Month: August 2016

The Difference Between Simple and Easy

Simple versus Easy
Is it simple, or is it easy? Let’s put it this way, there are a lot of things that are simple, but aren’t in the least bit easy, and there are other differences too. Let’s start with that first one. You want to write a book. It’s simple, isn’t it? All you need to do is sit down in front of the computer and type. But is that easy?

The day you decide to begin writing, your kids decide to invite all their friends over resulting in a houseful of chaos. The six hours of quiet time you planned for writing never materializes. On the second day, you set aside the time but also come down with a case of writer’s block. The knowledge of what you need to do is simple to understand, but actually doing it isn’t as easy as you imagined.

You decide you’d like to become a rock star. It’s simple. All you have to do is learn to play guitar really well, write a good song, and capture the attention of a powerful person in the music business. Is it easy? Probably not. Learning to play the guitar will take years of practice, you’ve got a tin ear, and as for the song and the high-powered producer, even once you learn to play, neither of those goals is easy.

You want to live forever. It’s simple! All you have to do is avoid dying. Oh dear! That’s impossible! Douglas Adams said that flying is as simple as falling and not hitting the ground. How I wish it was easy to do that! Despite numerous attempts, I still haven’t gotten it right.

Yes, there are a lot of things that are simple but aren’t easy. There are even simple things that are absolutely impossible.

Living the Simple Life vs Living an Easy Life

Easy living and simple living are two different things. Living a simple life means having few material things, doing things the natural way, and avoiding complications like debts. Easy living, on the other hand, is usually associated with having all the luxuries that money can buy! What’s more, the simple life is hard work, but the easy life means avoiding hard work at all costs.

Being Simple and Being Easy

Saying that someone is a bit simple means that they’re actually a little stupid. As for saying someone is easy, there are various interpretations, one of them being that they’re laid-back and relaxed, while the other is far less complimentary, but as you can see, being easy is definitely not the same thing as being simple.

Sometimes Simple Things Really Are Easy

Let’s get serious now. I went and hunted through online dictionaries to get all the possible meanings of these two words. I must say, a lot of the dictionary entries were disappointing because they didn’t have all the possible definitions. I soon found that simply getting a complete dictionary entry, while it should be simple, isn’t easy. Then I had an “Aha” moment and hit the Oxford English Dictionary. What an easy solution – and it was simple too!

Definitions of “Simple”

“Simple” can indeed mean that something is easy. “1 + 1 = 2 is a very simple bit of math.”

Something that is basic or fundamental is also simple. “It’s a simple truth: falling and missing the ground is impossible.”

“Simple” can also be used to show that something isn’t complicated or fancy. “She wore a simple black dress.”

In scholarly language, it could mean that a thing isn’t in a compound form. That applies to math, botany, and English grammar.

As we’ve seen, it could mean that someone is a bit dumb.

And historically, a simple was a medicinal herb.

Definitions of “Easy”

An easy thing is one that is not difficult to do. “It was easy to walk up the hill.”

An easy life is laid back and free of worry. “I want the easy life of someone who inherited a million dollars.”

It could mean that someone is free of awkwardness: “He won them over with his easy charm,” or “Her easy manner made her popular.”

Unfortunately, it can also mean that someone or something is vulnerable. “Women who walk alone at night are easy targets for criminals.”

It can even be an insult. “She has a reputation for being easy.”

Lastly, you can use “easy” as an exclamation: “Easy, Butch! Don’t bark so excitedly!”

Similar, but Not Quite the Same

There are times when “easy” and “simple” are interchangeable, but there are times when they aren’t. It all depends on context. By now, you’re an expert on the differences and similarities between “simple” and “easy.” Wasn’t that simple? It was easy too!

Is Writing an Art?

Is writing an art?
Who doesn’t want to be considered at least somewhat artistic? It’s not a great way to make money unless you’re among the few that hit the big time, but having an artistic hobby is said to be good for oneself, and we all tend to think creative people are somewhat special. Drawing, painting, sculpting, and music are generally considered to rank highly among the arts, but what about writing? Is writing an art, too?

The Making of an Art

When we think of most types of writing, art isn’t something that immediately comes to mind. An exception may be poetry, which is generally considered quite artistic. But can other forms of writing be an art?

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, art is the use of creativity, skill, and imagination to create something that’s beautiful or emotionally expressive. I contend that this definition needs to be expanded. If you dig a little deeper, you’ll see that the same dictionary says that any skill can be termed an art. Thus you have the art of salesmanship, the art of diplomacy, and even the art of making friends. Anything you’re skillful at can be considered an art, particularly if you exercise a little imagination and creativity in the process.

