Parties and peeves

India shares her one and only grammatical pet peeve.

Writing tipsIndia LopezFebruary 20, 2017110%, pet peeves, By India Comments

Mind your c’s and s’s

We clear up the spelling confusion around "licence", "license", "practice" and "practise".

The green-eyed monster

What's the difference between jealousy and envy?

Writing tipsIndia LopezFebruary 6, 2017Jealousy and envy, Grammar, Vocabulary, By IndiaComment

If you don't mind my saying so

Is it "excuse my asking" or "excuse me asking"? We discuss when to use a possessive before a gerund.

Writing tipsIndia LopezJanuary 30, 2017Gerunds, Possessives, Present participle, Grammar, By India Comments

2 Become 1

Is it thank you or thankyou? All right or alright? Under way or underway? We have the answers.

A numbers game

Should we say "there is a number of" or "there are a number of"? This week, we talk about determiners.

Writing tipsIndia LopezJanuary 16, 2017A number of, Singular or plural, Determiners, Quantifiers, Quantifying determiners, By India, GrammarComment

Different strokes

Is it different from, different than or different to – or can you pick your favourite?

Writing tipsIndia LopezJanuary 9, 2017Different from different than or different to?, By India, GrammarComment

Slash and burn

Should there be a space on either side of a slash (/)? As always, it's a bit more complicated than "yes" or "no".

Writing tipsIndia LopezJanuary 2, 2017Slashes, Strokes, Spaces with slashes, Spaces on either side of slash, By India, GrammarComment

His 'n' hers

How do apostrophes work with compound possession, when two people own the same thing?

Writing tipsIndia LopezDecember 26, 2016Compound possession, Apostrophes, Grammar, By IndiaComment

Which is which (and which is that)?

That or which? There are rules, but you'd better get ready to pick a side.

The rest is history

What's the difference between historic and historical? (And is it a historic or an historic?)

Writing tipsIndia LopezDecember 12, 2016Historic or historical?, A historic or an historic?, Grammar, By IndiaComment

Whom do you love?

Who or whom? How to choose the right word and avoid some common mistakes.

Writing tipsIndia LopezDecember 5, 2016Who or whom?, Grammar, By India, Subjects and objects, Pronouns Comments

Dear Leader's skincare tips

What's the difference between a regime and a regimen?

Writing tipsIndia LopezNovember 28, 2016Regime or regimen?, Grammar, By IndiaComment

The personal is political; the political is grammatical

Immigration, emigration or migration? Here's how to talk about the thing we're all talking about.

Writing tipsIndia LopezNovember 21, 2016Immigration or emigration?, Grammar, By IndiaComment

In the midnight hour, she cried nor, nor, nor

The word "nor" has two main uses – and a lot of associated misuses to watch out for.

Guy walks into a bar

Is "into" one word or two? This week, we talk about a confusing preposition.

Writing tipsIndia LopezNovember 7, 2016Into, In to, Onto, On to, Prepositions, Grammar, By IndiaComment

Your services are no longer required

Redundancies are a common mistake in writing. Here's how to fix them.

Writing tipsIndia LopezOctober 31, 2016Redundancies, Grammar, By IndiaComment

From one extreme to the other

Be careful when you write "everything from . . . to . . .". Chances are you're accidentally creating a false range.

Writing tipsIndia LopezOctober 25, 2016False ranges, Everything from . . . to . . ., Grammar, By IndiaComment

Long live the subjunctive

What is the present subjunctive mood, and how should it be used?

Writing tipsIndia LopezOctober 17, 2016Present subjunctive, Grammar, By IndiaComment

Short, sweet and discreet

What's the difference between "discrete" and "discreet"? We share a tip for getting it right every time.

Writing tipsIndia LopezOctober 10, 2016discrete or discreet?, Grammar, By IndiaComment