One amusing usage error is when people use tenant when they mean tenet. A tenant, of course, is someone renting a property, while a tenet is “a principle, belief, or doctrine generally held to be true.”
Author Archives: Catherine
Usage Tip: Historic/historical
Do you know the difference between something that’s historic and something that’s historical? These do in fact mean different things! Historic refers to something that has a big impact on history – say, for example, the historic first landing on the moon.
Usage Tip: Complementary/complimentary
Another pair of commonly confused words is complementary and complimentary.
Usage Tip: Effect/affect
There are so many words that are spelled similarly to each other and therefore frequently get mixed up in writing. One of the most common pairs of these words is effect and affect. And while most writers usually know the difference between them, sometimes these words still get confused.
Grammar Tip: There’s no such word as “I’s”
This tip is a follow-up to my previous one, about the frequent misuse of singular first-person pronouns. (I should disclaim that there is a situation where there is such a word as “I’s” – in a phrase such as “dot the i’s and cross the t’s.” But that’s not what this post is about.)
I’m on Fiverr
Hi, friends! I’m now on the freelancing website Fiverr, for those who would prefer to hire an editor through a recognizable platform. Fiverr offers packages at set rates. You can also see a couple of examples of my work. Check me out on Fiverr here!
Grammar Tip: Me vs. I
Welcome to my series of grammar tips! I love grammar, and it’s kind of amazing how little we native English speakers actually learn about English grammar in school.
The Unofficial Harry Potter Character Compendium
I am now a published author! The Unofficial Harry Potter Character Compendium: MuggleNet’s Ultimate Guide to Who’s Who in the Wizarding World is written by MuggleNet staff members Catherine Lai, Richa Venkatraman, Sophia Jenkins, Chelsea Korynta, and Marissa Osman.
MuggleNet
MuggleNet.com has been the internet’s #1 resource for all things Harry Potter since 1999. Aside from copy editing and proofreading for various parts of the site since 2016, I have also been a member/manager of the News Team since 2013. See my archive of posts on MuggleNet here: https://www.mugglenet.com/author/catherine/
Catherine Lai 