How to Be an Artistic Writer

Although it’s true that being a writer of legal documents is an art because you have to do some pretty deep thinking and produce watertight work, I doubt whether anyone would consider a lawyer to be an artist in the truest sense of the word. There are also those who practice the art of brevity in their writing, giving you only the bare facts. Although I appreciate this when I want to quickly get to the heart of the matter, it isn’t always appropriate, and it can be a bit boring to read.

“It was a nice day. We went to the restaurant and had a meal. Then we went home.” It’s all rather ho-hum and boring, isn’t it?

“It was a wonderful day with only a few fluffy clouds scudding across a sky so blue it defied description. We chose a charming restaurant with a courtyard shaded by trees and ate magnificent food to the sound of rustling leaves and a gurgling fountain. After lunch, we took the scenic route home along the lakeshore, rattling and bumping along on the untarred surface.”

It probably isn’t worthy of a William Wordsworth, who would no doubt have waxed considerably more poetically, I would bet that most people would find the second piece is more creative and descriptive. You should be able to form mental pictures from the words used: the lovely weather, the pleasant restaurant, and the bumpy ride home are all more clearly drawn in this word-picture.

Try These Tips

  • Create atmosphere with sensory language. What sights, smells, sensations and sounds would you like your reader to imagine?
  • Introduce an element of the unexpected. Choose words carefully, and create new words and idioms if inspiration strikes. Find new ways to say ordinary things.
  • Your first few lines are important. Use them to grab the reader’s attention.
  • Make understanding what you’re saying simple. Avoid jargon and foreign phrases unless they’re essential in context.
  • Write quickly. Edit and re-draft slowly and with care.
  • Be yourself. Trying to emulate a writing style will produce a poor copy of someone else’s work. The more original you are, the better.
  • Avoid lengthy descriptions.
  • Break rules. George Orwell’s best advice, given at the end of a list of tips to improve your writing, is you should break any and all rules when appropriate.

Any kind of writing can be an art, but creative thinking is the key. Whether you plan to immerse yourself in writing poetry, believe there’s a novel in you trying to get out, or are simply tackling an essay or a blog post, your creative thinking and skill can combine to turn it into a work of art.

Although creative fiction or poetry writing is generally considered artier than factual writing, I have read wonderfully entertaining and interesting non-fiction articles and books. What made them different? There was definitely an element of creativity in the way the information was presented. They made you want to read on and find out more. Any kind of writing can be considered an art, but real creativity is what turns writing into something special. It’s not what you have that matters, but what you do with it.

(Photo courtesy of Asja Boros)

Wrought versus Wreaked & Wreak versus Reek

wrought versus wreaked
There are a lot of people who are going to tell you “wrought” is the wrong word to use in the context of havoc, but I’m here to tell you it isn’t. Read on and be liberated! Together we’ll wreak havoc on the Grammar Nazis! To understand why I’m going against the mainstream opinion, you need to know only one thing: I have a darned good source to back me up.

To begin with, let’s look at some word meanings:

  • Wreaked: Caused
  • Wrought: Worked

Now let’s look at some sentences for the sake of context:

  • “The hurricane has caused havoc in the town”
  • “The hurricane has wreaked havoc in the town.”
  • “The hurricane has worked havoc in the town.”
  • “The hurricane has wrought havoc in the town.”

Guess what? They’re all correct. Of course, if you were using “wrought” under the impression that it was the past tense of “wreak,” you’d be wrong, but intention doesn’t show or matter in this case.

Some may say that “worked havoc” is a trifle odd, but it has also been suggested by many as a rather more modern word that could be used to replace “wreaking” which we seldom do these days.

However, there is one thing that a hurricane never, ever does:

“The hurricane wrecked havoc.”

This would imply that a remarkably tidy hurricane arrived in a crazy town that was in a state of utter chaos, and tidied everything away neatly, thereby depriving the citizens of the havoc they were enjoying so much. Truth be told, I could use a hurricane like that around my house.

Wrought vs Wreaked

I mentioned earlier I had a good source to go against the conventional wisdom of the meaning of these two words. To tell you the truth, I always thought “wrought” and “wreaked” were interchangeable, at least in the context of havoc, but my source is rather better than the encyclopedia I carry around in my own head. My authority is none other than the Oxford English Dictionary, and you don’t get a posher source than that. So next time someone thinks they’re clever and tries to tell you that “wrought” is the wrong word to use with “havoc” or “chaos,” you can tell them they’re Grammar Nazis of the worst kind. That is, they’re the kind that’s altogether adamant about being grammatically wrong, and you can refer them to the Oxford Dictionary to make your point.

Moving on, there is a word that has nothing to do with havoc, but is often mistakenly used as such.

