Author: Murugaraj

Appositives, the twins of Grammarville

Appositives, the twins of Grammarville

Imagine this village, Grammarville, with three pairs of twins who’re like the grammar concept called appositives: the Siamese twins – super attached, just like how necessary appositives are for a sentence’s meaning; non-identical twins – not-so-tied, giving extra details like non-restrictive appositives; and mischievous identical twins ¬– context, like knowing which twin’s who, decides their use. Identifying twins needs attention – so is the case for editors!

Understanding subject–verb agreement

Understanding subject–verb agreement

The principle behind subject–verb agreement is simple. But ensuring subject–verb agreement is not as easy as it sounds. Errors in agreement can occur because the writer or editor is unaware of the specific rules of subject–verb agreement. Even for those who know the rule, mistakes can happen due to typos, oversight, or rushing through the editing process.

Mastering article usage in English

Mastering article usage in English

To approach this linguistic challenge with clarity and precision, we break down the learning process into three distinct categories: correctness, conventions, and context. These three dimensions provide unique insights into the rules that govern articles, the idiomatic expressions that shape their usage, and the dynamic contextual cues that guide their application. By understanding the different layers of article usage, one can systematically approach the learning of article usage.

Using Italics for Formatting

Using Italics for Formatting

Italic type is a style of font where the letters are slanted to the right. It is commonly used in typesetting for various purposes. Here are some general conventions regarding the use of italics. Emphasis: Italics are often used to emphasize or highlight a particular...

Preparing a copyeditor’s résumé: The basics

Preparing a copyeditor’s résumé: The basics

Screening résumé is usually an elimination process: with a quick glance, any résumé with spelling mistakes, wrong use of capitalization, messed-up margins, weird spacing, and irregular font sizing would scream for elimination – in that order. When it comes to résumé writing, these small details might disclose how much effort you put in – or did not put in.

How to identify the head noun in a noun phrase or clause?

How to identify the head noun in a noun phrase or clause?

A common problem a copyeditor faces is the identification of the right subject for the verb. As easy as it seems, even careful copyeditors may fail to recognize the lack of agreement between a subject and its verb because of the intervening phrases and clauses. By systematically approaching the subject phrase, we can identify the head noun of a noun phrase easily as explained in this post.

Which indefinite article goes before an abbreviation?

Which indefinite article goes before an abbreviation?

Seemingly simple decisions such as which indefinite article will go before a word can quickly turn into a difficult choice. While editors and most authors have mastered this decision-making, sometimes even experienced editors may stumble into a problem when an abbreviation is encountered.

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