Stop, I beg you!

"Begs the question" might not mean what you think it means.

Writing tipsIndia LopezSeptember 19, 2016Begs the question, Grammar, By IndiaComment

Accidentally on purpose

Do you know the difference between "purposely" and "purposefully"? Probably not, my research shows.

Writing tipsIndia LopezSeptember 12, 2016Purposely or purposefully?, Grammar, By IndiaComment

Eyes on the comprise

"Comprise" is one of the most commonly misused words in formal writing. Here's how to get it right.

Writing tipsIndia LopezSeptember 5, 2016Comprise, By India, GrammarComment

Respect your elders

Are "older" and "elder" just two versions of the same word? Yes and no.

Writing tipsIndia LopezAugust 29, 2016Older or elder?, Grammar, By IndiaComment

Alternative reality

What's the difference between "alternate" and "alternative"? Well, that depends on what kind of English you speak.

Writing tipsIndia LopezAugust 22, 2016Alternate or alternative?, Grammar, By India Comments

Semicolon kinda life, baby, baby

Don't give up on semicolons just yet! Here's how to use them – and some common mistakes to avoid.

Writing tipsIndia LopezAugust 15, 2016Semicolons, Independent clauses, Lists, Commas, Grammar, By IndiaComment

A thing of the past

"Passed" or "past"? We discuss the difference and share an easy way to work out which is right.

Writing tipsIndia LopezAugust 8, 2016Past or passed?, Past participle, Grammar, By IndiaComment

Forgive me, farther

What's the difference between "further" and "farther"? The answer surprised even us.

Accentuate the appositive

Would you say "my cat Penny is cute" or "my cat, Penny, is cute"? That all depends.

Writing tipsIndia LopezJuly 18, 2016Appositives, Commas, Names, Grammar, By India, JournalismComment

Dot dot dot

Millennials love an ellipsis. Readers do not. Here's how to use ellipses correctly in formal writing.

Writing tipsIndia LopezJuly 11, 2016Ellipses, Punctuation, Grammar, By IndiaComment

Love the way you lie

Find out the difference between lie and lay – and use our handy chart to make sure you never use the wrong verb form.

Writing tipsIndia LopezJuly 4, 2016Lie or lay?, Past participle, Present participle, Past tense, Grammar, By IndiaComment

Dangle all the way

Dangling modifiers can have disastrous (and comical) results. Here's how to avoid them.

I love you, you love me

I or me? Here's the definitive word on subject and object pronouns, with cameos from The Bachelor NZ and a big purple dinosaur.

Writing tipsIndia LopezJune 20, 2016Me or I?, Pronouns, Parts of speech, Subjects and objects, GrammarComment

We are not bemused

What do "bemused" and "nonplussed" actually mean? We answer that question – and then tell you why you should never use them.

Writing tipsIndia LopezJune 13, 2016Bemused, Nonplussed, Word meanings, Grammar, By IndiaComment

Round, round, get around, I get a … square?

What's the difference between square and round brackets? This week, we answer a grammar question from one of our readers.

Writing tipsIndia LopezJune 6, 2016Brackets, Square brackets, Round brackets, Parentheses, Grammar, By IndiaComment

A few home truths

Is it "hone in on" or "home in on"? In this week's grammar blog, we learn how to remember the difference.

Writing tipsIndia LopezMay 23, 2016By India, Grammar, Spelling, Home or hone?, Home in onComment

Naughty, naughty parallelism

We talk about how to avoid bad parallelism in lists and sentences, especially when using those tricky correlative conjunctions.

Writing tipsIndia LopezMay 16, 2016By India, Grammar, Parallelism, ListsComment

Led astray

The past tense of "lead" is "led". It's a simple word, so why do so many people spell it wrong?

Writing tipsIndia LopezMay 9, 2016Spelling, By India, Grammar, Led or lead?, LedComment

Quote, unquote

What's the difference between single and double quotation marks? Here's a hint: much less than people think.

Badly Hyphenated Word

This week, how to use hyphens – and why you usually shouldn't put a hyphen after the letters "ly".