Related Articles

• Facts About Phrasal Verbs

  2574 readersA phrasal verb consists of a verb and a preposition, a verb and an adverb, or a verb, an adverb, and a preposition -- the verb’s partners are collectively known as particles -- that combine to produce a figure of speech. Original Post: Facts About Phrasal Verbs Your eBook: Click here to download the Basic English

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  Phrasal Verbs

  2683 readersA phrasal verb is one that’s followed by an adverb or a preposition, and together they behave as a semantic unit. (The adverb or preposition following the verb is called a particle.) A phrasal verb functions the same way as a simple verb, but its meaning is idiomatic. Your eBook: Click here to download the Basic

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  Non-Errors in the English Language (Part 1) – Split Infinitives and Ending Sentences with a Preposition

  2215 readersThere 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,

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  In Defense of Adverbs

  2406 readersEarlier this week, I discussed verbs in our “Parts of Speech” discussion. Verbs create the “meat” of our writing. In fiction, they move the plot forward. In articles and speechwriting, they tell the story. They’re the “do-ers.” If the adage “90 percent of the work is done by 10 percent of the people,” pertained to words,

• Put Adverbs in Their Place

  5113 readersWhen, how, or why something is done is expressed by an adverb, whose primary function is signaled by its name: Adverbs modify verbs (and sometimes other parts of speech — more on that later). They appear more or less in proximity to the verb they modify, but their syntactical location can vary for diverse reasons. An

• Bad vs. Badly

  6889 readersI don’t want to make you feel bad, but because so many writers handle this issue badly, I’m going to discuss the use of bad and badly. Let’s start with badly, which is an adverb. Roughly speaking, an adverb describes how something is done: “She handled the news badly.” Bad, on the other hand, is most

• The Ins and Outs of “High” and “Low”

  5761 readersHigh and low are such versatile terms that several hundred compound words employ one or the other — and one idiomatic adverb consists of both: “high and low,” a synonym for “everywhere.” (“I’ve looked high and low for my new shoes.”) They usually come first in compounds (“high chair,” “low blow”), but sometimes they trail another

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  Conde Nast Lowers Price of Wired iPad App

  5730 readersPadGadget repots that Conde Nast has already lowered the price for its Wired iPad app. The price for the June and July issues in $3.99. Another move by Conde Nast was to drop the price of the current issue compared to last month. The July issue is a d...

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  Using Strong Verbs for Strong Writing

  3162 readersGuest post by Jose M. Blanco The Problem Some of our writing becomes weak when we use verbs like "to be" and "to have." These verbs add little to our prose; instead, they inflate our writing and make us sound verbose. Add power to your writing by u...

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  Let’s Get to the Action: Verbs

  2578 readersThis post is the second in my series on “parts of speech.” Workshop teachers often instruct aspiring fiction writers to begin their stories: “in media reas” (in the middle of the action). Without verbs, a story would have no action. How dull would that be? Verbs – Verbs are action words. Nouns can “do” verbs. Dogs bark. Writers have