(Why the Oxford Comma—or Serial Comma—Is So Cool!)

The comma punctuation mark highlights a shorter, softer pause in a sentence than a full stop. It is a cue to take a quick breath when reading anything aloud, while the full stop represents a longer pause. Articles with too many unnecessary commas can be fragmented, but those with too few can leave you slightly breathless. These are some of the most important comma usage rules to be aware of for your articles or books.

Coordinate Conjunctions

Coordinate conjunctions are joiner words that connect two independent clauses in single sentences. And, but, for, nor, yet, or, and so (remember the FANBOYS acronym) are the coordinate conjunctions with which we can join independent clauses that could otherwise stand alone in separate sentences. You should always add a comma after coordinate conjunctions that join two independent clauses in sentences. Here are some examples of coordinate conjunction comma usage:

• “The sprinter ran fast, but he still lost the race.”
• “You can go to the cinema with me, or you can go to the beach on your own if you prefer.”
• “The man walked down the street, and then he brought a newspaper from the newsstand.”

Each of those examples includes two independent clauses that could stand alone as sentences. The coordinate conjunctions and, or, and but join the clauses into single sentences with their commas. Note that joining independent clauses with commas alone, without suitable coordinate conjunctions, is called the comma splice, which is something to avoid.

List Series

You should always include commas to separate different items in lists included within sentences. For example, orange, yellow, blue, indigo, violet, red, and green are the seven colors of the rainbow. An alternative to using commas is to add lists with bullet-point formatting, but you must always use commas for those within sentences.

However, UK and US English have different stylistic preferences for serial commas that separate the last two items in lists. The US English preference is to include a comma between the last two items in a list. This is not so much the case in UK English, which has a preference to exclude the serial comma between the last couple of list items. Choose whichever serial comma preference you prefer, but be consistent with usage.

Non-Restrictive Clauses

A non-restrictive clause is a non-essential part of a sentence that provides extra information (similar to brackets). Such clauses can be in the middle or at the end of a sentence. We should always add commas for setting off non-restrictive clauses, typically added with phrases like such as, otherwise, and which. These are some examples of non-restrictive clauses set off with commas:

• “There are many great historic attractions in Rome, such as the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Colosseum, Spanish Steps, and Castel Sant’Angelo.”
• “The video game, which I purchased from Steam, was grossly overrated.”
• “My pet dog, otherwise a Bulldog, barks like crazy.”

Dates

It is necessary to include commas for the US date format of MM-DD-YY. For example, the full date, June 6, 2025, should have a comma in between its day and year. This comma is necessary for separating two different numbers. However, a monthly date like June 2025 does not need to include a comma.

Coordinate Adjectives

Coordinate adjectives are two or more adjacent nouns for describing the same subject or noun. We should include commas in between coordinate adjectives within sentences. Here are a few examples of coordinate adjectives with commas included for them:

• “It was a cold, wet day in Glasgow.”
• “I took a holiday on a large, overcrowded cruise ship.”
• “Snooker is one of the dullest, least energetic sports to play.”

Quotations

It is a general rule to introduce short one-sentence quotations within paragraphs with commas. For example, the actor Matthew McConaughey is quoted as saying, “Life is a series of commas, not periods.” However, the AP Style guide advocates using colons for introducing quotes of two sentences or longer.

Commas are also used for closing quotes within sentences in American English. If you prefer to start a sentence with a quote and include attribution at the end, add a comma to the end of the quote before attributing the source. “Life is a series of commas, not periods,” said the actor  Matthew McConaughey.

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Transitional Phrases

Transitional phrases are phrases and words for connecting related ideas or showing contrasts at the beginning of sentences. Such phrases like however, so, nevertheless, consequently, as a result, for example, and thus can enhance the flow of articles or books when included. Always add commas after transitional phrases that start sentences, like in these examples:

• “So, who can tell me if we need to head north or south?”
• “Consequently, this vehicle won’t start.”
• “Nevertheless, Chelsea still won the match despite the bad start.”

Introductory Phrases

An introductory phrase is a set of words added before a sentence’s main clause. The purpose of most introductory phrases is to add extra context, more description, or set the stage for the main clauses in sentences. Infinitive, absolute, appositive, prepositional, and participial are the five main types of introductory phrases for starting sentences. Such phrases should always have commas that separate them from the main sentence clauses, as in these examples:

• “To move the rock, we’ll need a crane.”
• “An astonishingly colorful and vibrant show, the musical production was certainly worth watching.”
• “After bombing Pearl Harbor, the Japanese planes returned to their aircraft carriers.”

