VANCOUVER, BC, April 05, 2013 (Press-News.org) We wrote last week about the difference it makes to your employment and career opportunities if you have good grammar. There are a few words that many people confuse and that - used correctly - will show that you know your grammar while - used incorrectly - may suggest that you are not as careful or detail-oriented as you would wish.
1. compliment/complement
Complement means to go well with something or to complete it - the spelling is the clue here! A compliment is something nice that you say to someone.
Therefore the perfect wine complements the meal but you offer your compliments to the chef on a well-cooked repast.
Additionally, if something is offered free of charge it is complimentary (with our compliments).
2. dessert/desert
Dessert is the fruit or sweet course that comes at the end of a meal. A desert is a place with limited precipitation. If someone gets what they deserve, you can say they 'got their just deserts' - one 's' only - unless you are suggesting they skipped the main course and only had the apple pie!
3. effect/affect
While both these words can be used differently, the most common usage is affect as a verb and effect as a noun. Eating poorly and not exercising can affect your health OR it can have a bad effect on your health.
4. fewer/lesser
Many supermarkets fall foul of this one with their express checkouts for '10 items or less' signs. Items is a count noun - it takes a plural - so it should be '10 items or fewer'. Use less for non-count nouns only: less information, less milk, less aggravation, etc. but fewer people, fewer mistakes and fewer phone calls.
5. its/it's
The confusion here seems to spring from the apostrophe and the fact that we have been taught that apostrophes show possession. However 'its' is a possessive pronoun (like theirs and yours - no apostrophe) whereas 'it's' is a contraction of 'it is' or 'it has'.
About Prompt Proofing
Prompt Proofing is based in Vancouver, BC, Canada and was officially launched in 2010 by a team of editing and writing professionals who have over 40 years of experience in the education, news media, public relations and recruitment fields. Prompt Proofing prides itself on affordable services delivered with fast turnaround times, without sacrificing quality or accuracy.
Offering content writing, editing and proofreading services, Prompt Proofing takes care of your individual or business content needs. We have customers throughout North and South America, the Caribbean, Europe, the United Kingdom, Asia and Australia.
Visit our website for more information at http://www.PromptProofing.com.
We offer coupons, news and more through our social media sites:
Follow us on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/promptproofing
Like us on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/promptproofing
Prompt Proofing's Grammar Tips: The 5 Words You Should Not Confuse
There are a few words that many people confuse and that - used correctly - will show that you know your grammar while - used incorrectly - may suggest that you are not as careful or detail-oriented as you would wish.
2013-04-05
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Author Stephen Goldstein Takes on Objectivism and Randian Philosophies in Atlas Drugged: Ayn Rand Be Damned!
2013-04-05
Atlas Drugged: Ayn Rand Be Damned! begins where Atlas Shrugged leaves off, with the United States of America having devolved into the United Corporations of America and a world where the divide between the 99% and the 1% is ever prevalent. Stephen Goldstein's book offers the 99% a vision for closing that gap.
Imagine firefighters stand watching a house burn because the owner owed some back taxes or municipal fees. Imagine the government providing no relief at all to a hurricane-ravaged Florida.
That non-action is the (fortunately) fictitious exemplification of Ayn ...
Contiki Sponsors Sustainability Partner Celine Cousteau at Green Living Show
2013-04-05
The 2013 Green Living Show hits Toronto April 12th-14th and Contiki Holidays Canada (www.contiki.com) is treating attendees to a special presentation by environmentalist Celine Cousteau (www.celinecousteau.com). As a documentary filmmaker, environmental activist and granddaughter of legendary oceanographer, Jacques Cousteau, Celine's commitment to protect marine ecosystems and diverse cultures expands from hands-on projects to educating young travellers as Contiki's sustainability partner. Sponsored by Contiki, Celine will take the main stage on April 13th at 5:30 pm before ...
British Airways Launches Summer Schedule
2013-04-05
Although winter seems to be taking its time in moving on British Airways is already welcoming the summer, having recently kicked off its brand new summer schedule.
Speaking about the new timetable, presenter and musician Myleene Klass, said: "Take advantage of British Airways' summer schedule starting, grab your bikini (you know I'm partial to mine) and let's get out of this freezing weather!"
The airline has launched a host of routes to Spanish destinations in time for the summer season, allowing travellers to visit numerous brand new locations. New services ...
National Trust Shares Celebrities' Favourite Photos
2013-04-05
Celebrities are used to life in front of the lens but this spring stars from the world of sport, film and TV are taking a turn behind the camera to help with a National Trust initiative.
Actor Jude Law, chefs The Fabulous Baker Brothers and England rugby ace Austin Healey are among those who have shared photographs of the places that mean the most to them as part of a nationwide scheme by the National Trust to celebrate the importance of 'special places' in people's lives.
The campaign follows research undertaken by the charity which found that 84 per cent of Brits ...
