Grammar Helper: Farther vs. Further
Jul 01Farther and further are often mixed up in writing and in speaking. Luckily, they’re also very easy to use correctly once you know the difference. Farther is used when a distance can be measured. I ran farther yesterday than I have all summer. Cincinnati is farther from here than Pittsburgh. In both examples, the distance is measurable. We can measure how far we ran in number one, and we...
Writing Helper: Idea vs. Ideal
Jul 03I think people get these two words mixed up simply because they sound and look alike. In reality, their meanings are quite different. Idea is a though or inspiration. I have a great idea. Hey, what’s the idea! Ideal means perfect (adjective). This is not an ideal situation. Janet is holding out for her ideal job offer. Ideal can also be a noun, but it retains the concept of...
Writing Helper: Choose vs Chose
May 30Here’s another one that I see all the time in writing, but I never hear. Choose is a present-tense verb. It’s pronounced like booze. Which option will you choose for your investments? Did you choose which restaurant you want to go to for dinner? Chose is a past-tense verb. It’s pronounced like hose. I chose to sell our house before the prices fell. I’m glad I chose to...
Writing Helper: Bath vs Bathe
Mar 17This is one that I see in writing, and I hear in slang. Bath is a noun; bathe is a verb. Note that bath has the short “a” sound (like cat), and bathe has the long “a” sound (like rake). Examples: You need to bathe the dog. He really needs to take a bath. When you bathe, you take a bath.
Writing Helper: A lot
Feb 26I see this one all the time, and it drives me nuts. It’s also a very easy mistake to avoid, with a simple memory trick. A lot is always two words, never alot. To help you remember, you would never write alittle, so never write alot. Easy, right?
Possessive vs. Plural: Getting it Right
Jan 27When it comes to writing, this is one that really pops out when you make a mistake. You add an apostrophe when you really meant plural, or you leave it out by mistake. It’s not as tough to get right as you might think; in fact, it’s downright easy. Apostrophes are used to show ownership, not plural. (Yes, I hear some of you arguing already. I’ll get to that.) So, if you’re...