Everyday vs. Every Day
There are some words we see every day that are sometimes used closed and sometimes open — like everyday and every day. When do we use which of these? In short, we do an everyday thing every day.
Usage
Assure vs. Ensure vs. Insure vs. Secure
How do we make some thing or event certain? Do we assure it, ensure it, insure it, or secure it? It depends, but I assure you that you’ll be better able to pick the right word after reading this post.
Compliment vs. Complement
Do you compliment someone or complement them? Both could be right. These two words are often confused or typoed into each other. I added them to my checklist in PerfectIt a couple of years ago after seeing them mixed up in three manuscripts by three different authors in one week.
Synapsis vs. Synapses
A while back, I ran into some confusion over synapsis and synapses in a paper I was editing. This post untangles how these are used.
Hyphens, En Dashes, and Em Dashes: What Are They and When Do We Use Which?
Hyphens, en dashes, and em dashes are similar looking, but have different uses. This guide summarizes what they are and how to use them depending on the style guide being followed.
Palet vs. Pallet vs. Palate vs. Palette
Today, I have a four-way confusable: palet, pallet, palate, and palette all mean different things, and they’re easily typoed into each other. This post has some notes on picking the right spelling.
Premise vs. Premises
The words premise and premises are often confused, especially in the phrase on premises. Part of that confusion, I think, is that premises is the plural of premise, but it also has a different meaning that’s only seen in the plural form. A premise is the basis of an argument or something that’s been assumed, …