If you studied English grammar, you probably know what compound words are. These are two (or more) words joined together to create new words. Pretty much the same works for compound adverbs; what differs is function. Compound adverbs, also called compound modifiers, are compound words specificall...

Nothing can botch a big announcement like an unsuspecting, misused word. This is especially true in the case of announce and pronounce, two big words that denote declarative actions. They’re often used to precede statements of import, which require ethos to be effective, so it’s vital that th...

You’re working on a horror piece. You’re setting the suspense up. You write, “The man moved around the house, his shadow moving like snakes behind the shudders.” You pause—was it shudder or shutter? They sound so alike that it’s easy to confuse them with each other. But we’re here t...