Spelling and grammar

Split Infinitives

split infinitives

“The English-speaking world may be divided into (1) those who neither know nor care what a split infinitive is; (2) those who do not know, but care very much; (3) those who know and condemn; (4) those who know and distinguish. Those who neither know nor care are the vast majority, and are happy folk, …

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Stationary vs Stationery

Homophones cause all sorts of problems and love nothing more than to trip writers up. If you are scratching your head right now, homophones are those words that are pronounced the same, but mean different things. The English language is full of the little blighters. Case in point: Stationary and Stationery. One word is spelled …

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Ellipses

I have to admit it! I am a huge fan of the ellipsis (or ellipses if we are using the plural). I don’t use it too often in professional writing, but I notice I am prone to using it in more casual and personal communications such as Facebook or in an email. It’s a habit …

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Is it complimentary or complementary?

Both of these spellings exist and are very often used in the wrong context; this can, of course, have a negative impact on the writer/company using the wrong version and can damage hard-won image. Complement This always has the meaning of ‘completing a set/making up a whole’. This is used when saying that a tie …

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