If asked to define a verb, most people would say it’s an action word, which is true. Jump, run, sleep, snore—these verbs express actions. They’re action verbs. But not all verbs are action verbs; some are linking verbs. You can probably get through life just fine without understanding the difference between action verbs and linking … More Verbs That Link and Verbs that Don’t
It’s probably not true that we can’t think about things we don’t have words for. Schadenfreude is a German word that has come into English and means “pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others.” As cognitive scientist Steven Pinker has pointed out, when people first learn this word, they don’t suddenly acquire the concept of … More Parts of Speech
“The scriptures present a God who delights in genocide, rape, slavery, and the execution of nonconformists, and for millennia those writings were used to rationalize the massacre of infidels, the ownership of women, the beating of children, dominion over animals, and the persecution of heretics and homosexuals. Humanitarian reforms such as the elimination of cruel … More Quote of the Day
Has anybody ever suggested that your writing is wordy? Learning to avoid, or at least not overdo, certain grammatical structures will automatically make your writing more concise and easier to read. One such structure is nominalization. Nominalization turns a strong verb into a noun and uses the noun with a weak verb when the original … More Words: Don’t Exceed the Recommended Dosage
No Harm Spilt 