Non-Errors in the English Language (Part 1)

Split Infinitives and Ending Sentences with a Preposition

boldvil

There is no denying that we all have our pet peeves when it comes to the English language. There are certain words, phrases, and usages that we simply cannot stand. Sometimes, these pet peeves are valid – when the “mistakes” are really incorrect. There are many instances, however, when certain usages may actually be correct, contrary to popular opinion. These things are what we call “non-errors” – in spite of what many people may say, they are grammatically sound. In this post – and the next few posts – I am going to take a look at some of these [Read more…]

Startups, start-ups & other sticky situations

hyphen

I love when a situation arises that forces me to question my own judgment and knowledge. Perhaps I’m still gun-shy from the other day’s ‘Til v. Till debacle but I love when a grammar rule or convention trips me up. This happened recently while I was copyediting for a technology client. The original copy had the word “startup” (as in, a new business) spelled both with and without a hyphen. I’m a stickler for consistency. Spell something wrong, and people may not know it – as long as you’re consistent in that misspelling. I changed them all to the hyphenated [Read more…]

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