“If I was drunk” vs. “If I were drunk”
When is a plural verb not a plural verb? When it's the subjunctive form. Compare these sentences. "If I was drunk at the time I made the offer, then it…
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January 25, 2012
The Hopper Guy has an MFA in Creative Writing and has written and published poems, nonfiction, and fiction. Click the dropdown menu above to see specific genres.
When is a consonant not a consonant?
When is a consonant not a consonant? Answer: When it's a word. The word for the letter "N" for example is "en." Thus, you get a National Institutes of Health…
January 12, 2012
I can do more than spell check better than a computer.
The other day I helped an author be clear about what findings she could and could not report in the first of two articles she hopes to publish about one…
January 9, 2012
Spell check fail of the day (or why you need a human editor)
One typo I consistently type results in two words that are spelled correctly: "doe snot." Does it convey what I intended? does not
January 4, 2012
Spell check fail of the day
Spell check fail of the day: "urinary track." The right word is "tract," but I like the idea that one could pursue scatology as a career path.
December 7, 2011
More about italics
Underlining used to be the way to indicate to a printer that a word should be set in italicized type. With the advent of word processing, it became easier to…
December 1, 2011
Could you see the italics in the previous entry?
Could you see the italics in the previous entry? Oh, good. Not because I worry about my computer, but because I want to explain why I used them. When you…
November 29, 2011
Why data are plural
Luckily, I studied Latin. Datum is the Latin word for fact. The plural is data. English makes nouns plural by adding "s." Latin adds an "a." This is why editors…
November 28, 2011
Editing As Medicine
I came up with the metaphor for the nurse authors for whom I edit that words to me are like drugs. I know what combinations are helpful and which are…
November 22, 2011
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