Tag Archives: grammar

Affect versus effect: which is which?

Posted on January 26, 2013 by Katherine Wikoff

In commenting on the dash–hyphen post a couple days ago (and that’s an en dash between the words “dash” and “hyphen” 🙂 ), Kathleen suggested that I write a post about “affect” and “effect.”  Great idea!  Using “affect” and “effect” correctly … Continue reading →

Posted in Grammar, punctuation, usage, mechanics | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

What’s the difference between grammar, punctuation, and mechanics?

Posted on October 18, 2012 by Katherine Wikoff

The title of today’s post is actually one of my blog’s categories, shown at the lower right-hand side of the screen.  Someone was wondering about the difference, so I thought I’d explain.  What follows here is not dictionary-type definitions, but rather my own … Continue reading →

Posted in Grammar, punctuation, usage, mechanics, WPLongform (posts of 1000 words or longer), Writing, blogging | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 77 Comments

“It’s” versus “its” and “who’s” versus “whose”

Posted on September 26, 2012 by Katherine Wikoff

These are some tricky ones, and even people who kinda-sorta know them will still call me up to ask which spelling to use in a particular sentence.  (Which, in fact, someone did just the other day.) The way most people remember … Continue reading →

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“May” versus “Might”

Posted on August 31, 2012 by Katherine Wikoff

There is a difference between “may” and “might.”  I don’t think the distinction is taught in school, and because neither is the kind of word that would call attention to itself when used incorrectly in conversation, it’s not usually a … Continue reading →

Posted in Grammar, punctuation, usage, mechanics | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments