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Verbing: turning nouns into verbs
Many new verbs are created from adding endings to nouns When we add endings to nouns to turn them into verbs, it’s known as ‘verbing’, ‘verbification’, ‘denomilisation’ or ‘verbifying’ – ugly words to describe a common process! For example: She eyed an opportunity.He tabled a proposal.She authored a book.They accessed a lift.You can friend and […]
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Verbing: turning nouns into verbs
Many new verbs are created from adding endings to nouns When we add endings to nouns to turn them into verbs, it’s known as ‘verbing’, ‘verbification’, ‘denomilisation’ or ‘verbifying’ – ugly words to describe a common process! For example: She eyed an opportunity.He tabled a proposal.She authored a book.They accessed a lift.You can friend and […]
A quirky US rule about quotation marks
In US English, full stops go inside quotation marks Use of quotation marks We use quotation marks to indicate: Written or spoken speech ‘You’re looking well,’ she said. Titles of reports, articles and poems I read an article ‘Where Boards Fall Short’ in the Harvard Business Review. Words we wish to emphasise Did you know that […]
What happens when we overload sentences
Overloaded sentences are difficult to read Length is often blamed for sentences going awry, but the problem is more complex than that because a long sentence sometimes works. Take Mark Twain’s beautiful example: ‘At times he may indulge himself with a long one [sentence], but he will make sure there are no folds in it, […]
Is the subjunctive dying?
‘If I were a rich man…’ The words ‘If I were a rich man…’ are from a song in the musical, Fiddler on the Roof. Many people believe the subjunctive is dying. Somerset Maugham says in A Writer’s Notebook (1949): ‘The subjunctive mood is in its death throes, and the best thing to do is put it out […]
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A quirky US rule about quotation marks
In US English, full stops go inside quotation marks Use of quotation marks We use quotation marks to indicate: Written or spoken speech ‘You’re looking well,’ she said. Titles of reports, articles and poems I read an article ‘Where Boards Fall Short’ in the Harvard Business Review. Words we wish to emphasise Did you know that […]
What happens when we overload sentences
Overloaded sentences are difficult to read Length is often blamed for sentences going awry, but the problem is more complex than that because a long sentence sometimes works. Take Mark Twain’s beautiful example: ‘At times he may indulge himself with a long one [sentence], but he will make sure there are no folds in it, […]
Is the subjunctive dying?
‘If I were a rich man…’ The words ‘If I were a rich man…’ are from a song in the musical, Fiddler on the Roof. Many people believe the subjunctive is dying. Somerset Maugham says in A Writer’s Notebook (1949): ‘The subjunctive mood is in its death throes, and the best thing to do is put it out […]
Adding extra information in sentences
Does adding extra information in the middle of a sentence work? Why do we find it hard to resist adding extra information in the middle of a sentence? Does it add colour? Is it something we really want the reader to know? Sometimes adding extra information is effective. Take the following two examples. But if […]
Delete clutter from your writing
Deleting clutter from your writing improves readability Short sentences are easier to read than long, complex sentences. Readability tests prove this. As is usually the case with English, there are exceptions to this rule, and long sentences can work well. As Joseph M. Williams says in Style: Toward Clarity and Grace: ‘Every competent writer has to […]