Get with the program(me)

Programme or program? It depends what you're talking about and which side of the Tasman you're on.

Writing tipsIndia LopezApril 24, 2017Programme or program?, Grammar, By IndiaComment

Ye olde grammar myth

How on earth did we all end up thinking it was a mistake to split infinitives?

Writing tipsIndia LopezApril 17, 2017Split infinitives, By India, GrammarComment

Baby one more time

Is it Britney Spears’ legacy or Britney Spears’s legacy? In other words, how do we take a singular noun that ends in s and make it possessive?

Writing tipsIndia LopezApril 10, 2017Possessives, Apostrophes, Singular or plural, By IndiaComment

It's Britney's, b****

Possessive apostrophes can be a minefield. Where does the s go? Should there even be an s at all? We have the answers.

Writing tipsIndia LopezApril 3, 2017Possessives, Apostrophes, Singular or plural, By IndiaComment

Same old, same old

Is the adjective cliché or clichéd? We have the answer (and a rock-solid explanation).

Writing tipsIndia LopezMarch 27, 2017Cliché or clichéd?, Grammar, French, By India Comments

Imagine there's no heaven

BC and AD or BCE and CE? We weigh up the benefits of the Common Era system.

Writing tipsIndia LopezMarch 20, 2017Common Era, BC and AD, BCE and BC, Grammar, By India Comment

Lost in translation

You won't believe how many words have the opposite meaning in British and American English.

Kindest regards

Is it "in regard to" or "in regards to"? Don't make this common mistake in your job application cover letter.

Writing tipsIndia LopezMarch 6, 2017In regards to, In regard to, Job applications, Cover letters, Grammar, By IndiaComment

Controversy here, there(,) and everywhere

What is an Oxford comma (aka serial comma), and why does everyone care about it so damn much?

Writing tipsIndia LopezFebruary 27, 2017Oxford comma, Serial comma, Semicolons, By India, Grammar Comment

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