1. Only Rakesh broke the glasses yesterday. 2. Rakesh only broke the glasses yesterday. 3. Rakesh broke only the glasses yesterday. 4. Rakesh broke the glasses only yesterday. In the four sentences ...

The preceding chapter showed how sentences can be streamlined by reducing their adjective clauses to adjective phrases — a simple process that omits the relative pronouns “that,” “which,” “who,” “whom ...

One of the most common questions I get is: Which is correct: X or Y? The X and Y don’t matter much. They change from email to email. Sometimes they’re accompanied by a Z or even an A, B and C. But the ...

Ah, the adverb train station. If you want to find out about adverbs, there is no better place. An adverb tells you how something happens. Here is a train moving "quickly" on the track. “Quickly” is an ...

Use adverbs sparingly. At their best, they spice up a verb or adjective. At their worst, they express a meaning already contained in the sentence: The blast completely destroyed the church office. The ...

A new guide to better writing produced by editor extraordinaire Sir Harold Evans should be required reading for all journalists, writes Dominic Ponsford. Do I Make Myself Clear is packed with gems ...

Ah, the adverb train station. If you want to find out about adverbs, there is no better place. An adverb tells you how something happens. Here is a train moving "quickly" on the track. “Quickly” is an ...