Author Archives: Lynn Gaertner-Johnston

Every once in a while I find a communication habit I would really like other people to break. Here’s one: the use of the former and the latter. Every time I hear or read “the former . . . the latter” I have to rethink… continue reading

Yesterday I received a very thoughtful email from a stranger named Patrick. These are his opening paragraphs: With this email, I want to let you know that I appreciate your business writing blog so much. Regularly, I visit your blog to educate myself on writing… continue reading

One of the most common questions in any of our classes is this: When is the phrase follow up hyphenated? One of the reasons this punctuation question is so commonly asked is that many dictionaries are no help at all. They simply list both versions:… continue reading

This morning I received an email from a friend who knows a lot about grammar and punctuation. I was surprised that her message included the phrase “a MS word specialist.” It should have been “an MS word specialist” because “MS” is pronounced “em ess.” Words… continue reading

“I would feel bad if I treated you badly.” That’s an illustration of the correct use of the words bad and badly. Bad/badly is a grammar point that trips up many of us. Even people who are very careful about their speech and writing are… continue reading