Many people confuse tense with active and passive voice. This is because the way we construct a passive voice sentence sometimes makes it appear to be in the past tense. But tense and voice actually have two different purposes.
Are you savvy or suave? Or both? Is your idea practical or practicable? English is a wonderfully flexible language full of foreign words, subtlety of meaning and quirky spelling. This means we have to keep our wits about us and not rely too heavily on the spell checker. Words that sound the same or similar is an area where many people trip up.
In our haste to meet a deadline we often either skip or rush the final stage of the writing process – checking our work for errors. Alternatively, we become so familiar with what we’ve written we no longer see the errors. Both these scenarios are common; we’ve all been there. If you find spotting errors challenging, try these three simple techniques.
It’s hard to believe that such a tiny mark on the page could wreak havoc, but incorrect placement of the apostrophe can create misunderstanding and annoyance. Misuse of the apostrophe can also make your work look less professional. Find out how to get it right.
When you're tapping a message into your smartphone or dashing out an email at work it might be tempting to dispense with the shift key when using the personal pronoun I. But in business writing, is this a smart move?
English grammar can work in mysterious ways, but in the case of 'a' versus 'an' it's actually very logical. Get it right every time with this simple solution.
Which is correct? ‘Me and Kaila are on the same team’ or ‘Kaila and I are on the same team'? Read our blog and find out.
Did you know there's a difference between 'compare with' and 'compare to'? When comparing people or things, you can add a wealth of meaning depending on whether you write 'to', 'with' or 'and'.
Although the apostrophe may seem like an insignificant little mark on the page, misuse of the apostrophe can lead to confusion and misunderstanding. Find out why.
If you've always thought that 'less' and 'fewer' mean the same thing, you might be surprised to learn there's a correct time and place for these two little words.
We Australians are renowned for being laid back or casual. We're also very attached to the concept of a fair go. Although American culture and language is becoming ever more dominant in Australia, every now and then you do still hear these beauties (or ‘bewdies’ as we would say in the land down under).
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