Wreak vs Reek: The very bad smell of havoc

“The air force bombers reeked havoc on our enemies”

Do you think the military has mastered the art of creating the worst ever stink bombs? Or is it possible that our enemies smelled so strongly of havoc that our air force got a whiff of it? I didn’t even know havoc had a smell.

You could say:

“The disgusting odor of the sewers wreaked chaos among residents as they fled the dreadful miasma.”

But you could never say:

“Gosh that wreaks of ammonia!” or “The wreak of the sewers was disgusting!”

Well, I suppose you could write it if you wanted to, but it would be wrong, and everybody who reads it would know it was wrong.

Generally speaking, a bad odor “reeks” and can only “wreak” if it causes something else that is quite unpleasant to happen.

(Photo courtesy of NOAA Photo Library)

What Does ICYMI Mean? And Other Common Text Acronyms to Make You Crazy

text acronyms meanings
I’m not a lover of text acronyms. Here’s a true story. When I first began to use e-mail, people kept typing “LOL” in their responses. One day, I asked one of them what LOL actually meant, and they got back with “Laughs out loud!” I must have been feeling a bit grouchy that day because I responded: “No need to be sarcastic, pal, just TELL me!”

I kid you not. Since then, I have developed my own range of obscure text acronyms as a secret form of revenge. Try these if you like. Unless people have been writing to me, they will surely be baffled:

  • CHKL = chuckle
  • GGL = giggle
  • GFW = guffaw
  • TTR = titter
  • SNRT = snort

But we’re not here to discuss my off-the-wall, obscure text acronyms. Instead, we’ll talk about the other kind – the ones people use a whole lot.

  • AAAAA = American Association against Acronym Abuse. I’m joining! Where do I sign up?
  • B2B = business to business. There are various permutations: B2C (consumer), B2A (anyone), B2G (government)… you get the picture.
  • BF = best friend or boyfriend. Guys, be careful with this one unless you actually do have a boyfriend. If you do, that’s just fine. If you don’t… well, just saying.
  • BFF = best friends forever. Someone, please bring me a barf bag.
  • BRB = be right back. I’m always tempted to tell people who use this not to break wind in my presence without at least excusing themselves.
  • BTW = by the way. Sigh. Guilty. I use it. I hate myself, but I still use it.
  • FOMO = fear of missing out. And sadly, that’s why I try to keep up with these things. I seriously don’t want another “lol” incident!
  • FWIW = for what it’s worth. A lot like IMHO, see below.
  • FYI = for your information. Alternative interpretation: “waste of time, ignore it.”
  • GIGO = garbage in, garbage out. I think it may predate text speak, but I prefer the long form. Call me old-fashioned and see if I care.
  • ICYMI = in case you missed it. Yes. I missed it. If you had written that out in full, I wouldn’t have.
  • ILY = I love you. Please slap anyone who can’t be bothered to use the full form. Really!
  • IMO = in my opinion. At least it doesn’t even pretend to be humble.
  • IMHO = in my humble opinion, and believe me, it’s never humble. People who say “IMHO” are just plain opinionated.
  • IRL = in real life. You can just tell someone is going to say something annoyingly patronizing when they use that one.
  • MSG = message. I always thought it stood for “monosodium glutamate.” See how ignorant I am?
  • NP = no problem. Again, it’s infectious. The proper response would be LTT (Learn to type – another of my creations), but I’m afraid I’m one of the culprits.
  • OMG = oh my god. Guilty! I even say “OMG” sometimes. It’s invariably followed by a sense of self-loathing.
  • TMI = too much information. Well, if the phrase “too much information” is something you can’t get your head around, no bloody wonder.
  • TTYL = talk to you later. OMG if you are going to TTML in that tone of acronym, I’m not sure if I will handle it.
  • TX, THX or THKS = thanks. Now IMHO, if you’re going to use four of the six letters the word “thanks” consists of, you may as well LTT and include the two vowels. As for the ‘X’ let’s not even go there! #LTS = learn to spell!
  • TXT = text. I don’t think that saving one letter is worth it, but there it is.

Of course, this is just a broad sampling. Digits are (unfortunately) popular, particularly 4 (for) and 2 (to), so we have 2nite, 2day, 2morrow, 4U, B4, 4eva… the hair on the back of my neck is rising, my nails are growing longer, a deep-throated growl is rising up from my belly. Aha! H2O! A sure-fire way to cool down.

But just try telling me “ILY 4eva”, and I swear, I’ll have a hissy fit that’s second to none and go looking for someone with more poetry in their soul and the ability to spell. FWIW it’s entirely possible I’m the only one who doesn’t think these things are cute which is why I am patronizing you with this particular blog post. Then again, you’re actually reading it, so perhaps you are also mystified by text abbreviations.

