common grammar mistakes

Is It Handfull or Handful?

/ Erin Servais / 6 Comments

One of the ways we use the suffix –ful is to explain how much of something exists somewhere. Or, as my go-to dictionary, Merriam-Webster, puts it:

Screen Shot 2017-09-24 at 4.43.10 PM

This means in our question of “Is it handfull or handful?” the answer is handful with one L.

However, as you can see in the dictionary’s example, handful isn’t the only use of this suffix. Basically, anything that can hold something can get the –ful suffix.

For example:

roomful can hold people
bucketful can hold apples
eyeful can hold beautiful visions
oceanful can hold fish
glassful can hold juice
pocketful can hold tiny treasures
spaceshipful can hold aliens

 

 

You get the gist. Now here’s how they work in sentences:

The kitten held out a pawful of jewels to its human.
Frida unleashed a brainful of magical powers onto the bad guys.
The lizard discovered a desertful of hot sand and rocks to enjoy.

Now go forth and use your –ful suffix with vigor.

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Fairy Tale vs. Fairy-Tale

/ Erin Servais / 2 Comments

fairy tale (noun): a story (as for children) involving fantastic forces and beings (as fairies, wizards, and goblins)

fairy-tale (adjective): characteristic of or suitable to a fairy tale, marked by seemingly unreal beauty, perfection, luck, or happiness

—Merriam-Webster

It’s finally feeling like summer. The wind is carrying lovely, flowery scents (unless you live in a city—then it’s most likely pee smell). Either way, this is the season to daydream and think of fairy tales. Now let’s make sure you are using the term correctly.

When used as a noun, fairy tale is two words without a hyphen.

Example: Mom told me a fairy tale about a princess who turned into a fairy.

However, when it is used as an adjective to describe a noun, it has a hyphen and looks like this: fairy-tale.

Example: Her fairy-tale wedding must have cost a fortune.

(Here, fairy-tale describes the noun wedding.)

Quiz
Check your understanding with this quiz. Fill in either fairy tale or fairy-tale in the blanks. The answers are below.

1) Every day as he sat in his cubicle, Ralph dreamed of a new life, a _______ life.

2) The _______ involved goblins and mean elves, so Susie thought it was scary.

3) Al had a new car, a new wife, a mansion, and a raise. Could this mean his _______ was coming true?

4. The cake had chocolate chips, frosting, strawberries, and fudge. It was basically a _______ dessert.

Answers:
1) fairy-tale (adjective describing life); 2) fairy tale (noun); 3) fairy tale (noun); 4) fairy-tale (adjective describing dessert)

Erin Servais is the founder of Dot and Dash, LLC, an author-services company focusing on women writers and offering a range of book editing, author coaching, and social media packages.

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Are Since and Because Interchangeable?

/ Erin Servais / 3 Comments

Do since and because mean the same thing? What exactly are the differences between the words?

Let’s look at their definitions.

since: from a past time until now; after a time in the past; before the present time
because: for the reason that
—Merriam-Webster

Though in the definition listed above since appears to relate only to time, in reality, people use it the same as because to imply cause.

Notice the similarities in these two sentences:

Since he ate cookies, Charlie is a happy boy.
Because he ate cookies, Charlie is a happy boy.

In the sentences, both since and because are helping us show the cause of Charlie’s happiness: eating cookies.

However, using since and because interchangeably can cause problems when it is unclear whether since is referring to time or to cause.

Notice this sentence:

Since he slayed the dragon, Charlie got measles.

In this sentence, it is unclear whether Charlie got measles as a direct result of (caused by) killing the dragon or if he simply contracted measles in the period of time after killing the dragon (not caused by the killing).

If we used because in the sentence above, we would know the dragon slaying directly caused his measles. As it is written with since, the causation is unclear.

To avoid confusion, it is best to limit since to time elements and not use it interchangeably with because. Because is the best choice to indicate directly the reason something happened.

Erin Servais is the founder of Dot and Dash, LLC, an author-services company focusing on women writers and offering a range of editing, coaching, and social media packages.

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Follow Through vs. Follow-Through

/ Erin Servais / 1 Comment

follow through (verb): to press on in an activity or process especially to a conclusion
follow-through (noun): the act or an instance of following through
—Merriam-Webster

These two words can be tricky because one uses a hyphen and one does not. As a verb, follow through is two words with no hyphen. As a noun, follow-through is one word with a hyphen between the two parts.

Here are examples of follow through used as a verb:

The lizard will follow through with his plans of world domination.
Saul followed through with his idea of starting a clothing store for lizards.

Here are examples of follow-through used as a noun:

The lizard has lots of goals, but his follow-through is poor.
Denise’s follow-through earned her a promotion.

Hint: If you are wondering which word to use, look at the role it plays in the sentence. And remember: If it’s a verb, follow through has no hyphen. If it’s a noun, follow-through has a hyphen.

Quiz
Fill in either follow through or follow-through in the blanks. The answers are below.

1. Lizzy has good _______, and her organizational skills help.
2. Sally keeps saying she will start writing her book, but she doesn’t _______.
3. One criterion for the new position is level of _______.
4. Tina wants to become an accountant, and she knows she will ________ on that dream.

Answers:
1. follow-through 2. follow through 3. follow-through 4. follow through

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Awe vs. Aw

/ Erin Servais / Leave a comment
My kitty, Buff Buff, pretending to read the AP Stylebook makes me say, "Aw."

My kitty, Buff Buff, pretending to read the AP Stylebook makes me say, “Aw.”

awe: an emotion variously combining dread, veneration, and wonder that is inspired by authority or by the sacred or sublime
aw: used to express mild disappointment, gentle entreaty, or real or mock sympathy or sentiment
—Merriam-Webster

I’m not sure how many people confuse these two words, but I know there are a few of you out there, so I hope this post helps. Mostly, I see this mistake in text messages I get from a certain lovely man. When I read them, I like to think he had an overwhelming revelation about how fantastic and pretty and kind and funny and talented I am, which he could only sum up in a one-word text reading awe. But because these messages usually come after I send him adorable photos of my cats, I’m assuming he really meant to type aw.

Aw not aww
Note that aw is not spelled with two Ws at the end, which is a common misspelling. When you’re saying it, you can drag out the word as long as you want for effect, but in writing, stick to one W.

Examples
When Larry saw the giant, he was struck with a feeling of awe. The giant was so huge and scary.

Then when the giant got on one knee and handed him a bouquet of flowers, Larry could only say, “Aw,” because he was so stunned by the kind gesture.

Quiz
Fill in either awe or aw in the blanks below. The answers are at the bottom.

1. Pedro was such a cute dog that everyone who met him cooed, “_______.”
2. When his doggie parents first saw Pedro, they felt _______ at how one dog seemed to have so many cuteness genes.
3. After watching Carl Sagan’s Cosmos, Lola was in _______ at how beautifully complex our galaxy is.
4. When Lola learned the sun will someday become extinguished, she thought, “_______, I want the sun to live forever!”

Answers:
1. Aw 2. awe 3. awe 4. Aw

Erin Servais is the founder of Dot and Dash, LLC, an author-services company focusing on women writers and offering a range of editing, coaching, and social media packages.

Sign up for the Dot and Dash newsletter to get writing tips and tricks and exclusive deals.  

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