Question: When writing in present tense, should events taking place in the past be written in past tense or past perfect tense? (ex: Victor remembers his first days in Paris (present tense). The first thing he did after unpacking was call home (past tense), just as his mother had urged him to do (past perfect) before he got onto the plane (past ( Read more... )

This week, we’re going to answer the following question: “What are the differences in usage between "bring" and "take"? Are there regional and/or national differences?”. Tricky, isn’t it? Well, not anymore, since we’re about to solve the mystery surrounding “bring” and “take”, with help from the characters of "How I Met Your Mother"!

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In today’s Say What? article, we’ll find out more about the phrases Brevity is the soul of wit and It goes without saying, with examples from Doctor Who.

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Are story and storey different? Yes and no; in most cases, it depends on what story means in a particular context. Find out more about these two words and what makes them different, as well as when and how to use them, with the help of some examples from Once Upon a Time, Charlaine Harris’s The Southern Vampire Series (Dead Until Dark) and Charles ( Read more... )

Today’s “Say What?” article focuses on the following phrases: “An elephant never forgets” and “A friend in need is a friend indeed”. Let’s find out more about them!

Examples include, among others, bits from Disney's The Jungle Book, Everyman, and Placebo's Pure Morning.

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Have you ever wondered why we capitalize “I” I’ll be honest and say I haven’t. At least not during the last … 10 years. It’s become such a habit to write "I" without giving it a second thought. Yes, it does seem wrong when I don’t see "I" capitalized, but I never stop to think about the reason why not capitalizing it is actually considered wrong.

So ( Read more... )

What is the difference between 'advisor' and 'adviser'?

Today we're answering this question! Find out when and where 'advisor' is used, as well as how it's different from 'adviser'. Fandom example was taken from Confessions of a Shopaholic.

( adviser versus advisor )

Here is another "Foul-mouth Friday" article! Unfortunately, it doesn't have as many fandom examples as I would have liked, since my internet was on and off, but I hope it's still ok for everyone. Read to find out how you can curse in British English, Chinese, Spanish or Dutch!

English examples are from books The Southern Vampire Msyteries, ( Read more... )

Can "further" and "furthermore" be used interchangeably?

( with examples from Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns )