By Mary Morel | January 2017
Name change
I have decided to change the name of my newsletter to ‘All about Words with Mary’. The next issue you receive will no longer be called ‘The Grammar Factor’.
Price changes for my online courses
Over the holiday period, I changed the pricing model for my online courses. You can now buy individual courses with access for one year rather than subscribe on a monthly basis.
Take a look at my new prices.
You can brush up on your Grammar Terms for just $19.95.
Reader’s apostrophe question
Question: Which is correct?
- Every parent’s nightmare.
- Every parents’ nightmare.
Answer: The correct phrase is: Every parent’s nightmare.
The reason is that ‘every’ usually takes a singular noun – apart from in some informal uses or when there is a number before the noun (every three weeks).
Here are a couple of references for you:
More on apostrophes
Read my blog that answers previous questions about apostrophes with time, place, joint ownership, single letters and implied possession.
Sign up for my online apostrophe course for just $19.95.
Interesting stuff about writing
Sixteen grammar questions to test your skills
Test your grammar skills. I expect you all to get 100% right.
Mansplain
Do you think mansplain should be banned from feminist language? (I have never used this word. Have you?)
Instagram’s terms of use
How many of us read online terms of use? A lawyer rewrote Instagram’s terms in plain English. It was quite a challenge.
The rise of lucid writing in Canadian law
This article explores why judges are junking legal jargon.
Modern entrepreneurs need to learn how to write
Even in these days of video and text messages, entrepreneurs still need to write well. This article has a few tips.
Facebook group
Some of the topics discussed by the Online Writing Training Facebook group this month included:
- Starting a sentence with ‘So’
- ‘Twice as fast’ versus ‘two times as fast’
- ‘Historic’ versus ‘historical’
- ‘Tsundoku’: Japanese word to describe books you buy and don’t read
- ‘No one’, ‘no-one’ or ‘noone’
Why not join the group?
For fun
How many ‘f’s are there in the following text?
Finished files are the result of years of scientific study combined with the experience of years…
Did you spot all six of them? Or did you miss the ‘f’s in ‘of’? A lot of people don’t spot them.
I am not sure what the point of that was, but I often miss out words when I’m writing and don’t notice. It’s usually small words. Any tips for proofreading your own writing?
Phrase of the month
Alternative facts
Quote of the month
‘We are passionate about harnessing our platform to empower millions of people by levelling the playing field for them.’
eBay
Awarded a Golden Flannel award by Lucy Kellaway