I’ve been a subscriber to Mary Morel’s “The Grammar Factor” newsletter for a while now, and I reckon it’s a great newsletter that is always worth a read. Mary is a great resource for correct English when I have problems. Here’s a recent example:
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The Grammar Factor February 2014From Mary Morel Consultant, trainer and author www.onlinegrammar.com.au, www.onlinewritingtraining.com.au and www.writetogovern.com.auChanging meaning and function Last month I mentioned how ‘nerd’ had changed meaning. According to Jeremy Butterfield (Damp Squid: the English language laid bare), about 15 per cent of new words are created by language having a makeover. Sometimes the meaning changes:
At other times, we use words in a different grammatical function. ‘Verbing’ is a form of this conversion. Examples include:
READERS’ QUESTIONS Dose and dosage Question: What is the difference between dose and dosage? Answer: These terms are often used interchangeably, but if you wish to distinguish between them use ‘dose’ to refer to a specified amount of medication taken at one time and ‘dosage’ to mean the administration of medicine in doses. Dose: one tablet Read more at: Apostrophe questions Question: A government website talked about the ‘Four P’s of Marketing’. As this is a plural, no apostrophe should be used. Is that right? Answer: You’re right. There is no need for an apostrophe in ‘Four Ps’ because it is just a plural and the meaning is clear. We occasionally use an apostrophe with single letters if they could cause confusion. For example:
Question: Is an apostrophe used in the following sentence because ‘attitudes’ is implied after ‘population’s’? One group’s attitudes may not reflect the larger population’s. Answer: Yes, ‘attitudes’ is implied in that sentence. You can often re-word such sentences to avoid this awkward apostrophe usage. For example: One group’s attitudes may not reflect those of the larger population. ARTICLES ABOUT WRITING How spelling mistakes and bad email etiquette can help you get ahead ‘Thanks 🙂 would be happy to meet – I’ll let you know when I make it up to the Bay Area.’ Smashwords style guide Memorable punctuation in literature ‘Like’ is used more today than previously WORD OF THE MONTH Apostrofly QUOTE OF THE MONTH ‘And how is clarity to be achieved? Mainly by taking trouble and by writing to serve people rather than to impress them.’ If someone has forwarded you this e-newsletter, you can subscribe at http://www.onlinegrammar.com.au Regards Mary Morel |
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