Articles Categorized The Art of Language

Grammar, spelling, usage, style—this section is all about the mechanics of language. Improve your writing and editing by reading on!

Getting Rid of “Get”?

Sometimes, copyediting rules can be subjective. The common yet controversial use of the word “get” is no exception.

Of which, or whose? Here’s what history has to say about the grammatical correctness of these commonly used phrases.

When someone sneezes, an overwhelming majority of people wish them a blessing from their god. Why is that?

Hyphens and dashes are common pieces of punctuation that can really improve your writing—if you know how to use them.

Become a star punctuation user! Learn advanced apostrophe rules about showing possession, omission, and plurality.

You can join independent clauses in any number of ways. The use of commas is the most common method, but not the only one.

Brackets are those square parentheses next to the letter P on most keyboards: [ ]. Do you know how to use them properly?

A “bludgeon” is defined as “a heavy, short club that is thicker at one end or is weighted at one end.” It’s a good alternative for “club.”

If you’re writing for a client and are told to allow “that” to represent a person, breathe a sigh of relief: doing so doesn’t break any rules.

Language changes with use. Who’s capping “Black” and “White”? How can editors decide which style to follow? Read on to find out.