A new quiz (No. 78) is up. The questions include a hodgepodge of usage issues, and I’ve experimented with question… Read more »
Posts By: Pam Nelson
A new quiz lies waiting for you
I have a new Grammar Guide quiz (No. 77). This one is all about the tricky verbs lay and lie…. Read more »
Language debate and sensible advice
Anne Curzan at Lingua Franca has a spot-on blog post about the descriptive-prescriptive debate. Her post is pegged to a Wall… Read more »
Just a little guidance: 10 years of blogging about grammar, usage, and copy editing
“But I’m just a soul whose intentions are good. Oh, lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood.” —Nina Simone* Facebook… Read more »
Tweets and teases need a second look (new Grammar Guide quiz)
I have a new Grammar Guide quiz (No. 76) for you to try. This one uses images of online tweets and… Read more »
How knowing grammar can help copy editors
This headline in my community newspaper made me think twice: Growing area not in DOT plan. Nothing is wrong in… Read more »
Check out the new Grammar Guide quiz
I’ve posted a new quiz (No. 75) that has six multiple-choice questions and four fill-in-the-blank questions with images. All have… Read more »
Keep an eye out for “double-take words”
A former colleague who writes for a newspaper recently posted on Facebook about a reader’s harsh voice mail message pointing out a typo in… Read more »
We have standards and we enforce them
Being a copy editor is like working for the Standards and Practices department of a broadcast network. We know the… Read more »
You don’t know what you don’t know
Copy editors learn early that, despite diligence and best intentions, writers sometimes get facts wrong. The writers don’t mean to, but they do slip… Read more »