[Forum] RE: Adjectives after “be”-verbs ...

[quote]The procedure was time tested. The software is state of the art. The innovation is cutting edge.[/quote] [list=1] [*][url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/time-tested]https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/time-tested[/url] [*][url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictiona

[Forum] RE: left

[quote='cheech1981' pid='9014' dateline='1364225550'] Minor note: should "his place" be "her place"? [/quote]No, she had visited him at his place. Thanks for your insights & votes.

[Forum] RE: Turn off Ridge Road or turn off of Ridge Road?

[i]Off of[/i] is a preposition that means [i]off[/i].  https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/off%20of As noted on that page, [i]off of[/i] is considered idiomatic, so if you want to prioritize one of them in formal writing, choose [i]off[/i].

[Forum] RE: word usage

It should be "compliments of." See the second definition 2(b) on this page in Merriam-Webster: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/compliments%20of

[Forum] RE: Long list of hypothetical questions

RGJ, I'd suggest you have a look at the dialogue in https://books.google.ca/books?id=n4jZqbMK4e8C&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22A+Frolic+of+His+Own%22&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj0-KTgk6CFAxW5E1kFHVVCBvkQ6AF6BAgIEAI#v=onepage&q=%22A%20Frolic%20of%20His%20Own%22&f=false and p

[Forum] RE: Capitalize name of place

Used generically—in the sense of "a harbor town or city where ships may take on or discharge cargo," as defined by Merriam-Webster—I wouldn't. In this particular case, assuming you mean [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_of_Split]the place in Croatia[/url], I'm more inclined to capitalize it. I

[Forum] RE: Capitalization of fields in a database

I'd say capitalize, no quotes. See [url=http://books.google.ca/books?id=kUIdSfHVUgoC&pg=RA1-PA10&dq=%22capitalization+of+database+fields%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=wWZEU97dOoSNygHaiIHABw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22capitalization%20of%20database%20fields%22&f=false]this[/url].

[Forum] word choice

Re "Suddenly," the use of adjectives and adverbs in fiction is a touchy subject. This is what a former [b]literary agent[/b] had to say recently on twitter: --- Writers, beware of "suddenly" "at that very moment" and "just then." Tension should be evident enough to make them unnecessary. -

[Forum] Semicolon versus Comma with Quoted Dialogue

Hi, friends, In the two sentences below, may I place a semicolon after the words [i]hopefully[/i] and [i]Alec[/i]? I know that an option would be to place a period after each; then we could resume the second part of the quote by starting another sentence and capping the first word. (E.g., “In the

[Forum] Commas before "then"

In 6.57, CMOS states that you should place a comma before "then" when it is used in place of "and then" between two **independent** clauses. This is the only reference I can find in the text to using a comma before then. However, I recently came across an answer in the online Q&A that threw me for a