Kim Siever’s Blog

Between Me and You?

This is part of the difference between series.

The easiest way to remember the difference between these two words is that whichever always implies a limited choice.

Take whichever apple you want.

and

Take whatever you want.

This post is part of the Canadian Style series.

1.08 University degrees, professional designations, military decorations, honours, awards and memberships

Do not follow a person’s name with more than two abbreviations unless required for information or protocol purposes. Select the two highest honours of different types and list them in the following order of precedence:

1. Distinctions conferred directly by the Crown (VC, QC, OC, etc)
2. University degrees
3. Membership in societies and other distinctions.

Do not use periods.

1. Stop runaway sentences
2. However needs a cap and a comma
3. Get itsy bitsy its correct
4. Put apostrophes in their place
5. Trap the wandering only
6. Me me me, not I myself
7. Items on a list must be a matching set
8. Each and every one is singular
9. Get tricky subjects to agree with their verbs
10. Make sure your starter phrase refers to the very next word

See the detailed list at Quality Web Content.

This is part of the difference between series.

Biannual means “occuring twice a year”. Biennial means “occuring every two years”.

This post is part of the Canadian Style series.

5.24 Comparative and inclusive numbers

Use “as great” rather than “greater”.

• six times as great not six times greater
• four times as great not four times greater
• one third as large not three times smaller

1. Third conditional
2. Don’t vs doesn’t
3. Bring vs take
4. Fewer vs less
5. Semicolon use with however
6. Have vs of
7. Double negative
8. Present perfect
9. Went vs gone
10. Its vs it’s

See the detailed list at Karen’s Linguistic Issues.

This is part of the difference between series.

People often confuse these two closely related Latin abbreviations. Here is the difference.

I.e. is short for id est, which means “that is” or “in other words”.

I work 35 hours a week—i.e. I have 7-hour workdays.

E.g is short for exempli gratia, which means “for the sake of example” or “for example”.

I like red fruit—e.g. apples, tomatoes, and pomegranates.