You may notice that I didn’t include favorites such as “WTF,” but I dislike excessive use of asterisks almost as much as I dislike text acronyms, so most of the acronyms containing the letter F have been excluded. I will leave them up to your imagination.

(Photo courtesy of Jonas Bengtsson)

How Long Does It Take to Write a 1000 Word Essay?

How long does it take to write an essay?
Oh wow! That’s a tough question. It depends on a whole lot of things. At the same time, you shouldn’t be intimidated. 1,000 words is actually a relatively short piece. A dissertation would usually be in the region of 12,000 words, and university assignments can stretch to essays of 5,000 words. No matter what your assigned word count may be, some of the things that will influence the time it takes to write the essay include:

How long does it take to research an essay?

If you’re writing an opinion piece on something you already have some knowledge about, you may not have to do any research at all. It may just be a matter of organizing your existing thoughts into a coherent essay. If you need to find out about a topic before you begin to write, you can easily get information on certain topics, whilst others will be more obscure and therefore more difficult to research. Clearly, the easier it is to find information, the faster you can write.

How good are your reading comprehension skills?

Some of us can just skim a piece and pick up all the salient points. Others will have to read with more attention, and even re-read a piece several times to extract the information we need. Having good reading and comprehension skills makes writing much faster since you’re able to “get” the facts faster and organize them better. Now you know why you had to do so many reading comprehension tests at school.

How well did you plan?

Throwing yourself headlong at a 1,000-word essay and writing till you reach the word count may seem like the easy option, but it isn’t. Planning your essay so that it begins with an introduction, highlights the most important points you want to make and then wraps everything up into a conclusion actually saves you time. Sometimes, essay instructions will tell you how to structure the piece, so read them carefully and extract any information you can use to guide your essay’s structure.

How fast do you type?

Have you ever gotten lost halfway through a sentence? You know what you wanted to say, but halfway through, the thought slips away from you. The faster you can type, the more easily you can capture thoughts before your mind moves onto the next thing and you forget what you were trying to say. Typing skills are essential in the modern world. Consider using typing games to improve your speed.

How long does it take me to write a 1,000-word essay?

Faster isn’t always better. The more in-depth your report is meant to be, the longer you should spend on it. I can usually research and write a fairly technical magazine article of 1,000 words in three hours, but do remember that I’m a professional writer. I’m fast because I write all day, every day.

The longest I’ve ever spent on a 1,000-word article was 12 hours. It was absolutely brutal! The information I needed to gather was very technical, hard to find, and even more difficult to understand, and you can’t write something until you really understand the subject matter. I also had to contact experts for their opinions, but I couldn’t even ask about their opinions until I could target them with the right questions. As a result, I actually had to write most of the article before slotting in the expert comment.

The quickest I’ve ever written a 1,000-word article is one hour. In this case, I already knew the subject matter well and didn’t have to back up every fact in the essay with references.

Reviewing your work also matters

If you’re writing for grades and want a good one, you need a really good essay. Don’t start writing it the day before you have to hand it in. Try and get your first draft down at least a day or two before you have to submit your work. Then return to it and do your editing. Read your essay aloud to yourself, since this will help you pick up any careless errors you wouldn’t otherwise spot. Check to see if your information flows logically from one point to the next and make sure that you’ve presented your information clearly.

Remember, teachers get tired. They have to read the same kind of essay over and over again when they grade. If they struggle to understand what you’re saying, you might not get as good a grade as you would if you stuck to using short sentences and relatively simple language.

Your reviewing process shouldn’t take all that long. If you don’t have to make a lot of changes, you should be able to do your final edit in under half an hour.

Take your time. Whatever you do, don’t rush. You might want your essay to be written quickly, but if it’s an important essay, taking your time will give you a better finished product. Budget your time conservatively. It’s better to find that you’ve still got time left over than to run out of time and end up dashing things off with a looming deadline.

Below are some basic guidelines if you need a rough estimate on how long it will take to write an essay. It’s important to remember that there are a plethora of mitigating factors that can increase or decrease the time it takes to write. The below numbers are using an estimate that it takes about 3 hours 20 minutes to write a 1000 word essay:

How long does it take to write a 100 word essay?
It takes about 20 minutes to write a 100 word essay.

How long does it take to write a 200 word essay?
It takes about 40 minutes to write a 200 word essay.

How long does it take to write a 250 word essay?
It takes about 50 minutes to write a 250 word essay.

How long does it take to write a 300 word essay?
It takes about 1 hour to write a 300 word essay.

How long does it take to write a 400 word essay?
It takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes to write a 400 word essay.

How long does it take to write a 500 word essay?
It takes about 1 hour and 40 minutes to write a 500 word essay.

How long does it take to write a 600 word essay?
It takes about 2 hours to write a 600 word essay.

