Grammar

Can you tell the difference between pore vs. pour vs. poor? Pore, pour and poor are three different words in the English language that sound similar to each other. They are homophones, which means that they sound alike but have different meanings.   Understanding the difference between these words will help you spell them correctly, make […]

Who vs. Whom: What’s the Difference?  As a proofreader and editor, I often see who and whom being used incorrectly. However, there is an easy way for you to learn when to use who and when to use whom so that you can avoid making this common mistake.  Who is a subject pronoun. Whom is

Do you know what the difference is between weather and whether? Have you ever even heard of the word wether? Weather, whether, and wether are three homophones that sound very similar but are not spelled the same and have very different meanings.  So how do you use weather vs. whether vs. wether correctly in grammar?

Guess what? This professional proofreader has her own grammar demons … If vs. whether always trips me up! And I know I’m not the only one who falls prey to these easily confused words! Sometimes whether and if are interchangeable, but not all the time. To avoid making a mistake, you can follow one simple

Licence vs. license? Is it just a spelling mistake or are they variants of the same word? Let’s get straight to the point: In British English (and other non-American English dialects), use licence as a noun and license as a verb.  In American English, use license as both a noun and a verb.  Licence vs.

Practice vs. practise is another commonly confused word pair that ends in “ice” and “ise.” They’re examples of homophones because they sound alike and only have one letter in the difference.  This word pair is particularly confusing because these words are used differently in American English vs. British English.  Keep reading to learn how to

Advice vs. advise is a commonly confused word pair that a lot of people get mixed up. They sound alike and only have one letter in the difference.  They are actually from two different parts of speech! One is a verb and the other is a noun. So how can you tell the difference between

English is a tricky language because it’s full of words that sound the same or similar but have totally different meanings. One example of this is accept vs. except.  These kinds of words are known as homophones because they have a similar pronunciation, but they have different spellings and meanings. There are hundreds of homophones

It can be easy to confuse adverse vs. averse because they sound very similar. They are etymologically related, but they have different meanings.  Keep reading to the end of this blog post to take the mini quiz and cement what you learn.  Meaning of Adverse Adverse is an adjective that means hostile, harmful, or opposed

Whether to use lay vs. lie is one of the most confusing decisions in the English language. They have similar meanings—someone or something is in a horizontal position—but choosing which one to use depends on whether there’s a direct object or not. Keep reading to find out what the difference between lay and lie is,

One grammar conundrum that always trips me up is comprised of vs. composed of. That’s right; even proofreaders have trouble with some grammar concepts.  One reason I’ve written this series of grammar and punctuation posts is to refresh my own memory of the rules so that I can offer a high-quality service. I also want

How do you know when to use further vs. farther when they essentially mean the same thing?  Further and farther are two commonly confused words, but there is a subtle difference that will help you decide which one to use.  Keep reading to the end of this blog post to take the mini quiz and

Have you ever wondered if there is a difference between different from and different than? What about different to?  It can be very confusing trying to decide which preposition to use with different. Keep reading to find out how to determine which one to use, and stick around for the mini quiz at the end

Two words that are often easily confused are bring vs. take. Are bring and take interchangeable? In written English, no. There is a distinct difference. Keep reading to find out how to avoid the incorrect use of bring and take. Stick around for the mini quiz at the end of this blog post to test

The longer I work as a proofreader, the more grammar myths I see getting busted out of the water. One of the myths that I realized I was blindly following when I started out was when to use between vs. among. The rule is not as strict as I had thought it was! I explain

One often debated grammar conundrum is whether home in or hone in is correct. The answer, surprisingly, is both, but using hone in will often cause raised eyebrows. Keep reading to find out why. Stick around for the mini quiz at the end of this blog post to test your knowledge! What Does Home In

One of the most often confused grammar conundrums is when to use Me vs. I in a sentence.  It was drilled into many of us at a young age to always say “John and I” and not “John and me” (for example) when talking about an activity you did with another person. It was thought

I have no problem admitting that when I first became a proofreader, I didn’t know there was a difference between less vs. fewer. You don’t know what you don’t know! That’s why I always advocate that aspiring proofreaders spend time reading proofreading books and blogs and invest in grammar training.  So what is the difference

Want to know what one of my biggest pet peeves as a proofreader is? That vs. which! I can’t read anything without seeing which being used incorrectly!  So why do people get them mixed up so often? How do you know when to use which instead of that?  I cover the rules below and provide