December 8, 2025

Happy Holidays from the 'Thoma's'?

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How to avoid the most common mistakes on holiday greetings.

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December 1, 2025

Top Words to Keep Straight

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Affect, Effect. Forgo, Forego. There, Their, They’re. Here at the most frequently confused words and how to get them right every time.

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November 24, 2025

'If' and 'Whether'

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These two words are often interchangeable and your instinct is usually your best guide.

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November 17, 2025

Goer

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Concertgoer, beachgoer and churchgoer are all one word. So what about event goer, park goer and synagogue goer? A dictionary will tell you if the term you want is one word, but when it's not listed, you're on your own. Here's the full story.

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November 10, 2025

The 'Enormity' of the Storm?

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If you use the word "enormity" to refer to size, that's OK. However, its main meaning isn't about size at all but instead about being wicked, vicious or improper.

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November 3, 2025

Spacing Around Punctuation

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You should never double-space between sentences. You can choose whether or not to put spaces around dashes. And ellipses should always be preceded by a space. Here's more about when to space around punctuation.

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October 27, 2025

Nominalizations

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What makes a sentence like the following so awful: "The planning of the redecorating of the house was a decision made by Betty." Answer: nominalizations — nouns rooted in another part of speech, usually a verb or adjective. "Planning," "redecorating" and "decision," for example, are more dynamic in their verb forms: "Betty planned to redecorate the house." Here's the full explanation.

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October 20, 2025

How to Punctuate Bulleted Lists

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You can usually choose whether you want to punctuate bulleted items listed vertically. But a good guide: If each bulleted item is a complete sentence, consider ending each with a period. If each bulleted item is less than a sentence, often no punctuation is best. Here's the full story.

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October 13, 2025

Semicolons in a Series

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Semicolons that enable unnecessarily long or complicated sentences should be avoided. But when it comes to organizing items in a series, the semicolon can be a lifesaver.

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October 6, 2025

Indefinite Pronouns

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One. Anyone. Neither. Little. Someone. Some of the most useful pronouns don't refer to anyone specific at all. These are the indefinite pronouns.

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