How long does it take to write a 700 word essay?
It takes about 2 hours and 20 minutes to write a 700 word essay.

How long does it take to write a 800 word essay?
It takes about 2 hours and 40 minutes to write a 800 word essay.

How long does it take to write a 900 word essay?
It takes about 3 hours to write a 900 word essay.

How long does it take to write a 1,000 word essay?
It takes about 3 hours and 20 minutes to write a 1,000 word essay.

How long does it take to write a 1,250 word essay?
It takes about 4 hours and 10 minutes to write a 1,250 word essay.

How long does it take to write a 1,500 word essay?
It takes about 5 hours to write a 1,500 word essay.

How long does it take to write a 1,750 word essay?
It takes about 5 hours and 50 minutes to write a 1,750 word essay.

How long does it take to write a 2,000 word essay?
It takes about 6 hours and 40 minutes to write a 2,000 word essay.

How long does it take to write a 2,500 word essay?
It takes about 8 hours and 20 minutes to write a 2,500 word essay.

How long does it take to write a 3,000 word essay?
It takes about 10 hours to write a 3,000 word essay.

How long does it take to write a 3,500 word essay?
It takes about 11 hours and 40 minutes to write a 3,500 word essay.

How long does it take to write a 4,000 word essay?
It takes about 13 hours and 20 minutes to write a 4,000 word essay.

How long does it take to write a 4,500 word essay?
It takes about 15 hours to write a 4,500 word essay.

How long does it take to write a 5,000 word essay?
It takes about 16 hours and 40 minutes to write a 5,000 word essay.

How long does it take to write a 6,000 word essay?
It takes about 20 hours to write a 6,000 word essay.

How long does it take to write a 7,000 word essay?
It takes about 23 hours and 20 minutes to write a 7,000 word essay.

How long does it take to write a 7,500 word essay?
It takes about 25 hours to write a 7,500 word essay.

How long does it take to write an 8,000 word essay?
It takes about 26 hours and 40 minutes to write an 8,000 word essay.

How long does it take to write a 9,000 word essay?
It takes about 30 hours to write a 9,000 word essay.

How long does it take to write a 10,000 word essay?
It takes about 33 hours and 20 minutes to write a 10,000 word essay.

How long does it take to write a 12,500 word essay?
It takes about 41 hours and 40 minutes to write a 12,500 word essay.

How long does it take to write a 15,000 word essay?
It takes about 50 hours to write a 15,000 word essay.

How long does it take to write a 20,000 word essay?
It takes about 66 hours and 40 minutes to write a 20,000 word essay.

How long does it take to write a 25,000 word essay?
It takes about 83 hours and 20 minutes to write a 25,000 word essay.

How long does it take to write a 50,000 word essay?
It takes about 166 hours and 40 minutes to write a 50,000 word essay.

(Image courtesy of Miguel)

“I look forward to hearing from you” vs “I am looking forward to hearing from you”

I look forward to hearing from you
Talk about opening a can of worms! I initially thought the answer to the question of the difference between “I look forward to hearing from you” and “I am looking forward to hearing from you” would be they’re interchangeable since both are absolutely correct English. A look around the Internet, however, tells me this minor difference in sentence structure causes quite a bit of controversy. Some say one is informal while the other is formal. Then there are others who say that actually, they see it the other way round and that the one that was declared “informal” is actually the one they consider “formal.”

Should This Bother You?

Probably not. Nobody is going to brand you as illiterate because you choose one of these forms over the other as they both say basically the same thing. But if we’re going to enter the formal versus informal debate, I’d side with those who say “I look forward to hearing from you” is the formal version – and that’s not just because they seem to represent a majority and therefore the winning side!

Here’s why: if you say “I am looking forward to hearing from you,” you haven’t quite got the “ball’s in your court” message across strongly enough. Somehow, it seems to me, “I look forward to hearing from you” is a tiny bit clearer about who has to say something next. The former has a slightly greater nuance pointing towards how pleasant it would be to hear from someone, while the other is sharper, and the focus seems to be on the response you’re looking forward to getting.

Of course, that’s just my opinion. Authorities seem to disagree to disagree, and actually get quite heated arguing for one or the other.

Do Apostrophes Make Everything More Friendly?

There are those who say “I am looking forward to hearing from you,” is still formal, whereas using the apostrophe to make “I am” contract into “I’m” is the informal way of expressing the hope that someone is going to get back to them.

I expect most people will be ready to agree that contractions like “I’m” are more informal than the full versions of the words. Again, I can’t argue against the reasoning behind this argument while still believing that the “I am” version places more emphasis on “looking forward.”

Getting It All Mixed-Up

Since these phrases are so similar in their meaning, some people mix up the tenses: “I am looking forward to hear from you,” is a common error. As soon as “look” gets an “ing” suffix, the next verb has to have an “ing” too. Thank goodness it does. English is confusing enough without mixing things up.