Direct Address

Direct address is a writing construct for the direct addressing of a person or group. Fictional books typically include more instances of direct address for character dialogue. When adding a direct address at the beginning of a sentence, you should add a comma after the noun. Add commas before and after directly addressed names added mid-sentence. These are some examples of comma usage for direct address:

• “Mr. Andrews, don’t forget the prior agreement we had.”
• “Billy, please answer the telephone.”
• “Dad, where did you put the door keys?”
• “Who knows, Dr. Smith, where your lost documents might be.”

Geographical Names

You must include commas for separating two connected geographical names. Connected geographical names are two parts of the same destination, such as city and country. Also, note that additional commas should be included after related geographical names in the middle of sentences. These are some geographical destinations with commas added to separate them:

• “The 1996 Olympic Games were held in Atlanta, Georgia.”
• “I took my vacation in Plymouth, Devon.”
• “I have lived in London, England, for many years.”

There are numerous other comma usage rules beyond those discussed here. However, the comma rules above are some of the most important ones that cover the most common usage scenarios. Remembering those rules will likely ensure more accurate comma placement in your articles, books, or other content.

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Chafed vs. Chaffed vs. Chapped

Chafed is the past tense verb of chafe, which can describe being irritated, worn away, or warmed by rubbing together (like having chafed legs when running). The chafing action often comes from one thing (for instance, a super strong and cold wind) rubbing or wearing against another thing (like bared skin). 

(When Do You Capitalize President?)

Chaffed is the past tense verb of chaff, which describes the action of teasing another person, usually in a good-natured way (as opposed to bullying). So a person who chaffs another person might be joking around about wearing a winter coat on a hot summer day or wearing their sunglasses at night.

Chapped is the past tense verb of chap, which describes the action of opening in small cracks and slits. Often, people use this as a word to describe their chapped lips, which is why so many people buy chapstick.

Here are a few examples of chafed vs. chaffed vs. chapped:

Correct: He chafed the bottom of his feet from spending too much time in the pool.
Incorrect: He chaffed the bottom of his feet from spending too much time in the pool.
Probably Incorrect: He chapped the bottom of his feet from spending too much time in the pool.

Correct: She chaffed her date about forgetting her name throughout dinner.
Incorrect: She chafed her date about forgetting her name throughout dinner.
Incorrect: She chapped her date about forgetting her name throughout dinner.

Correct: He complained about his lips, which were chapped from the dry air.
Incorrect: He complained about his lips, which were chafed from the dry air.
Incorrect: He complained about his lips, which were chaffed from the dry air.

There may be a few other examples, but I can think of at least one where chafed and chapped could be used interchangeably. That’s if you were to describe lips (or other skin) chafed (or chapped) by strong winds. I believe it would be appropriate to use either to describe this situation.

So let’s untangle this: Chafed with one “f” refers to the act of irritation through friction; chaffed with two “f”s refers to good-natured taunting; and chapped probably just requires a bit of chapstick.

*****

Sometimes, the best way to improve your writing is to go back to basics, to revisit the things you should have been paying attention to in your high school English classes (we won’t tell!). Whether you’re writing freelance articles for publications, editing your novel draft, or trying to write more professional emails, the Writer’s Digest Guide to Better Writing offers more than 50 techniques, strategies, and grammar rules with practical, real-world examples to help improve your writing.

Click to continue.

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(10 Handy Digital Tools for Freelance Writers.)

The grammatical voice you use can have a notable impact on the clarity, engagement, and tone of your content. It’s important to recognize the distinction between the two voices for your articles or books because the active is generally considered better than the passive, albeit with exceptions occasionally made.

What’s the Difference Between the Active and Passive Voice?

The distinction between the active and passive voices is that of the subject of a sentence performing the action or being acted upon. A sentence in the active voice has a subject performing an action. This means the subject is the doer, rather than the receiver, of an action. 

These are examples of sentences in the active voice:

• “Ned cleaned the table.”
• “Japanese planes bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941.”
• “The dog chewed my rug.”
• “Liverpool won the 2022 FA Cup.”

Those examples are sentences in the active voice with the doer (person or thing doing the action) as their subject. The object or thing being acted on is the subject of a sentence in the passive voice. 

Here are some examples of sentences in the passive voice:

• “The table was cleaned by Ned.”
• “Pearl Harbor was bombed by Japanese planes in 1941.”
• “My rug was chewed by the dog.”
• “The 2022 FA Cup was won by Liverpool.”

We can now see the difference between sentences that say the same things in the active and passive voices. Ned, Japanese planes, a dog, and Liverpool are subjects performing actions in the active voice examples above. Table, Pearl Harbor, rug, and FA Cup are subjects (objects and a location) receiving actions in the passive voice.

