Love the way you lie

Find out the difference between lie and lay – and use our handy chart to make sure you never use the wrong verb form.

Writing tipsIndia LopezJuly 4, 2016Lie or lay?, Past participle, Present participle, Past tense, Grammar, By IndiaComment

Dangle all the way

Dangling modifiers can have disastrous (and comical) results. Here's how to avoid them.

I love you, you love me

I or me? Here's the definitive word on subject and object pronouns, with cameos from The Bachelor NZ and a big purple dinosaur.

Writing tipsIndia LopezJune 20, 2016Me or I?, Pronouns, Parts of speech, Subjects and objects, GrammarComment

We are not bemused

What do "bemused" and "nonplussed" actually mean? We answer that question – and then tell you why you should never use them.

Writing tipsIndia LopezJune 13, 2016Bemused, Nonplussed, Word meanings, Grammar, By IndiaComment

Round, round, get around, I get a … square?

What's the difference between square and round brackets? This week, we answer a grammar question from one of our readers.

Writing tipsIndia LopezJune 6, 2016Brackets, Square brackets, Round brackets, Parentheses, Grammar, By IndiaComment

Beneath the red squiggle

What does an editor do that spellcheck can't? This week, we put grammar to one side and focus on the big picture.

How can we help?Daisy ColesMay 30, 2016By Daisy, Editing process, What an editor doesComment

A few home truths

Is it "hone in on" or "home in on"? In this week's grammar blog, we learn how to remember the difference.

Writing tipsIndia LopezMay 23, 2016By India, Grammar, Spelling, Home or hone?, Home in onComment

Naughty, naughty parallelism

We talk about how to avoid bad parallelism in lists and sentences, especially when using those tricky correlative conjunctions.

Writing tipsIndia LopezMay 16, 2016By India, Grammar, Parallelism, ListsComment

Led astray

The past tense of "lead" is "led". It's a simple word, so why do so many people spell it wrong?

Writing tipsIndia LopezMay 9, 2016Spelling, By India, Grammar, Led or lead?, LedComment

Quote, unquote

What's the difference between single and double quotation marks? Here's a hint: much less than people think.

Badly Hyphenated Word

This week, how to use hyphens – and why you usually shouldn't put a hyphen after the letters "ly".

Three little words

Is "as well as" just a fancy way of saying "and"? In this week's grammar blog, find out why these three words are more complicated than they seem.

Writing tipsIndia LopezApril 18, 2016Grammar, By India, As well asComment

Omission accomplished

Do you know how to use apostrophes correctly? Take our refresher course this week, and find out which way apostrophes should face. (Hint: It's not what your computer thinks.)

Writing tipsIndia LopezApril 11, 2016Punctuation, Apostrophes, By India, Grammar Comment

Would that it were so simple

Was or were? In this week's grammar post, we discuss the difference between the past subjunctive and the past indicative.

Writing tipsIndia LopezApril 4, 2016Grammar, Parts of speech, Subjunctive mood, By IndiaComment

Comma police, arrest this girl

Comma splices are a common grammar mistake. This week, we learn how to avoid them, and discuss main clauses, subordinate clauses, compound sentences and run-on sentences along the way.

Writing tipsIndia LopezMarch 28, 2016By India, Grammar, Punctuation, Commas, Comma splices, Parts of speechComment

Gotta dash!

What's the difference between a hyphen, an en dash and an em dash? Find out in this week's grammar blog.

Writing tipsIndia LopezMarch 21, 2016Hyphens, Dashes, Punctuation, Grammar, By India, En dashes, Em dashesComment

Please allow me to introduce “myself”

Me or myself? In this week's grammar blog, we talk about reflexive pronouns and when to use them.

Writing tipsIndia LopezMarch 9, 2016By India, Pronouns, Reflexive pronouns, Grammar, Parts of speech, Myself, Me or myself?Comment