Grammar Gremlins
These columns were written as a monthly feature of In Print, the newsletter of the Houston Bay Area Chapter of Romance Writers of America.
Managing Misplaced Modifiers : avoiding the unintentionally funny. (Intentionally funny is a good thing.)
About Apostrophes : It’s or its and other apostrophe catastrophes.
Allegory, Alliteration, and Allusion : Rhetorical figures and faults, part 1.
As Such, Therefore I . . . : As such and therefore are not quite the same.
As the Language Turns : Nothing stays the same forever.
Avoiding Ambiguity : Are you sure that means what you meant to write?
Both vs. Each: A bit of random curiosity.
Capital Letters Count : Watch out for Uncle Jack!
Comma Sense : Where you put that comma really matters.
Dealing With Dialogue: “What shall we talk about this month?” the gremlins asked.
Dreyer’s English : The most fun I’ve ever had with a reference book!
Dreyer’s English Part 2 : More useful info from Benjamin Dreyer.
Eats, Shoots & Leaves : The Gremlins review a book.
Eupehmism or Dyspehmism? : Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference.
Forgotten Words: Who put the feck in feckless?
Here’s Smirking at You, Kid : Smirk is not just another word for smile.
I Wish I May . . . : May and might are not always interchangeable.
I Wish I Were . . . : Adventures in the subjunctive mood.
More Pesky Pairs and a Trio : We never run out of these.
Odd Idioms : What the heck is a shrift?
On the Book Shelf: A collection of grammar and punctuation reference books.
On the Parallel Bars : Which of these items doesn’t quite fit?
One Word or Two? : An altogether helpful list.
Pacing Weasels : Don’t let the weasels slow you down!
Pesky Pairs : Which word fits?
Pesky Pairs Part 3 : More confusing words.
Pesky Pairs Part 4 : And still more of the little devils.
Pesky Pronouns : I and me are not interchangeable!
Phrased and Confused : Are you sure that’s the right word?
Point of View Weasels : Don’t push your reader away!
Positioning Prepositions : An old rule up with which we will not put.
Punctuating Adjectives : A hyphen here, a comma there.
Punctuating With Dash(es) : Hyphen, en dash or em dash?
Puzzling Plurals : Of Mice, Lice, and Spice.
That Which Who : Three pronouns dancing around one another.
The African Svelte : A most entertaining book for word lovers.
The Bracket Racket : Round, square, angle or brace?
The Care and Feeding of the Illusive Semicolon : A report from the Punctuation Protection Agency.
The Inigo Montoya Edition : I do not think that word means what you think it means.
The Oxford Comma : Sometimes a necessity!
There’s a Name for Those! : Contronyms, Capitonyms, and Heteronyms.
To Be or Not To Be : Is it truly passive voice, or just passive writing?
Two Terms You Probably Don’t Know (I Didn’t) : Chiasmus and Antimetabole.
Verbal Distinctions: Transitive and Intransitive verbs.
Weeding Out the Weasels : Words you don’t want or need.
Kay Hudson 