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Many teachers, editors, and grammar aficionados will insist that the passive voice should be avoided whenever possible in writing. While the passive voice is acceptable (and sometimes more realistic) in creative writing and dialogue, it is true that it tends to make writing weaker. To better understand the difference between the passive and active voices, try some of the exercises below. Review: What is the Passive Voice? When the passive voice is used in a sentence, the subject is acted upon by the verb, whereas with the active voice, the subject performs the action indicated by the verb. The passive voice places greater importance on the person or thing that is experiencing an action, rather than the person or thing that is performing the action. Although it’s considered a grammatical error in many cases, the passive voice does have a place, especially in more creative writing. Ultimately, you should also prioritize clarity and efficiency when deciding between the active or p...

Elvis was really onto something when he said, “We can’t go on together with suspicious minds.” No relationship—be it personal or professional—can thrive without trust. Trust is what holds our society together and offers us hope that we don’t have to go through life alone. We want to be able to trust others to help us out, protect our hearts, and guard our blind spots. And when we trust in others and they trust us back, there’s no telling how much we can grow. Unfortunately, no one ever said trusting would be easy; often, it’s quite the opposite. But with a little faith, effort, and good will, you can build deeper trust in relationships and experience more meaningful connections. The Meaning of Trust You probably don’t spend a lot of time pondering the definition of trust, or what it means to you—but you certainly know when it’s been lost. Over time, dictionaries, psychologists, motivational speakers, and plenty of other experts have all lent their own definitions to the word “t...

Good communication is always important, no matter if you’re talking with your boss, professor, clients, or friends. But these days, most of that communication is carried out digitally, whether you need to reach someone a few offices down, on the next floor, or in another country. To leave a strong, positive impression, it’s important that you choose your words carefully when drafting emails or memos. But it’s not just the body of your message that counts—you could craft the most eloquent email, but still end up blowing it with an inappropriate closing. To avoid embarrassing gaffes and send more effective emails, check out these tips for the best (and worst) email sign-offs. How to End a Formal Email The following sign-offs are appropriate for formal emails, or emails to people you don’t have a close relationship with. To decide which one is best for your situation, you’ll need to consider the purpose of your email. 1. Regards “Regards” is one of the most common closings for fo...

When spoken out loud, affective and effective can be hard to differentiate. That’s probably why they’re often used interchangeably, both in speech and in writing. But despite just a single vowel separating them, these two adjectives carry quite different meanings. Read on for a full explanation and some helpful tips for remembering the difference. Affect vs. Effect To understand the difference between affective and effective, you’ll first want to review the difference between affect vs. effect . Affect  can be used as a noun, which refers to an emotion or feeling that influences behavior. As a verb, however, affect means to impact or make a difference to something else. In other words, as a verb, affect leads to effects (results). Effect  is most commonly used as a noun to refer to results (think cause and  effect ). When used as a verb,  effect means “to make happen.” For example, “The politician promised to  effect  great change.” Affective...

Is it too late now to say sorry? Hopefully not—but it’s better late than never. As much as you might like to just sweep everything under the rug and move on, the only way to really clear the air and make way for a fresh start is by apologizing and owning your mistakes. It’s easy to get defensive, but acknowledging your errors isn’t admitting you’re a bad person; instead, it takes an honest person with integrity to admit they were wrong, and those are both very admirable qualities. Why Apologies Are Important When we ask for forgiveness, we’re placing ourselves in a vulnerable position. The other person might reject our apology, or even confront us with more uncomfortable details about how we made them feel. But apologies are important because they help the wronged party to feel closure. Though there are some very good people who can forgive without ever receiving an apology, this closure certainly makes the process easier. While the person you wronged might not be able to trust...

You were probably taught back in grade school that run-on sentences are grammatically incorrect and should be avoided like the plague. While there are a number of ways to fix run-ons, adding commas will only work in certain situations. To avoid creating a comma splice, you’ll want to make sure you aren’t asking for more than what this little punctuation mark can handle. What Is a Comma Splice? A comma splice occurs when two independent clauses (two clauses that can stand on their own as complete sentences) are joined by a comma without a conjunction (words such as and, yet, but, and so on). Comma splices can be considered run-on sentences, or simply punctuation errors. In this article we’ll learn 3 different ways to fix a comma splice. Comma Splice Examples Below are 4 sentences that contain comma splices. 1. I don’t know what he’s doing, I didn’t ask him. In the sentence above, the first clause, “I don’t know what he’s doing,” is independent because it can stand on its own a...

Tired of the same dull, ordinary lingo clogging up your texts, emails, and everyday conversations? There’s more variety than you might have realized in the English language, including some words you won’t believe are real. But they are! Whether you want to expand your vocabulary or just need a good laugh, these words should do the trick. 25 Words Nobody Knows (But Now You Will) If you’re looking to spice up your vocabulary, try out some of these 25 uncommon English words. Some are long, some are funny, and some are just downright unbelievable. But they’re all real words, and here you can find everything you need to know before using them, including their definitions, origins, and examples. You can also try out these 12 vocabulary builder apps to keep your mind sharp and your wit on point. 1. Poppycock If someone tries to tell you this isn’t a real word, tell them to stop talking such poppycock . Definition noun . Empty talk or nonsense. Origin: From the Dutch  pappekak...

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Wondering whether or not you should spell out the numbers in your school report, novel, or blog? It can be difficult to keep the rules straight, especially when we see different styles used all across the internet or in our casual correspondences. But we’ve broken down the rules for you with this simplified guide so you never have to wonder again! Spelling Out Numbers: The General Rule The most generally accepted rules for writing out numbers in non-scientific and non-technical contexts are as follows: Spell out all numbers between zero and ten. When numbers are used to start a sentence , they should always be spelled out . Example: Twenty-four thousand applications were submitted in 2018. When dealing with technical or scientific writing , numerals can be used for all numbers above ten.  ( Numerals are symbols that are used to denote numbers, such as 1, 2, 11, 23… ) However, the most important thing to remember in any kind of writing is consistency. Even if your cho...