Many languages have common phrases that are nearly identical, and English is no exception. In this article, we’ll tackle the commonly confused “as of now” and “as for now.” Although the only difference in these two phrases is the central words “of” and “for,” they have very different meanings. What does “as of now” …
English
Since language breathes arbitrariness and novelty, written linguistic devices can sometimes get shady. While words can be polysemic, the symbols that dictate how they should be read may further exacerbate writing issues. Even though punctuation marks occasionally seem intimidating, they do serve some beneficial purposes too. They guide readers not to get derailed from the …
A well-known fact is that language is arbitrary, and there lie the conflicting purposes of information expression. Information can either be affirmative or negative in sense, thereby necessitating words that could express idea affirmation or negation. Similarly, the salience of punctuation marks in the meticulous disambiguation of meaning in written language is indisputable. To proactively …
Comma placement rules are nonetheless precarious in many cases, particularly in writing people’s names. We may tend to consult Mr. Google before deciding whether or not to separate entities with commas. Being in the digital age has also made us quite dependent on direct messaging tools, which, in turn, exacerbated our complacency on punctuation rules. …
Like any other language, English is filled with words and expressions that we use on a day-to-day basis, plenty of which have just become more about etiquette than actually having a conversation. For example, when you see a colleague at work and ask them, “how are you doing?”, you’re not really expecting a long-winded answer …
For native and non-native English users alike, some expressions could get trickier to use. This is especially true with prepositions since they may sometimes have multiple meanings. The preposition with generally functions as an agentive or instrumental indicator for results and end-products. Adding which, a pronoun, after with creates a slightly more complex denotation which …
Efficacious communication is tantamount to the meticulous analysis of the subtlest linguistic nuances. These nuances may be found in word meaning, pronunciation, sentence structure, and as well as in non-lexical symbols. Punctuation marks, such as commas, are non-lexical signs whose principal role is to facilitate reading, either silently or vocally. Symbols of punctuation serve as …
Previous studies have found that the negation of ideas is a more complex process than affirmation. With that being said, it may lead to false retention of information in worst-case scenarios. When information is falsely associated with, counter-productive effects may occur, especially in more serious cases such as legally-related ones. In the crowded community of …
How often do you have to bear with punctuation marks? They get pretty annoying sometimes, don’t they? Cheer up. Don’t let these sneaky little symbols bite your head off. This post will help you make sense of the comma after the word first and its other closely-related phrases. Do we need a comma …