Monthly Archives: March 2014

Here are two quick ones: 1) “too long” can neatly be replaced by “overly long” when used before a noun. “This too long novel is dull.” “This overly long novel is dull.” (Hyphenated “too-long” has a smidgen of humour. E.g. … Continue reading →

Here’s a quick rule that you’ll be tempted to break often: don’t have two massive sentences in a row. A fiction editor once told me that 20 words is already a long sentence. Two qualifications: “long” is not pythonesque; fiction … Continue reading →

Instead of a proper tip,a list of comma splices: 1) “The ending is also the climax, the whole story almost unveils in front of us, but when the friend tells him what the flower means, we are surprised and understand … Continue reading →

Two quick tips: 1) In written English, don’t bother with “it seems TO ME.” “It seems” always shows your personal attitude. 2) The sentence lead-in “It can be seen that….” very soon clogs up the sentence. To save a few … Continue reading →