It’s no wonder that “its” and “it’s” are mistaken for one another. Both are spelled with the same letters and look similar in appearance except for the all-important apostrophe. The misuse usually is due to hasty proofreading; spellcheck and grammar check often are of no avail when trying to find the mistaken “its” or “it’s.”
Write Right
Write Right: Than and Then
As seems to be the case with most troublesome words, “than” and “then” have a problem: they differ from each other by only one letter. They are, of course, entirely different from each other in terms of usage, yet they’re some of the trickier typos to catch. They don’t shout a warning with red squiggly lines, and they appear and sound so similar to one another that they’re easily mistaken for one another.
Stop Being Innovative
I do not believe the word means what you think it means. – Inigo Montoya
Are We Becoming too Reliant on Emoticons?
The other day, I asked people what they thought about using emoticons in professional correspondence. The answers I received were unsurprising; flat-out refusals abounded as well as a few responses that offered a more balanced perspective. Emoticons could be allowable if the professional contact was known well, possibly outside professional circles. Even then, most of the responders expressed a hesitance toward using them. It just seemed not quite professional or undercut the image they were trying to portray.
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Write Right: Advice and Advise
Advice and advise sometimes are mistaken for each other. It’s no surprise. The two words only vary by one letter. They are, however, distinct from each other in every possible way.
Write Right: Commas and Introductory Phrases
I confess I rarely visit the rules about commas and introductory phrases anymore; the rules are somewhat innate. Because of that, my decision to or not to use a comma sometimes seems based on sound and appearance rather than any rules. Rules, however, do exist vague though they may be.
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