Patrice Riley, Author at BusinessWritingBlog

Grammar and Usage

Verbing

Did you know you can turn a noun into a verb? This is called “verbing” or “to verb.” If you use a noun in place of a verb, most people will understand what you mean. Verbing is mostly for informal situations. It’s also good to… continue reading

Vocabulary

Threw vs. Through

Homophones have different meanings but sound the same. Threw and through are a great example of this. Threw is the past tense form of the verb throw. Common uses include saying something threw you for a loop or threw you off. Through is a preposition and an adverb. It means that you… continue reading

Year old vs. Year-old

Do you know when to hyphenate the words “year old”? The Takeaway If you are using “year old” as an adjective, then you need to put a hyphen between the words. For example, you would write “the two-year-old child.” “Two-year-old” is an adjective that describes… continue reading

graphic stating "fool me once shame on you. fool me twice shame on me."

Expressions and Phrases

Understanding the Phrase: “Fool Me Once, Shame On You…”

This phrase is used when you fall for the same trick twice. It’s a way of expressing that you should have recognized it the second time that it occurred. Example: A person approaches you at the gas station and asks for a few dollars to… continue reading

Etiquette

How Should I Express My Gratitude in Email?

Have you ever had someone help you in such a significant way that a simple “Thank you” seemed inadequate? Expressing gratitude is so important. Its effects on your attitude and outlook can be far-reaching. So, let’s explore some thoughtful and sincerely synonyms to the “express… continue reading

A graphic with many number 40 on a white background

Spelling

Spelling “Forty”

Forty is a commonly misspelled word. Many people know how to spell “four,” so they just add “ty” to the end of it to make “fourty.” However, the word “forty” does not have a “u” in it. Incorrect: My aunt is fourty years old. Correct:… continue reading

A graphic showing a strip on the ground representing a hyphen with the words Compound Modifiers

All About the Compound Modifier

When you use a hyphen to connect two words and use those words as an adjective, it is called a compound modifier. For example: Incorrect: The sweet smelling cake made my stomach growl. This sentence is rather confusing. Is the sweet actually smelling the cake?… continue reading

Vocabulary

Cue vs. Queue

When you say the words cue and queue out loud, they sound the same. However, they have very different meanings. These types of confusing words are called homophones. So, how can you keep them straight? Keep reading to find out. The Proper Use of Cue… continue reading

a graphic with suspended quotation marks in dialogue boxes to showcase dialogue quotation rules

Punctuation

Proper Use of Quotation Marks

Quotation marks show that those words are being spoken. They are used a lot in dialogue in fiction writing. Dialogue is words spoken by characters. Quotation marks are always in pairs, with the first set opening the quote and the second set closing the quote.… continue reading

A graphic showing a woman in a meditation position breathing, with the words breath vs. breathe

Vocabulary

Breath vs. Breathe: What’s the Difference?

Breathe and breath are commonly confused even though they are two different parts of speech. Breathe is a verb, and breath is a noun. Breathe means inhaling and exhaling. Breath refers to either a full cycle of breathing or the actual air that is inhaled and exhaled. To make it more confusing, both breathe and breath can be used in… continue reading

Author Archives: Patrice Riley