Nobody Can Quite Put a Finger on It

After browsing numerous articles, forums and other interesting places on the Internet, I came to this conclusion: most people agree that “I look forward to hearing…” is more formal and urgent than “I am looking forward to hearing…,” but none of them can quite say why.

Since there doesn’t appear to be a definite answer to this question, what’s your opinion on it? More specifically, why do you feel this way? Let us know your reasons you feel one is more formal than the other.

(Photo courtesy of Justin Henry)

Each Other’s vs Each Others’: Which Is Correct?

each other's versus each others'
Due to the fact these two-word combinations sound exactly the same with only the placement of the apostrophe being different, many people aren’t sure which of them is correct. The aim of this article is to de-fog the fogginess surrounding these two (we’ve already done so with was vs were, further away vs farther away, and onto vs on to). One of these forms is correct, and the other is just plain wrong. Would anyone care to lay bets before we continue by explaining which is which?

“Each” Refers to How Many?

To get the answer we’re looking for, we should begin by looking at the word “each.” It automatically implies that we are talking about one of the following: a single object or person, a group of things, or people that can be regarded as a unit.

To put this more clearly, you wouldn’t use a pluralized word after “each.” You may say “each animal has unique markings,” but you would never say “each animals have unique markings.” If you were to modify the sentence to “Each of the animals has unique markings,” we’re once again looking at a single animal at a time.

You could talk about “each people,” but then you would be talking about individual races, which turns the word “people” into a singular that could be pluralized as “peoples.” For example: “Each people has its own culture,” means that the French culture differs from the German culture, and so on. It would be a slightly odd way of expressing the idea, but it wouldn’t be wrong because in the example “people” is singular.

The bottom line with all of this? As soon as you see the word “each,” the word following it needs to be in its singular form.

“Other” Refers to How Many?

Because we have prefixed “other” with “each” it has to remain in the singular form. While there is a plural form for “other” which is “others,” it differs from the example of “people” since it has no alternative meaning and cannot be pluralized yet again.

Returning to that example, we could say that “people” means a whole lot of persons, or we could use it to indicate race: “The Turks are a people who love their coffee. The Turks and the Greeks are two peoples who have often been at war.” There is no such alternative meaning for “others.” It’s the plural form of “other” and that’s all there is to it.

Sticking to the Rule

The rule is that “each” will always be followed by a singular. “John and Mary promised to love each other forever. They agreed to take care of each other’s wellbeing above all else.” The apostrophe is used to indicate possession, and it comes before the s, not after it.

If we don’t prefix “other” with “each”, we can use it in the plural form. “You need to learn to respect others’ views,” but as soon as the magic “each” enters the equation, “You need to learn to respect each other’s views,” is the correct form. Don’t be confused by the word “we,” even though it does indicate more than one person: “We need to learn to respect each other’s views” is correct as long as we use the singular forms of “other” after the word “each.”

Another Example

Here are two more permutations: “We need to respect one another’s views,” and “We need to respect others’ views.”

“One another” is really just another way of saying “Each other.” But if we leave out the word that indicates a singular (“one” or “each”), we can use the apostrophe after the s because we are now talking about multiple others simultaneously.

No Need for Confusion

Just remember the simple rule about the word following “each” and you’ll never get “each other’s” wrong again. Now, to the important business at hand. Who lost the bet I invited you to make at the beginning of this piece? I accept PayPal, wire transfers, and indentured servitude as methods of payment…

What Are Reading Context Clues?

reading context clues
Sometimes, we come across words we don’t understand when we are reading a passage. You could just google the word to see what it means, but if you’re in certain situations, such as an exam room, you aren’t going to be able to do that. Besides, being able to work out what a word means all on your own is much more rewarding.

To do this, you can either look at the word itself, trying to break down the components into bits you think you understand, or you can look at context. Context is the setting in which you find the word and reading context clues are the bits of information you can pick up about an unknown word from the surrounding context. Look at the words before and after the strange word and see if you can find the context clues that will help you to understand it.

Here’s an example of context clues at work:

“As the king entered his throne room, obsequious attendants bowed before him while keeping an eye out for anything he might need. Each wanted to be the first to provide any service, real or imagined, that his highness might want.”

Let’s assume you don’t know what the word “obsequious” means. What are your clues?

  • An important person is present. In this case, a king.
  • People showed how important they thought he was. They bowed.
  • They were also very attentive. They wanted to be the first to provide any service.

Already, the meaning of the word is starting to take shape. These people are almost overly attentive to their masters’ needs. They are using exaggerated types of conduct to demonstrate how important they think their king is. Could this be the meaning of “obsequious?” Let’s go to the dictionary definition.

