Properly using the word “only” in a sentence may be a matter of diction, not formality. Here are our feelings about the correct use of the word “only.”… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: sentence
How And When To Start A Sentence With A Conjunction
Question: In fiction, is it okay to begin a sentence with a coordinating conjunction (and, but, yet)? Answer: Not according to many high school English teachers. The long-enduring rule has been that using a coordinating conjunction to begin a sentence implies a preceding clause to which the sentence should be connected, leaving an incomplete sentence… Continue Reading
Verbal Gobbledygook: Editing Extra Words Out Of Your Writing
How to find and delete extra words in your sentences, to write tighter prose, and to line edit your own writing. Watch for wordiness and bad sentence structure to write better.… Continue Reading
Pronouns and Antecedents
Making pronouns and antecedents match up in your sentences can be difficult, especially when you’re working with tricky words and phrases. Here’s a hard-and-fast rule of writing—pronouns and their antecedents must agree in three ways: gender, number, and person. Failure to do so will result in teeth gnashing and hair pulling. A pronoun (he, she, it)… Continue Reading
Odds ‘N’ Ends: Mantel, Lose, And More
Mantel or Mantle? Lose or Loose? For example…i.e. or e.g.? Hopefully (adverb)… Continue Reading