UTHealth research: Vermont's health care reform has lessons for other states
2013-04-04
HOUSTON – (April, 3 2013) – Vermont's aggressive health care reform initiatives can serve as a roadmap for other states, according to a Master of Public Health candidate at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth). The paper, "Lessons from Vermont's Health Care Reform," will appear tomorrow in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The study's author, Laura Grubb, M.D., of The University of Texas School of Public Health, part of UTHealth, wrote that Vermont is well ahead of most other states in implementing federal and state health care reforms. ...
Climate change winners: Adélie penguin population expands as ice fields recede
2013-04-04
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (04/03/2013) —Adélie penguins may actually benefit from warmer global temperatures, the opposite of other polar species, according to a breakthrough study by an international team led by University of Minnesota Polar Geospatial Center researchers. The study provides key information affirming hypothetical projections about the continuing impact of environmental change.
Researchers from the United States and New Zealand used a mix of old and new technology studying a combination of aerial photography beginning in 1958 and modern satellite imagery ...
Don't call it vaporware: Scientists use cloud of atoms as optical memory device
2013-04-04
VIDEO:
The animation shows the NIST logo that was stored within a vapor of rubidium atoms and three different portions of it that researchers were able to extract at will. Animation...
Click here for more information.
Talk about storing data in the cloud.
Scientists at the Joint Quantum Institute (JQI) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Maryland have taken this to a whole new level by demonstrating* that they can store visual ...
Experts propose research priorities for making concrete 'greener'
2013-04-04
The challenge of making concrete greener—reducing its sizable carbon footprint without compromising performance—is just like the world's most ubiquitous manufactured material—hard!
But, according to a new report* from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the potential engineering performance, energy-efficiency and environmental benefits make it a challenge worth tackling.
Many factors determine the overall energy and environmental impact of concrete. However, reducing the amount of portland cement, which reacts with water to bind all the sand, ...
Prostate cancer treatment study changing the way doctors practice
2013-04-04
A study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine recommends a dramatic shift in the way doctors treat metastatic prostate cancer.
"These results have changed the way I treat patients," said Ian M. Thompson Jr., M.D., director of the Cancer Therapy & Research Center at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and senior author on the international study.
Hormone therapy in hormone-sensitive prostate cancer has been shown to help extend the lives of patients, but it causes a range of unpleasant side effects in men like moodiness, hot ...
Study reveals that chemotherapy works in an unexpected way
2013-04-04
It's generally thought that anticancer chemotherapies work like antibiotics do, by directly killing off what's harmful. But new research published online on April 4 in the Cell Press journal Immunity shows that effective chemotherapies actually work by mobilizing the body's own immune cells to fight cancer. Researchers found that chemo-treated dying tumors secrete a factor that attracts certain immune cells, which then ingest tumor proteins and present them on their surfaces as alert signals that an invader is present. This new understanding of how chemotherapy works with ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Waist-to-height ratio predicts heart failure incidence
Climate change increases severity of obstructive sleep apnea
USC, UCLA team up for the world’s first-in-human bladder transplant
Two out of five patients with heart failure do not see a cardiologist even once a year and these patients are more likely to die
AI-enabled ECG algorithm performs well in the early detection of heart failure in Kenya
No cardiac safety concerns reported with a pharmaceutically manufactured cannabidiol formulation
Scientists wash away mystery behind why foams are leakier than expected
TIFRH researchers uncover a mechanism enabling glasses to self-regulate their brittleness
High energy proton accelerator on a table-top — enabled by university class lasers
Life, death and mowing – study reveals Britain’s poetic obsession with the humble lawnmower
Ochsner Transplant Institute’s kidney program achieves ELITE Status
Gender differences in primary care physician earnings and outcomes under Medicare Advantage value-based payment
Can mindfulness combat anxiety?
Could personality tests help make bipolar disorder treatment more precise?
Largest genomic study of veterans with metastatic prostate cancer reveals critical insights for precision medicine
UCF’s ‘bridge doctor’ combines imaging, neural network to efficiently evaluate concrete bridges’ safety
Scientists discover key gene impacts liver energy storage, affecting metabolic disease risk
Study finds that individual layers of synthetic materials can collaborate for greater impact
Researchers find elevated levels of mercury in Colorado mountain wetlands
Study reveals healing the ozone hole helps the Southern Ocean take up carbon
Ultra-robust hydrogels with adhesive properties developed using bamboo cellulose-based carbon nanomaterials
New discovery about how acetaminophen works could improve understanding about pain relievers
What genetic changes made us uniquely human? -- The human intelligence evolved from proximal cis-regulatory saltations
How do bio-based amendments address low nutrient use efficiency and crop yield challenges?
Predicting e-bus battery performance in cold climates: a breakthrough in sustainable transit
Enhancing centrifugal compressor performance with ported shroud technology
Can localized fertilization become a key strategy for green agricultural development?
Log in to your computer with a secret message encoded in a molecule
In healthy aging, carb quality counts
Dietary carbohydrate intake, carbohydrate quality, and healthy aging in women
[Press-News.org] Prompt Proofing's Grammar Tips: The 5 Words You Should Not ConfuseThere are a few words that many people confuse and that - used correctly - will show that you know your grammar while - used incorrectly - may suggest that you are not as careful or detail-oriented as you would wish.