Have you noticed that people on TV and radio have a real aversion to adverbs? Politicians, weather girls and football managers seem to be the biggest culprits. So what is an adverb and why should I care about it, I hear you cry. Ok, here's a quick recap. An adverb is used to describe a verb, an adjective or another adverb....
This exit is tempoarily...
It's not like James Bond to get it wrong. But take a look at Daniel Craig's laptop in the closing sequence of Casino Royale and you may notice an email with the subject matter 'Stationary Order'. Now, either M has given instructions for Bond to be still; in which case it is the correct use of the word stationary. Or more...
What's the difference between a concrete noun and an abstract noun? What's that I hear you cry? Who cares? Stay with me. I'm attempting to perform a public service. A concrete noun is a noun that can be seen, smelt, tasted, touched, heard. So, I wore a nice watch to the party. Watch is a concrete noun. Trickier to recognise, an abstract noun...
Do you remember being told at school that you can't start a sentence with a conjunction i.e. a joining word like And, But, Yet? Well here's a shocker: you can. If you want to be really formal you might want to use In addition or Nevertheless. But for the rest of us mere mortals starting a sentence with And or But is...
Website or Web site? Tricky one this as technically they are both right. However, the Oxford English Dictionary is going for website, all one word, and so am I. But the Web on its own is capitalised. As is World Wide Web and the Internet. Online should be one word not on-line. And email and enewsletter are now grown up enough...
Ok, this one gets me running for the dictionary every time: when to use licence and license or practice and practise. Practice with a C is a noun. And practise with an S is a verb. (S and V are close together in the alphabet which is a good way of remembering, I guess.) So, There's a new doctor's practice opened up...
I love the expression dangling modifier. But what is it? And is it catching? A dangling modifier refers to a phrase which doesn't have a grammatical connection to the rest of the sentence. This can have hilarious consequences. Ok, it can be vaguely amusing: Having been kicked in the air, the baby caught the ball. What was kicked? The ball or the...
'To boldly go' says Captain Kirk. But I wonder if he ever worried about splitting the infinitive. Probably not. Not with all those aliens around to keep him occupied. The infinitive of a verb is made by adding to. So, to go, to pay, to eat. And splitting the infinitive is when a word (normally an adverb) is plonked between the...
