Anonymous asks, what is the difference between "breach" and "breech"?

( With examples from Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and Stargate. )

west_side asks, "How do you eliminate and replace extraneous adverbs?"

First of all, what's an adverb? An adverb is at its root a word that describes or modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb. In any sentence, an adverb answers the questions how, when, where or to what degree something is happening. If you're not clear on what exactly an adverb is ( Read more... )

This week, we're taking a look at the differences between Two, Too, and To. green_grrl knocked out this topic back in 2008, and there's not much more to be said, so we'll just do a quick refresher.( Read more... )

Question: mirror_mirrin asks, What style options are there for sentences which repeat the same word (e.g., "the," "a," "that")? (ex. John leaned over the table at the mess hall to give Rodney a kiss goodbye before leaving for the war games planned on the Athosian mainland.)

There's not really anything wrong with repeating little words in a sentence, but there' ( Read more... )

( Read more... )

What is the correct usage of the different "lack of" and "abundance" synonyms?If you've been reading this comm for a while, you probably know by now that English is a language that has lots of words that mean the same thing. It can be hard to get the precise meanings of different synonyms right. In this post, we'll look at the group of words that ( Read more... )

My college grammar teacher brought to class one day a long, thin piece of paper with a mysterious, incomprehensible phrase printed on it. He quietly tacked it up above the chalkboard, then went about the business of the class. Two days later, he brought in another slip of paper with another seemingly meaningless phrase and tacked it up. By the ( Read more... )

Question: Why is it spelled 'per se'?

It's spelled that way because it's a phrase that comes from Latin. ( With examples from Harry Potter. )

The Deluxe Transitive Vampire: A Handbook of Grammar for the Innocent, the Eager and the Doomed, by Karen Elizabeth Gordon.
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Why It's Useful:
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Anonymous asks, "What is the difference between 'to wonder' and 'to wander'?"

The basic difference that you have to remember is that "wondering" is about thought processes, and "wandering" is about distance. But there are some caveats to that, so read on!

( wonder vs. wander, with examples from Harry Potter. )