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Archive for February 2014

Their, They’re, or There?

Judy Vorfeld THEIR: Possessive of “they“ Examples Their boat needs a coat of paint. Their web­site rocks. Their home is beau­ti­ful. THEYRE: Contraction of the words “they” and “are” (They+Are) Examples They’re doing a great job. They’re hop­ing for many pur­chases. They’re just around the cor­ner. THERE: at that […]

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A or An before “H”?

Judy Vorfeld This is an heav­enly, his­tor­i­cal hotel. Really? Things have changed. Language is ever chang­ing, includ­ing how to use “a” and “an” before a word begin­ning with “h.” “An his­tor­i­cal book” is no longer idiomatic in American English. Nor it is heav­enly. Before a pro­nounced “h,” the indefinite […]

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In regard to

Judy Vorfeld When writ­ing a busi­ness let­ter, you might be tempted to say, “In regards to,” but in the U.S., it’s “In regard to.” Also, for a lit­tle smoother way of writ­ing, you could sub­sti­tute the phrase for “about,” “regard­ing,” or “concerning.”

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Repetitive or Repetitious?

Judy Vorfeld REPETITIVE means occur­ring over and over but is fairly neu­tral. Like breath­ing. Or waves pound­ing on the shore. Or trash pickup on Tuesdays. REPETITIOUS means the same but is often used to mean it’s tedious (makes you stress out). Like grind­ing one’s teeth. Or playing […]

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Title for­mat­ting when writing

Judy Vorfeld When using the fol­low­ing in arti­cles or cor­re­spon­dence, here are some gen­eral rules: PAINTINGS, STATUES, DRAWINGS, ETC are ital­i­cized. NAMES OF WORKS OF ANTIQUITY not usu­ally ital­i­cized. PHOTO TITLES: use quo­ta­tions. CARTOON TITLES: if they are reg­u­larly appear­ing, are ital­i­cized. TITLES OF FAIRS/EXHIBITIONS not ital­i­cized. CATALOG […]

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