get angry or annoyed with them, particularly in emails (such as this one). Through multiple experiments, researchers found that "readers rated the writers as less desirable if the emails included either typos or grammatical errors." In particular: People who scored high in conscientiousness or low on the “open-to-experience” trait were more bothered by the typos. People who scored low on agreeability were more bothered by the grammos [sic]. And people who scored low on “extraversion” were more bothered by both types of errors. In contrast, how people scored on neuroticism did not alter the impact of either type of error. The experiments couldn't say 100% conclusively whether your friends will judge you negatively if you have typos in your messages, but did infer that you should probably proofread before sending. Especially watch out for those late-night text messages. Salon | Those little typos and grammar errors in your emails make a big impression  [/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

2017-05-06T14:02:57+00:00 Blog, Grammar, Writing|0 Comments
Read More

Should the word Halloween be capitalized?

Short Answer: Yes Long Answer: Halloween is a holiday and proper noun, so it should be capitalized according to title capitalization rules. What about capitalizing the word "night" after Halloween? While Halloween is a holiday and proper noun, the word "night" right afterward is not capitalized in a sentence, but will be capitalized in a title if you are using any of the styles in title case such as when referring to the movie "Halloween Night." Did you know... that Halloween actually comes from the original phrase "All Hallows' Even" referring to the evening before All Hallows' Day (Nov. 1). According to Grammar Girl, The "all" and "s" were dropped, "hallows' " and "even" became a closed compound, and the apostrophe took the place of the "v," giving us "Hallowe'en"—just one of many transitional spellings along the way to "Halloween," which the Oxford English Dictionary shows as first appearing in 1786. Other spellings before "Halloween" included "Hallow-e'en," "Alhollon Eue," and "Halhalon evyn." If you want to, you can still refer to Halloween as Hallowe'en to give your Halloween party an olde-timey feeling. It's up to you! Featured image from tplusquotes.com

2017-05-06T14:02:58+00:00 Blog, Grammar, Title Capitalization|0 Comments
Read More
MENU