Category: Grammar Rules

Lose vs. Loose

“Lose” and “loose” are two words that you’ll see used interchangeably these days, especially on social media. However, they have completely different meanings, and using the wrong word can make a sentence incomprehensible. Here’s the difference between them, and how you should use them in your writing. Let’s start with …

Canceled vs. Cancelled

There are a lot of variances between the British and US spellings of many words. This is especially true of the use of “canceled” vs. “cancelled”. Here’s everything you need to know about the usage of these two words. At the very basic level, which version of the word you’ll …

Quotation Marks

The usage of quotation marks can be quite confusing. This is especially true with different countries’ rules on how they’re used. For example, the UK and US have slightly different rules that govern how they’re used. In this guide, we’re going to focus on the US rules on using quotation …

Comma Before ‘And’

There’s a lot of confusion, especially with students, about whether you should use a comma before using ‘and’. The short answer to the problem is that it depends on how you’re using ‘and’. Here’s a rundown of whether you should use that comma or not. First, let’s look at lists. …

Colon vs. Semi Colon

This is an argument that many writers have, with some people simply seeing a semi colon as a colon with pretensions. Believe it or not, there is a difference, and it does matter how you use them both. First of all, let’s deal with the colon. When used correctly in …

What Is A Metaphor?

The English language is full of odd rules and sayings that making learning it difficult, to say the least. What is a metaphor, and what does it mean to you? Here’s a quick breakdown so you can use metaphors with confidence. The basic explanation is that a metaphor states one …

Insure vs. Ensure

There’s a large overlap between ‘insure’ and ‘ensure’ when it comes to their definitions, and many people find it hard to differentiate the two. When you get down to it though, there is an easy way of separating the two. Let’s take ‘insure’ first. This term has come to mean …

Further vs. Farther

When it comes to ‘further’ and ‘farther’, it’s hard to tell the difference. In fact, many seasoned writers still can’t tell the difference, and at this point they’re too afraid to ask. Luckily, there is a very quick trick you can use when you’re looking for the right one use. …

Into vs. In To

These two phrases sound as though they should mean the same thing, but in fact they can be very different when used properly. Here’s the difference between them, and how they should be used. At a very basic level, ‘Into‘ indicates movement, and can be the answer to the question …

Then vs. Than

English is full of confusing words, that sound very much alike. ‘Then’ and ‘Than’ are two such words. There’s only 1 letter’s difference, and people mix them up all the time. This is especially apparent in written English. Here’s the difference between the two, and how they should be used. …