As a copy editor and writing coach who has fixed 10,000+ sentences over 12 years, here’s the quick take: say “simpler” most of the time. “More simple” is fine for emphasis or rhythm. Yes, both work. The whole “simpler or more simple” debate lives inside basic comparative adjectives, grammar rules, and plain English. And no,…
As a language coach and editor who’s profiled 300+ people over the last decade, here’s the fast answer: if you’re hunting for y words to describe someone personality, you’ll use simple y adjectives like youthful, yielding, yappy, and yeasty to nail clear personality traits. In my experience, these positive and negative descriptors make writing profiles…
As a grammar coach who’s marked up thousands of drafts over 12+ years, here’s the no-drama answer you want: the past tense of “swing” is “swung.” If you’re wondering about “swinged or swung,” pick “swung.” It’s an irregular verb. The past participle is also “swung.” Easy. Breathe. Quick answer, since you’re busy If you write…
As a language nerd who’s argued about the plural of rhinoceros for 12 years, here’s the quick take: the standard is “rhinoceroses,” the unchanged “rhinoceros” is also accepted in modern usage, and “rhinoceri” is a fake-Latin crowd-pleaser that raises my blood pressure. Irregular plural, Latin vs. Greek roots, and basic grammar collide here. Fun, right?…
The quick answer, from a tired editor who fixes this daily As a copy editor and English coach who’s corrected thousands of essays over 12+ years, here’s the blunt truth: it’s “written,” not “writen.” If you’re searching “written or writen,” you’re dealing with the past participle of write, an irregular verb, and a super common…
As a copy editor who has cleaned up 3,000+ typos in the last decade, here’s the quick take you actually want on forest vs forrest: one “r” is the real pile of trees (common noun), two “r”s is usually a person’s name (proper noun). That’s it. Spelling difference. Common misspelling. English usage. And yes, I’ve…
As a copy editor-turned-blogger who’s cleaned up 2,000+ typos over the last decade, here’s the quick answer you want: for the question “hardwork one or two words,” it’s two words as a noun—“hard work”—and one word as an adjective—“hardworking.” I’ve tested this in résumés, brand guidelines, and yes, embarrassing email signatures. LSI bits for folks…
Let me say the quiet part loud: the whole “dreceive vs recieve” thing isn’t a duel of titans. It’s a duel of typos. I’ve been in the trenches of spelling, grammar, and general orthography chaos for over a decade, and I still watch people (and yes, me on a sleepy Monday) trip over receive. In…
If you’ve ever watched a fourth grader write “b/c” instead of “because,” welcome to my circus. I’ve spent more than a decade teaching kids (and a few adults who should know better) how to shorten words without turning their writing into alphabet soup. Today I’m talking about elementary abbreviation—yes, that exact phrase—because people keep asking…
I used to trip over the phrase “community’s or communities” like it was a Lego on the living room floor. In my experience, even smart folks pause before hitting send on a post or email. Is it the plural of community? Or the possessive with an apostrophe? I’ve seen it butchered in newsletters, Slack threads,…