Thus, the active voice places emphasis on the person or thing performing the action. The passive voice emphasizes the object or thing receiving the action. This difference in emphasis is the crucial distinction between the two voices to remember.

You can manually detect passive voice in your content by identifying the action doers in sentences. Those doers are usually at or near the end of sentences in the passive voice with the verbs preceding them. For the active voice, the doers are at or near the beginning of sentences. To change passive voice to active, you must place a doer near the start of a sentence with the verb immediately after it.

Why the Active Voice Is More Preferable

You might now wonder why the active voice is generally preferred over the passive alternative. One important reason the active voice is better than than the passive is conciseness. Notice that all the active voice examples above are two words shorter than their passive alternatives. Thus, using active voice will make your articles more concise and less wordy.

The active voice makes it clearer who or what is performing the action. This makes sentences in the active voice more direct than passive alternatives. Clearly stating who or what is performing an action with the active voice enhances clarity and engagement.

However, this doesn’t necessarily mean you must always avoid the passive voice. The passive voice can be preferable when you want to place emphasis on the object or thing receiving the action. It can also be more useful when it’s not known what person or thing performed the action. For example, you could write “Ned’s wallet was stolen yesterday” rather than “Somebody stole Ned’s wallet yesterday.”

Online Tools for Checking the Passive Voice

There are numerous online tools (web apps) with which you can check your articles (or text passages) for the passive voice. These tools detect and highlight passive voice sentences within passages entered into them. Some of those utilities also convert passive voice lines into active alternatives.

• Passive Voice Detector is one online tool that shows instances of the passive voice within analyzed passages. There, you can manually input passages for that tool to analyze. Alternatively, click the up arrow button to upload a saved document. That tool will list all passive voice sentences detected when you click the Re-Analyze button.
• Free Passive Voice Checker is a tool that enables you to convert passive voice sentences to active alternatives. To do so, copy and paste a passage of text into that tool’s text box with the Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V hotkeys. That tool will automatically highlight all instances of the passive voice detected. Click on the active voice suggestions that the utility provides to apply changes.
• You can also utilize the Passive to Active Voice Converter tool on the AHelp site, which seemingly has no usage restrictions. Input content of any length to analyze into that utility’s left text box, and select the Active radio button. The tool will convert passive voice content to active voice in the text box on the right when you click Generate.

How to Set Microsoft Word to Check for Passive Voice

Microsoft Word 365 is one of the foremost word processors that incorporates an advanced SPAG checker called Editor. If you’re a Word user, you can set that word processor to identify the passive voice in content for correcting. You can then change passive voice sentences to active alternatives with Word’s SPAG checker.

To enable passive voice checking in Word, click the File tab and Options within that software. Select Proofing on the left side of the Word Options window. If not selected already, select the Check grammar and refinements in the Editor Pane and Show readability statistics checkboxes.

There’s a Writing Style drop-down menu below those checkboxes. Select Grammar on the Writing Style drop-down menu and press Settings. Scroll down to the Clarity subheading in the Grammar Settings window that opens. Select the Passive Voice and Passive Voice with Unknown Actor checkboxes there and click OK twice.

Open a document to check in the Word software. Word will now highlight passive-voice sentences in that document with blue underlines. To convert to active voice, click Spelling & Grammar on Word’s Review tab. This option activates a sidebar from which you can select Change for suggested editing.

It’s quick and easy to check for and eliminate passive voice from your articles with the aforementioned online tools and MS Word. Sticking to the active voice will generally make your content more concise, direct, and engaging. However, there can sometimes be good reasons to use the passive voice. It’s up to you to decide when the passive voice will be more appropriate in your articles or books.

The post The Difference Between the Active and Passive Voice and Which Is Better appeared first on Writer's Digest.

(10 Handy Digital Tools for Freelance Writers.)

Today, print and digital publications are primarily split between the US and UK English variants. American magazines and websites usually expect articles to be in US English, but it’s the other way around for UK publications. This means freelance writers might sometimes need to adapt to both English variations for American or British publications, which can be confusing. These are some of the most notable differences between US and UK English to be aware of for your articles.

Spelling

Spelling is one of the biggest differences between US and UK English. American spellings of numerous words differ from those of UK English. The disparity primarily lies in how the endings of words are spelled. Some of these spelling variations can be summarized as follows:

• -or instead -our: Words ending with -or in American English end with -our in UK English (e.g. color instead of colour).
• -ize instead of -ise: Words ending with -ize in American English end with -ise for alternative British spellings (e.g. organize instead of organise).
• -er instead of -re: Words that end with -er in US English have an -re ending for UK spelling (e.g. center rather than centre).
• -ense instead of ence: Words ending with -ense in US English are spelled with -ence in Britain (e.g. license and licence).