“Obedient or attentive to an excessive or servile degree.”

Alright, our understanding of the word wasn’t quite as succinct as that, but it’s still correct.

Oh no! Don’t you know what the word “succinct” means? Let’s look at the context. We discussed the meaning of a definition at length. Then we found the dictionary definition, and it was rather brief by comparison. Context clues are at work. What’s the definition of “succinct?” Is it something short?

“Briefly or clearly expressed”

Ta-dah! My erudition knows no limits! I am so clever that I might even call myself a genius.

Noooo! Another seldomly-used word has appeared on the scene. What is the context? You can certainly see I was pleased with my own cleverness. Clues following the word include the words “clever” and “genius.” Could I be patting myself on the back for being too clever by half? Let’s check:

“The quality of having or showing great learning; scholarship.” Yup! I was being insufferably pleased with my own smarts.

This time, I’ve left very few clues. However, I have just bragged like crazy. I’ve also been pleased with myself, and I think I have “smarts.” How do we normally feel about people who are ridiculously self-satisfied? It’s irritating, isn’t it? Let’s check.

“Not to be endured, intolerable, unbearable”

That was pretty close, wasn’t it?

Check Words Both Before and After to Get Context

What ideas led up to the unfamiliar word? What ideas followed it? It’s just like being a crime-scene investigator. Just looking at what’s happening before the word may not give you the full context, and the same thing goes for just looking at the words that follow it. Sometimes, the clues happen before the fact. Sometimes they appear after the fact, and sometimes, they’ll be in both places.

A Little Knowledge Is a Dangerous Thing

There’s just one problem with playing detective using context clues. You could be wrong. It’s also possible to be almost right without quite being wrong, but unfortunately “almost right” isn’t always good enough.

Although context clues can be extremely helpful when confronting an unusual word in a situation where you can’t check a dictionary or search online, you should make a note of the new word and check it later to see if you understood it correctly. If your context clues helped you get it right, you’re going to feel good. If you almost got it right, you’ll be reasonably pleased, and if you got it all wrong (an unlikely scenario, but a possible one nonetheless) you’ll have learned something new.

Extra Context Clue Tips

Look for synonyms (words that mean the same thing)

“I was remorseful and sorry.”

Look for antonyms (opposites)

“I was ecstatic, but everyone else was miserable.”

Look for words that define or explain the idea

“Tangible evidence – the footprints at the window, the fingerprints on the knife – helped police to catch the culprit.”

Look for explanations

“I was very despondent because I failed my exam.”

Look for comparisons

“I am perplexed by crosswords, but I find Sudoku easy.”

(Photo courtesy of camerazn)

Common Phrasal Verbs

common phrasal verbs
A normal verb is just one word: go, see, eat or cry. However, a phrasal verb is formed by a phrase of more than one word. It is almost always made of two words: the verb and its particle, which often looks like a preposition but isn’t.

Particles Don’t Just Occur in Physics

For example, “count on” is phrasal, but “on” is not a preposition in this context. It’s a particle. Why? Because if I say, “I can count on you every day,” I am not saying that I use your body to do my counting – not unless we’re really close friends and like to do silly things together. So when “on” is paired with “count,” a new meaning is created. The phrasal verb is actually an idiom, a special way of expressing an idea that is not literal.

The meaning of this sentence should be clear. I am stating that you are reliable and trustworthy, and every day I know what to expect from you. That’s what “count on” indicates.

Another phrasal verb is “break up.” If you look at the literal meaning of the two parts, you might think it means to break an object into pieces. But when you use the words as a phrasal verb, you create a new meaning:

“I broke up with my girlfriend after 10 years because she wanted to marry a rich guy.”

Poor me – and yes, I really am poor because she preferred a man with lots of money. Can you see what I’m saying here? I ended my relationship; I “broke up” the boyfriend-girlfriend bond. This is a very common usage of “break up” (and it’s in the past tense because it already occurred). But it’s not the only meaning of this verb. See this example:

“The students broke up when their teacher spilled milk all over his shiny new suit.”

What do you think they did? Did they rush to help him clean it off? Did they feel sad? No way: not those cruel students. They laughed! So here’s a second meaning of “break up.” It’s much less common than the first meaning, but you will see it, especially in American English. Since the two meanings are very different, it’s easy to tell which one is being used from the context it’s in. With a little experience, you can get used to phrasal verbs with multiple definitions.

Can You See the Phrasal Verb in This Sentence?

“I got away with looking in my textbook for answers while I took the test.”

