Category: Daily Fix

Grammar Bomb: Affect VS Effect

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Studying affects test results; the effect is usually better grades.

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Affect [THINK: Action word (A)]
Effect [THINK: End-result (E)]

 

“The verb affect means “to act on; produce an effect or change in.” …It can also mean “to impress the mind or move the feelings of…”

“Effect is most commonly used as a noun meaning “result” or “consequence…” …It can be used as a verb to mean “make happen,” but that use is less common.”

[read more about it on blog.dictionary.com]

Grammar Bomb: Homograph, Homonym, VS Homophone

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Have you read a good book that was a good read—or opened a grate with a great tool?

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Homographs [THINK: Graph—Looks alike]
Homophones [THINK: Phone—Sounds alike]
Homonyms [THINK: both graph & phone]

 

HOMONYMS

Both homographs and homophones

“Homonyms are words spelled or pronounced alike but different in meaning….”

HOMOGRAPHS

Read, read | stalk, stalk | page, page

“Homographs are words that are spelled alike, but have different meanings and sometimes different pronunciations….”

HOMOPHONES

Grate, great | weight, wait | gilt, guilt

“Homophones are words that are pronounced the same but are different in spelling and meaning….”

[read more about it on blog.dictionary.com]

Grammar Bomb: Torturous VS Tortuous

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The English language is full of tortuous twists that can be torturous pain on the strongest mind.

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Tortuous [THINK: circuitous (uous)]
Torturous [THINK: torture]

 

“…tortuous, defined as “full of twists, turns, or bends.”…can also mean “not direct or straightforward, as in procedure or speech,” or “deceitfully indirect or morally crooked.”…

…torturous, which means “pertaining to, involving, or causing torture or suffering.””

[read more about it on blog.dictionary.com]

Follow Me, True Reader

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Daily fix to use IMG_5088
[image found on Google, not property of EditingAddict.com]

 

“This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It’s like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety.

Now listen.

I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings.

It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony.

I use short sentences.

And I use sentences of medium length.

And sometimes, when I am certain the reader is rested, I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a sentence that burns with energy and builds with all the impetus of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of the cymbals—sounds that say listen to this, it is important.”

— Gary Provost

 

Updated: Grammar Suppliers Page — Tools for Authors & Writers

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GRAMMAR SUPPLIERS

STYLE GUIDES

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GRAMMAR REFRESHERS:
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GRAMMAR BOOKS

GRAMMAR CHECKERS

GRAMMAR & SPELLING:
WRITING COMPREHENSIVE:

GRAMMAR HELP & CHEERLEADERS

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CREATIVE WRITING:
MINDMAPPING:

GRAMMAR WORD-FIND

DICTIONARIES & THESAURUSES:
SEARCHES & RESEARCH:

GENRE-SPECIFIC INTERESTS

ALL BOOKS:
BIOGRAPHY:
FICTION:
MAGAZINES (Online):
POETRY:
SONG:

PUBLISHING & MARKETING AIDS

EXPANDING YOUR AUDIENCE:
PROPOSALS & QUERIES:
PUBLISHERS:
WRITER TRAINING:

WRITING GROUPS & TEAMS

 

Grammar Bomb: It’s VS Its

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It’s a difficult thing to ponder—unless you ponder its difficulty.

#GrammarBombEA

 

Its [THINK: yours (no apostrophe)]
It’s [THINK: what’s (apostrophe)]

 

“Its is the possessive form of it…many possessive forms have an apostrophe…but the possessive its is a pronoun, and, like other possessive pronouns (his, hers, yours, and theirs), is written without that particular bit of punctuation…

It’s is a contraction of the words it and is, just as what’s, how’s, and she’s are contractions of what is, how is, and she is….”

[read more about it on blog.dictionary.com]