Those ending differences can affect the spelling of a wide variety of common words, such as harbor, prioritize, theater, pretense, and recognize. Another difference is that British spelling has a double l rule for words like canceled, traveler, and marvelous. Those words are spelled cancelled, traveller, and marvellous in UK English.

Vocabulary

British and American vocabulary differences are also quite broad. Americans have different names for some things, but seldom will this vocabulary difference cause confusion. These are some of the preferred American names for things that differ from UK English:

• Movie
• Apartment
• Fries
• Cookie
• Pants
• Elevator
• Vacation
• Trash
• Soccer

The British English alternatives for those American nouns are film, flat, chips, biscuit, trousers, lift, holiday, rubbish, and football. Trousers and football are two vocabulary variations that can confuse. Although Americans call trousers pants, they are not the same things in England. Pants is the alternative name for underpants in Britain.

Soccer and American football are different sports in the United States, but that’s not so much the case in Britain. Americans call English football soccer, which is the name of that sport for most US publications. However, UK magazines and websites always call the ball-kicking sport football.

Quotations

Double-quotation marks are used around quotes and speech in US English, as in the first paragraph of this article. Americans add single quotation marks around quotes within quotes. American English quotations always include commas and periods within the quotation marks.

The opposite is true for quotations in UK English. The British style adds single quotation marks around primary quotations. Double-quote marks are used for secondary quotations within quoted passages or speech. However, the US quote style is becoming more prevalent in UK English.

Title Abbreviations

The abbreviations of formal titles in American English always include periods after them. For example, Mr., Mrs., Dr., and Col. are abbreviated titles for which periods are included in US English. However, this requirement for title abbreviation periods doesn’t apply to UK English.

Date Formats

The US and UK have different date formats that apply to their alternative English variants. Americans write dates with the MM/DD/YY format. For example, the 11/25/2024 date is written as November 25, 2024, in US English. Commas are always included between the day and year numbers for the US date format.

UK dates include days before months with the DD/MM/YY format. This format changes the 11/25/2024 date to 25/11/2024 in Britain. The written form of that date in British English is 25 November 2024, for which a comma is not required.

Time

There is a small stylistic difference between US and UK English for writing clock times. The Americans always include a colon for times, such as 11:30, for example. In UK English, a period rather than a colon is placed between the hours and minutes, such as 11.30.

Collective Nouns

In US English, collective nouns for organizations, companies, bands, and other groups are usually considered singular subjects. This means groups are more widely treated as single units in US English. Consequently, singular verbs and possessive pronouns are more widely used for collective nouns, as in these examples:

“Apple has released its latest iPhone.”

“The band is playing music in the concert hall.”

“My team is going to win the match.”

However, collective nouns can be plural or singular depending more on the context in UK English. UK English generally places more emphasis on group members for collective nouns, especially sports teams which are always treated as plural subjects. For example, “The band are playing music in the concert hall” is correct in UK English.

The Serial Comma

The serial comma between the last two things in lists is favored in US English. The American Chicago Manual of Style and APA Publication Manual recommends using serial commas in lists. For example, a list of colors like green, blue, purple, and red includes a serial comma between the final two items.

The serial comma is not so widely used in UK English. However, exceptions are sometimes made when necessary to include serial commas for clarity or in more complex lists. This usage is comparable to the Associated Press Style, which recommends only including serial commas for complex lists.

Got and Gotten

In US English, gotten is the past participle of get for more dynamic situations that refer to obtaining or becoming. However, the past participle of get is always got in UK English. For example, the Americans say “I have gotten very tired,” but in UK English that should be “I have got very tired.”

How to Convert Between US and UK English

You can use word processor software and online tools to seamlessly switch between US and UK English when needed. Most word processors include alternative language settings you can select to switch between American and British English, along with other variations. Setting your word processor to US and UK English will at least ensure 100 percent spelling consistency for your articles.

I recommend utilizing the freely available Grammarly online tool for proofing your articles according to US or UK English SPAG differences. To do this, click the Sign up with Google button on this Grammarly page and input your Google account details. Or click Sign Up It’s Free if you don’t have a Google account.

When you’ve logged into Grammarly, set it to US or UK English. Click the menu button at the top-left corner of Grammarly. Select the American or British option on the Language preference drop-down menu.

You can now apply UK or US English editing by clicking the New Document button. Copy and paste an article’s content into the Grammarly text editor with the Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V keyboard shortcuts. Then, apply corrections highlighted by the red and blue underlines in Grammarly.