Is it “got away”? Not quite. The phrasal verb is actually “got away with,” so it has three parts. Occasionally, you will see a phrasal such as this, but as stated above, they are generally two words. This is a great example of how to use “got away with,” because it means to do something (that’s not very good) without being caught or punished. At the same time, this is not a recommended action. I am clearly a lazy student who doesn’t want to study. I promise to improve. Here are two more sentences:

  • “I don’t want to run into him by accident at the concert.”
  • “Let’s shop around to see which computer gives us the best value.”

Did you see the phrasal verb in the first sentence? It is “run into.” It’s simple to identify it. However, the second sentence has three verbs: “shop,” “to see” and “gives.” Where’s the phrasal one? It must be “shop around.” It’s the only one with a particle. “To see” is an infinitive. If you reverse it and write “see to,” you have another phrasal verb. So to identify a phrasal verb, always look for the verb first and the particle second (and third, in some cases).

A List of Common Phrasal Verbs

  • Bring up
  • Bring on
  • Call on
  • Call off
  • Cheer on
  • Cheer up
  • Come up
  • Come in
  • Cut off
  • Cut (something) out
  • Cut in
  • Drop by/in
  • Drop off
  • Fall apart
  • Fill (someone) in
  • Get away
  • Get along with
  • Get up
  • Get back to
  • Get back at
  • Give out
  • Give in
  • Give away
  • Give up
  • Go out with
  • Go ahead
  • Grow up
  • Grow apart
  • Hang on
  • Hang out
  • Hang up
  • Hold on
  • Hold back
  • Log in (to)
  • Log out
  • Look up
  • Look out
  • Pay back
  • Pay for
  • Put out
  • Put on
  • Take off
  • Take out
  • Turn on
  • Turn off
  • Turn around
  • Turn up
  • Work out
  • Work (something) out

Congradulations vs Congratulations

congradulations vs congratulations
Have you ever wondered why people say and write “congradulations” to those graduating instead of congratulations? What we have here is a pun or play on words. Whoever first dreamed this one up must have thought it hilariously funny, and it would seem that others did too since it has caught on in a big way. “Grad,” of course, is short for “graduate,” and it sounds vaguely similar to the “grat” part of the word “congratulations.” Saying or writing “congradulations” is, therefore, an attempt at a mild joke.

I’m not sure if anyone finds this particular play on words “punny” (funny) any more. Even though I am told that I have an unhealthy love of puns, it fails to elicit so much as a smirk. I’d class most puns as “groan” humor, and “congradulations” has become so overused it doesn’t even give rise to that.

A little recourse to Google is all it takes for me to see that people are starting to get irritated about the use of “congradulations.” There are even rants that fiercely declare it’s time everyone went back to saying “congratulations” like proper English-speakers. I’d say it’s corny, but not a big deal – as long as you know that “congratulations” isn’t really spelled like that.

The Art of the Pun, Play on Words or Paronomasia

The formal term for a “pun” is “paronomasia.” If you learn nothing else from this article, you’ll at least have found a wonderful new Scrabble word that will have your friends reaching for the dictionary.

In the interest of finding a pun that tickles your funny bone, I’m going to see if I can come up with a few classics that will either make you smile or form the intention of throwing a dictionary at me should we ever chance to meet in person. Pay careful attention, and you may even discover how to develop a few puns of your own. But be warned — some find puns witty and cute, while others will not. It’s always important to get ready to duck at possible flying objects aimed in your direction as you utter your newly coined pun.

A Lot of Jokes Use Puns in Their Punchlines

As you go through this selection of puns, you may find yourself groaning rather than laughing. If that happens, you’ll know what I mean by “groan” humor, but it may also become more difficult to understand just why I like puns so much. Are you ready?

Q: Why are pirates called “pirates”?

A: Because they Arrrr.

Q: What do you call a very energetic person who constantly used puns?

A: An energizer punny.

Q: What did the calm leaf say to the trembling one?

A: What’s stomata?

As with our “congradulations” example, these puns use similar sounding words that are nonetheless very different from the ones they masquerade as, but that’s not always the case. Read on for even more painful wordplay.

“He isn’t all that fond of cooking Indian food, but he does like currying favor.”

“I see you have a photographic memory. Too bad you never developed it.”

“If we can say one thing about boiled eggs, it’s that they’re hard to beat.”

“Two antennas got married. The wedding wasn’t exciting, but the reception was fantastic!”

“If you fail to pay an exorcist, you may be repossessed.”

This variety of pun is my favorite. I feel particularly pleased with myself when I coin a new one, and when I hear puns like this, I may even smile, snort, giggle, titter, laugh or even guffaw. Then again, I’m slightly strange that way. Do you have a favorite pun or play on words? If so, please share it by adding your comment. Do you hate puns? Death threats can be sent to my private email account. You will receive a pun-ctual response (hides under table).

(Photo courtesy of klbradt)

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