Sometimes an apostrophe shows association rather than possession: a week's pay, Christchurch Girls' High School. Strange to say, in such cases, you always need an apostrophe when the associated word is singular (a summer's day), but an apostrophe is optional...
Blog: Content writing and content strategy insights
Posts tagged "grammar"
Writing tip: Don't use quote marks to highlight common words
Sometimes writers use quote marks to distance themselves from a word or phrase. They're treating the words as a virtual quote, as if they were saying, 'It's not really me using this phrase: I'm just quoting what other people say.'...
Writing tip: Use strong verbs—not just 'is' and 'was'
In English, verbs are the go-go-go words, the wake-up words. There's no action without a strong verb, an action verb, a doing verb. Strong verbs make things happen. By contrast, the various forms of the verb to be produce no...
Fatal-free adjective: plain wrong or new and shiny?
When I comment on a surprising phrase, I'm usually more interested than judgemental. Was this a deliberately coined new expression? (Unlikely.) Was it a mistake? (Probably.) Either way, will it become popular? This morning I was watching the 7 AM...
Writing tip: Single or double quote marks?
Should you use 'single quote marks' or "double quote marks"? The British use either single or double quote marks. In the US, double quotes are more common. In other countries, both types are common. In other words, both are correct....