There are also various online US to UK English conversion tools you can try by pasting article text into them and clicking their Convert buttons. However, many of these tools seem limited to spelling conversions and corrections you can apply with word processing software. Check out the pages below to try some of those converter tools:

• British to American Translator
• Ditto Transcripts
• US to UK English
• British to American English Converter

Whether you use UK or US English in your articles should primarily depend on your general audience rather than your native preference. The magazines or websites you submit articles to will likely prefer contributors to stick to either US or UK English. You can ensure consistency of approach by selecting American or British English options within your word processor and the Grammarly proofing tool.

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For vs. Fore vs. Four

For is the preposition, and it’s used in a variety of situations to indicate purpose, intentions, equivalence, and more. For instance, one may “go for the win,” “trade this for that,” or “ask for an extension.”

(Forth vs. Fourth.)

Fore can technically be used as an adjective, preposition, or noun to indicate something that’s positioned in the front (think about words like “foreground” and “foremost”). However, this term is probably most popular as the interjection frequently shouted on golf courses to alert people that they may be struck by an errant golf ball.

Four, last but not least, is a noun indicating the whole number that comes after three and before five.

Here are a few examples of for vs. fore vs. four:

Correct: She asked the bank for a loan.
Incorrect: She asked the bank fore a loan.
Incorrect: She asked the bank four a loan.

Correct: As soon as he hit the ball, he yelled, “Fore,” to golfers on the other fairway.
Incorrect: As soon as he hit the ball, he yelled, “For,” to golfers on the other fairway.
Incorrect: As soon as he hit the ball, he yelled, “Four,” to golfers on the other fairway.

Correct: The four campers worked together to assemble their tent.
Incorrect: The for campers worked together to assemble their tent.
Incorrect: The fore campers worked together to assemble their tent.

So keeping these homophones straight: Remember that the “u” in “four” is a “number,” while the shortest word “for” is a preposition, which only leaves “fore” as a word to shout when hitting errant shots on the links.

*****

Sometimes, the best way to improve your writing is to go back to basics, to revisit the things you should have been paying attention to in your high school English classes (we won’t tell!). Whether you’re writing freelance articles for publications, editing your novel draft, or trying to write more professional emails, the Writer’s Digest Guide to Better Writing offers more than 50 techniques, strategies, and grammar rules with practical, real-world examples to help improve your writing.

Click to continue.

The post For vs. Fore vs. Four (Grammar Rules) appeared first on Writer's Digest.

(Beware the Don’t-Do-This Brigade.)

But not all rules are as noticeable to readers (or as controversial) as the amount of space between sentences. And in a Manual that now runs to more than 1,000 pages in print, many of the finer points are bound to go unnoticed by anyone not specifically looking for them.

Large or small, each update for each new edition has one of two goals: (a) to improve an existing rule, either in light of new information or to register a shift in how things are usually done, or (b) to add new (and sometimes overlooked) content. Both goals are pursued in the same general spirit of bringing the Manual up to date for our audience of writers, editors, publishers, and others who work with words.

From Style to Substance

Each update in the Manual is significant in some way, but here are five that matter more than most.

1. Prepositions in titles of works. 

Readers are used to seeing shorter prepositions lowercased in titles, as the word of in Leaves of Grass, the title of the 19th-century poetry collection by Walt Whitman. Newspapers, Wikipedia, and most other places both online and off typically follow either a three- or a four-letter limit for such words—that is, capitalizing any preposition longer than for or with. Chicago’s advice to lowercase prepositions in titles “regardless of length,” as first clarified explicitly in the 12th edition (1969), was starting to look dated. 

Not only could we no longer justify writing A River Runs through It (the title of a 1970s story collection by Norman Maclean, in which a preposition happens to be the longest word), but who would object to the second capital A in Much Ado About Nothing? For the 18th edition, Chicago has therefore adopted a four-letter limit, a change that should make life easier for editors who follow Chicago style.

2. An initial “The” in the name of a periodical. 

Until now, the Manual always said to treat an initial definite article in the name of a newspaper or magazine as part of the surrounding text, as in “the New York Times.” But as its masthead shows (both in print and online), that paper’s name includes the The, something today’s writers and editors should have little trouble confirming. And just as Chicago has always deferred to the title page of a book for the presence or absence of an initial article—for example, writing The Chicago Manual of Style (initial The) but the MLA Handbook (no initial The)—we now recommend a similar approach for periodicals. 

So we now advise referring to The New York Times (or, in shortened form, the Times, not to be confused with The Times [UK]) but, for example, the Chicago Tribune. Any extra time spent looking things up can be recouped when it comes to source citations, where an initial The in such titles can be omitted (as before).

