A philosopher once said, 'Half of good philosophy is good grammar.' - A. P. Martinich

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When to Use "Your" and "You're"

Your vs. You're

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Court is in session: Attorney v. lawyer

When you’re Lady-justice-2388500_1920 going to court, do you need and attorney or a lawyer?

That all depends...if whoever you’re writing for is a real stickler for accuracy.

Technically, an attorney conducts business for someone else. A good synonym is agent. One type of attorney is a lawyer.

A lawyer practices law. The lawyer does so by representing plaintiffs and defendants in a court of law. The lawyer also can provide legal advice to clients.

Given this, you may use the word attorney whenever referring to a lawyer. But an attorney isn’t always a lawyer.

Some lawyers prefer to use the term attorney when referring to themselves. This largely is because some believe the word lawyer carries the negative connotation of being dishonest.

If using the term attorney to refer to a lawyer, always make clear that the type of work the attorney is doing is involves legal matters.

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.



"As far as I'm concerned, 'whom' is a word that was invented to make everyone sound like a butler." - Calvin Trillin

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When to Use "Affect" and "Effect"

Affect vs. Effect

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Check your past usage: Previous vs. Prior

Before Left-297787_1280deciding which of these two words to use, you’ll want to read this article. You may find that your earlier uses of this pair were correct!

Previous is an adjective that means “earlier,” as in A brilliant light appeared in the sky just as it had the previous night.

Prior also is an adjective that means “earlier,” as in The president’s proposal is much less problematic than his prior calls to action.

Previous and prior are synonyms and can be used interchangeably. There is a small but vital distinction before them, however: Previous has an adverb form, previously, that can mean “before,” such as The FBI had previously investigated the man now accused of terrorism. “Before” is similar but slightly different than “earlier” in meaning. Prior does not have an adverb form.

So, if you intend to mean “earlier” and use it as an adjective in sentence, you can go with either previous or prior (Previous is slightly more common.). If you mean “before,” go with previously.

Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.



Don’t freak out: What is the plural of crisis

If you Crisis-1718474_1920 want to send some writers into a panic, ask them to spell the plural of crisis. You’ll get a lot of strange answers, from crisises to crisese.

Alas, the plural of crisis is crises. All you have to do is change the last i to an e.

Usually when a noun ends in s, you have to add an es to get its plural form. When a noun with Greek root ends in is, however, those two letters are changed to es to get a plural form.

So, there’s no need to call out the National Guard. Just remember the simple is>es rule, and you’ll have it all under control.

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When to Use "Fazed" and "Phased"

Fazed vs. Phased

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When to Use "That" and "Which"

That vs. Which

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When you write, you want to get rid of the world, do you not? Of course you do. When you’re writing, you’re creating your own worlds. – Stephen King

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Professional Book Editor: Having your novel, short story or nonfiction manuscript proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. I can provide that second eye.