Punctuation isn’t just minutia—it shapes tone and clarity. Let’s analyze the suspensive hyphen, which is supported by major style guides and helps simplify compounds.
Articles Tagged language
A Dozen Ways to Advance Your Copyediting Career, Part 2
Explore more ways to expand your copyediting career into the publishing field, from positions in graphic design to managing important projects.
The Descriptivism–Prescriptivism War, Part 2: The Copyeditor’s Role
Balancing descriptivism and prescriptivism is key for copyeditors. This involves knowing when to apply or discard rules to enhance clarity and communication without blindly following conventions.
The Descriptivism–Prescriptivism War, Part 1: Battlelines
A tweet from Merriam-Webster defending “mad” as “angry” sparked backlash, emphasizing the descriptivism vs. prescriptivism debate that has long fueled heated language arguments.
Allow Me to Explain
Are you using “allow” and “allow for” correctly? Discover the nuances of these phrases and avoid common pitfalls in your writing with practical examples.
Grammar Bite: To Have and to Had
For writers and editors alike, understanding the nuances of the phrase “to have” and its past participle “had” reveals deeper connections between subjects and actions.
Grammar Bite: Bored With or Bored Of?
In this grammar bite, learn how your choice of preposition to use with the word “bored” can affect the tone and formality of your written work.
Righting “More Wrong” and “Wronger”
My sons once asked me to settle their argument over whether it was correct to say “more wrong” or “wronger.” According to grammar rules, they were both right!
Genitives & Attributive Modifiers
Punctuation marks may be small, but they have a big impact! The apostrophe is no exception. Here’s how to determine when an apostrophe is needed in a phrase.
When to Stop Defining Abbreviations
Can a copyeditor choose when to stop spelling out an abbreviation? And how do you decide that it’s time?
