Better English

The Better English category features all blog posts related to improving your English. There are tips on spelling, grammar, syntax and punctuation.

Virus

Everyone has read or heard a story about mistakes in translation. But what is the greatest mistake in translation, and the most lethal too?

Do you know the difference between ghost and ghoul?

A ghost, or spectre or phantom, is an apparition of a dead spirit or a soul.

A crocodile is the name we use to talk about a family of crocodilians such as the Nile crocodile, Caiman etc.

What is the difference…?

Quality Checking

Inverted commas or quotation marks are punctuation marks used in pairs to mark off speech, a quotation, a phrase or a word.

Arrow pointing at the dots over both i and j, known as tittle

The OED states the meaning of tittle, a singular noun as a tiny amount or part of something.

To Let or To Rent

You see these signs everywhere you go: To Let, To Rent, For Sale, etc. But what’s the difference between to let and to rent? Isn’t letting the same as renting?

Unlawful versus Illegal.

In the office recently we had a discussion around the two terms. In relation to a recent political decision around Brexit in the UK, Boris Johnson’s actions were said to be unlawful. What does that mean?