Using who and whom correctly is one of the great shibboleths of grammar. Using who when one should use whom is often seen as a lack of linguistic refinement. Unfortunately, the desire to be refined leads many people to stray in the opposite direction, using whom in circumstances when a simple who would suffice. This … Read more
It’s a misfortune that the apostrophe is among the most widely misused of punctuation marks. Like the comma, the apostrophe has led many writers astray – but the ‘errant apostrophe’ is more likely than a misused comma to expose you to readers’ derision. Here are some simple, and some not so simple, rules to help … Read more
Stephen King said the road to hell is paved with adverbs. It’s hard to argue with a man who’s sold more than 350 million books, and countless writing teachers and bloggers have dutifully reiterated his advice – many more vehemently than Mr King himself. But the adverb is one of the essential tools of effective … Read more
A cliché is, by most definitions, a bad thing. The OED calls it a hackneyed phrase or opinion. Merriam-Webster describes it as something that is no longer original, interesting or effective. The Macquarie dictionary calls it ‘a trite, stereotyped expression’. Prohibitions on using clichés are staples of most style guides. And yet clichés can play … Read more