Category Archives: Grammar & Spelling

Three grammar rules that are okay to break.

By John | Published: September 14, 2009

Grammar is great. You should learn the basics of good grammar and stick to them. It’s not that hard. Just remember that grammar is supposed to add clarity to your communication. Not confusion. So if it comes to a choice between clear communication and “correct” communication, always choose clarity – even if you have to [...]

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The Affect Effect and how to get it right.

By John | Published: August 25, 2009

I completely empathize with anyone who struggles over the uses of affect and effect – words that sound the same, but aren’t. I gained my empathy for the spelling confused by traveling to England for a couple of weeks. The weeks turned into months and the months eventually added up to nine years. This was [...]

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What’s wrong with him and I?

By John | Published: August 5, 2009

The I/me mix-up. You hear it a lot these days. People are in a hurry. They’re talking fast. So they mix up words like “I” and “me”. It’s easily done. But when it pops up in your writing, you’ve got a problem. Word mix-ups distract your readers. It’s like showing up at the office wearing [...]

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Do you get confused a lot or alot?

By John | Published: July 22, 2009

It’s a common mistake. And even though MS Word seems to correct it automatically, it still pops up in a lot of places (but not alot of places). Fortunately, there’s a very easy way to remember what to do about it. When you can’t decide whether to use “a lot” or “alot”, use your substitute [...]