Predominately predominates
In Twelve Years a Slave, Solomon Northrup writes about his wife’s mixed blood ethnicity, “It is difficult to tell whether the red, white, or black predominates.”
Can We All Just Agree?
I think we can all agree that subjects and verbs need to agree with one another.
Let’s Compare
Tis the season…for comparison shopping. Thanks to the convenience of the Internet, we can still let our fingers do the walking and save ourselves from the crowds.
Vice or vise versa?
For the record, a vice is a moral fault or failing - a bad habit. Definitions of vice range from a trivial foible or character flaw to the illegal - gambling, drug dealing, prostitution. I suppose the workbench might be useful for some of those activities.
To Apostrophe or Not – 3 Simple Rules
According to the Chicago of Manual of Style, the apostrophe has three primary uses: to show possession, to indicate missing letters (i.e. in contractions), and, “…rarely, to form the plural of certain expressions.” Perhaps the most egregious apostrophe error is its overuse.
No Illusions: The Skinny on Allude and Elude
Today let’s tackle another pair of easily confused words: allude and elude. And for good measure, let’s throw in delude.
Repeat After Me…
Repetition is a great learning device and a useful literary tool, when used judiciously. Redundancy, on the other hand, is essential in situations where a backup system prevents complete failure, but it should be avoided in your writing.