3. Place of publication. 

Source citations for books have included the place of publication (usually a city), which traditionally appears on the title page, for as long as the Manual has been published. Accordingly, a footnote would cite the 17th edition of the Manual as follows (note the word “Chicago” at the beginning of the parentheses): 1. The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2017). 

Most other guides have eliminated that requirement in recent years, and now we have also. If the place is important (and not obvious from the publisher’s name), an author can ask to make an exception—or simply mention it in the text. Meanwhile, the many editors and authors alike who advocated for this change will breathe a sigh of relief.

4. Singular “they.” 

Chicago foresaw the value of the singular they more than 30 years ago, in the 14th edition (1993), stating in a footnote that “the University of Chicago Press recommends the ‘revival’ of the singular use of they and their,” citing usage by Austen and Shakespeare (among others). Thirty-one years later, the Manual has endorsed singular they explicitly—and not just in a footnote. 

Not only does the new edition once again cover referential singular they (which can refer to people who don’t identify with either he or she), but we now more fully acknowledge the value of the generic singular they for referring to someone whose gender is unknown or irrelevant or must be concealed for reasons of privacy. Anyone who knows their pronouns from their antecedents (see how that works?) will appreciate having this tool in their editorial arsenal.

5. Indigenous languages and sources. 

Chicago has long included a chapter on languages other than English that are commonly encountered by academic writers working in an otherwise English-language context. Most of this coverage (which now extends to more than 30 languages) is limited to special characters and other typographic considerations in addition to conventions for capitalization and quotations. 

But for this edition, with the help of experts, we’ve not only added Indigenous languages to our list but also, to complement this new coverage, advice on citing Indigenous sources of knowledge. We hope that writers and editors will come away with a greater understanding of what to consider when working with sources by or about Indigenous peoples.

All of us who worked on the 18th edition of The Chicago Manual of Style hope that writers, editors, and anyone else who works with words will benefit from these and all the other updates and refinements in the 18th edition. For a detailed list, see “What’s New in the 18th Edition” at CMOS Online.

Check out The Chicago Manual of Style, 18th Edition, here:

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(3 Fake Rules of Grammar.)

The things they pick on are always fairly common, of course, because if nobody feels inclined to actually use some form of words it will never catch the eye of the self-appointed writing gurus. No writing guide tells you to avoid typing every word twice (writing writing like like this this), because nobody would dream of doing it, which means you never encounter it.

The expressions they warn you against occur in prose that you will read every day, but you are supposed to take it on faith from writing advisers that you should rise above those other writers and avoid writing the way they write. Simon Heffer (in the preface to Strictly English, 2010) says quite explicitly: “I happen to believe that the ‘evidence’ of how I see English written by others, including some professional writers, is not something by which I wish to be influenced.”

This is the exact opposite of what good foreign language teachers, or for that matter dance instructors, will insist on. They will try to get you to pay close attention to the people who speak the language you are trying to learn, or dance the way you want to be able to dance, and follow their example.

Yet in the more old-fashioned writing guides you will find warnings against beginning sentences with ‘And’ (extremely common, and seen in the second sentence of this article), or ending sentences with a preposition (also seen in my second sentence), or placing an adverb after ‘to’ (as in my third sentence). Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style even goes so far as to tell you to avoid writing “some such perfunctory expression as there is”—deprecating existential clauses, as in my opening sentence.

The assumption is that some phrases or types of sentence that naturally occur to experienced writers or speakers must nonetheless be shunned: Though frequently occurring, they are in some way unsavory or imperfect or objectionable—it’s never quite clear what adjective would capture the nature of the objection, but when pressed to go beyond mere personal preferences or peeves they will say that the things they deprecate are forbidden by rules of grammar.

My book The Truth About English Grammar provides a no-prerequisites introduction to some of the basic principles of grammar, and because I often have to note that the how-to-write people often have no grammatical leg to stand on, one reviewer in Britain declared that I am “always on the side of the ordinary Joe against the nitpickers.” 

Check out Geoffrey K. Pullum’s The Truth About English Grammar here:

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That is the familiar stereotype of the careful descriptive grammarian: a kind of 1960s anarchist who says “If it feels good, do it.” And that is not my view at all. This ordinary Joe character, whoever he may be, will get no leniency from me if he’s wrong: I’m trying to state clearly what the most basic rules of English grammar are, and heaven forfend that you should violate them simply because you feel like it.

But I do sometimes have to stress that writers should largely write the way other writers have written, not the way writing tutors think they should. Because if the rules of English grammar aren’t based on what we find in good literature and the best journalism, there is no basis for saying they are the rules of English.

Here’s an example. If you have a clear enough understanding of basic grammar to know what an adverb is (and I do try to provide a clear definition backed up with illustrative examples), then you should be aware that people talk nonsense about such words, demanding that you should shun them.

“Write with nouns and verbs, not with adjectives and adverbs,” says E.B. White—an outrageous suggestion that no writer follows. “Most adverbs are unnecessary,” declares William Zinsser in On Writing Well (1976)—as if blind to the vital role of the third word in his title and vast numbers of the other adverbs he uses. Stephen King (On Writing, 2000) goes so far as to assert that “the road to hell is paved with adverbs”—though he makes no attempt to get off that downbound road in his own brilliant horror writing, which is as liberally graced with adverbs as other competent writing.

Having a reasonably sound grasp of the basic concepts of grammar will not turn a poor writer into a brilliant one, but it does provide the key advantage of enabling a writer to see that these famous writing mavens are spouting nonsense.

And so are all the hundreds of writing advisors and teaching assistants who, since early in the 20th century, have railed against passive clauses. Frequently they don’t do well on recognizing passives: The concept is often confused with the notion of being somehow evasive about agency or responsibility. “Mistakes were made” is the go-to example, repeated ad nauseam in writing guides, and it is indeed a passive clause (of the short agentless kind, with no by-phrase); but people often make the mistake of thinking that “Mistakes occurred” is passive too (it certainly avoids naming the culprits, but it isn’t a passive).

Passives get lambasted as dull, wordy, slow, and boring. This is hogwash. If you know how to recognize one, and you pick up the very first Jack Reacher novel by Lee Child (Killing Floor, 1997), you’ll find it begins: “I was arrested in Eno’s diner.” Stark, dramatic, intriguing: Why was our protagonist arrested? Who was accusing him, and of what? The novel opens with a perfectly judged passive because Lee Child has been reading books avidly since he was old enough to walk to the local library in Birmingham. He knows how English works.

Child chose exactly the sort of sentence that the enemies of the passive insist you should avoid. And soon other passives appear in the text, like “I was walked to the door” on the second page (Reacher didn’t stride to the door, he was walked with his arms held, like a toddler or a drunk, by four armed Georgia cops). Child knows what he’s doing as a writer. He deploys adverbs and passive clauses and all the other resources English offers, whatever is exactly right for the job. He doesn’t listen to the don’t-do-this brigade. And he went on from Killing Floor to sell a hundred million books.

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However, when it comes to “deep-rooted,” “deep-seated,” and “deep-seeded,” only two are real terms. The other is an impostor. So let’s take a look at which are the real terms and when to use each.

Deep-Rooted vs. Deep-Seated vs. Deep-Seeded

Deep-rooted is an adjective that describes someone or something that is deeply implanted or established. For instance, someone might say that playing the national anthem before sporting competitions is a deep-rooted tradition.

(How to Write Dates Correctly in Sentences.)

Deep-seated is an adjective that has two different meanings. In one instance, it can describe something that’s beneath the surface, like a “deep-seated pain.” In the other instance, “deep-seated” describes something that is firmly established. Often, this version is used to describe a rule, tradition, or opinion.

Deep-seeded, on the other hand, is the impostor term. While deeply planting a seed definitely creates a good visual, it’s not the term people mean to use when they use (unless maybe they’re discussing farming or March Madness college basketball brackets and seeding). 

Here are a couple examples of deep-rooted vs. deep-seated vs. deep-seeded:

Correct: There was so much deep-rooted animosity between the negotiators that they couldn’t even come to a consensus on what day to meet.
Correct: There was so much deep-seated animosity between the negotiators that they couldn’t even come to a consensus on what day to meet.
Incorrect: There was so much deep-seeded animosity between the negotiators that they couldn’t even come to a consensus on what day to meet.

Correct: Sarah told her doctor about a deep-seated pain in her thigh.
Incorrect: Sarah told her doctor about a deep-rooted pain in her thigh.
Incorrect: Sarah told her doctor about a deep-seeded pain in her thigh.

For the most part, deep-rooted and deep-seated can be used interchangeably, but deep-seeded should not be used. While seeds can be planted deep, it’s not until they take root that they become firmly established.

*****

Sometimes, the best way to improve your writing is to go back to basics, to revisit the things you should have been paying attention to in your high school English classes (we won’t tell!). Whether you’re writing freelance articles for publications, editing your novel draft, or trying to write more professional emails, the Writer’s Digest Guide to Better Writing offers more than 50 techniques, strategies, and grammar rules with practical, real-world examples to help improve your writing.

Click to continue.

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Then vs. Than

Then can be used as an adverb, adjective, and noun. As a noun, it is used to indicate a specific time (like “he’s never been the same since then“). Similarly, when used as an adjective, “then” describes a prior time (as in “she was the then attorney general”). As an adverb, then continues to indicate time whether used to recall something that happened in the past (“then he called the police”) or to give the next step for instructions (“then add a cup of flour and stir”). Then can also be used to sum up a thought process after all the data or evidence is put together (as in “after considering all the clues, then it only makes sense that the butler did it”). 

(How to Write Dates Correctly in Sentences.)

Than is used as both a conjunction and preposition. It’s often used to compare things, as in “truth is stranger than fiction” or “I like standing better than sitting.” It can also show options, as in “rather than walking to school, why don’t you ride the bus” or “other than cleaning the bathroom, what can I do to earn my allowance?” 

Here are a few examples of then vs. than:

Correct: Ask for permission first, then make yourself a snack.
Incorrect: Ask for permission first, than make yourself a snack.

Correct: Writing a novel is easier said than done.
Incorrect: Writing a novel is easier said then done.

Correct: If you have experience writing, then you should know finishing a story is more difficult than starting a story.

I understand how some people confuse these words, but here’s a quick trick for remembering when to use one over the other. Since “then” is often used for referring to time (even if it’s for the order of completing instructions), think of the “e” in “time” and “then” to connect those two words. And for “than,” think of the “a” in “than” and “comparison.” 

*****

Sometimes, the best way to improve your writing is to go back to basics, to revisit the things you should have been paying attention to in your high school English classes (we won’t tell!). Whether you’re writing freelance articles for publications, editing your novel draft, or trying to write more professional emails, the Writer’s Digest Guide to Better Writing offers more than 50 techniques, strategies, and grammar rules with practical, real-world examples to help improve your writing.

Click to continue.

The post Then vs. Than (Grammar Rules) appeared first on Writer's Digest.

(100+ Grammar Rules for Writers.)

The trick is simply being you—and being good, which in the end comes out to the same thing. Let’s start with being good. First, there’s mastery of the language. You need to run with the language the way a figure skater glides on ice. You can have occasional slips, even falls. But you need to cut your edge into the language the way a figure skater cuts a skate blade into ice, maneuvering turns that command attention, accomplishing jumps that make people gaze.

To become yourself, on the page, you need to study and practice what one calls the craft of writing, which requires an obsessive dive into grammar and syntax. You must come to know intimately what sentences are and how to make them in a million ways. For starters, strive to know what makes you you (your thoughts and feelings), but gain a firm grasp on the manner, rhythm, logic, and style of your sentences. Language will reveal you to yourself, and to your readers. But first to an editor who is a keeper of a gate.

Given the large number of writers sending out numerous manuscripts by clicking a “Submit” button, only those who can translate themselves into truly expressive sentences will get plucked out of a slush pile and published.

I have experienced the slush pile from both sides. Like all writers, I have received rejections, though as an editor I have sent out far more. I read the slush pile for LitMag and Bard Books. The writers who do not rise above a first-round review are allowing their sentences to get away from them. Diction and syntax are not things they fully control. Their ideas are too tame, their locutions too common (sometimes diluted by cliché and worn language). To be you is to be uncommon, or at least to wear some difference.

In fiction and nonfiction that compels, the language is the author’s own. The reader notices the writer’s choices, which conduce to personal style, a twist of language that vivifies the world.

How can you know if you are doing in prose all the things required to be you? We call it revision, but it is nothing other than reading your writing as if you were not you. Put it in a drawer for as long as you can. When you look at it anew, read not only for weakness and error. Read for omission of your oddities and quirks, the moods and verbal nuances that allow a reader to see you as a vibrant soul with individual characteristics—subtle (or not so subtle) deviations from the snoozy norm that fascinate.

To be you, above all, it is necessary to keep your focus. If you are writing about one thing, do not digress to another. Bear down. Bore in. Take your story in its deepest, fiercest direction. Remember, your focus is your reader’s focus. Break the trance and your reader is gone. And if your reader is an editor, you have not cleared the hurdle. Not this time. You will need to submit a different story.

The good thing about such momentary failure is your opportunity to try again. When writers try again, they can get lucky. A writer can hit on a subject that is so much part of her that she keeps her focus and writes in a fluid but unusual way that reveals her voice distinctly and makes the reader not only focused but amazed. If you are that writer and the reader is an editor, you have launched your writing into the ether of the acceptance zone, that desired imaginary realm that turns real the moment you get the email: “Dear Writer, Your writing has a special quality that grabbed our attention. Your wonderful story stands out from the large number of submissions we receive, and we would like to publish it.”

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