Grammar and writing tips

brought to you by Whitesmoke.com


Quick Tip 1


Infer and Imply

To infer something is to guess at a meaning without a lot of data. If John is frowning, you might infer that he is unhappy .

To imply something is to suggest that it is true without explicitly saying so. Have a look at the following example.

Susan said, "There was a cookie here a moment ago. Then John walked by, and now the cookie is gone".Susan has not accused John of taking the cookie, but she has implied that he took it. John might infer that she thinks he took the cookie.



Quick Tip 2


Nested Quotations

Use double quotes for a quotation.Joe said, "Will you marry me?"

Use single quotes for a nested quotation, when someone repeats what someone else said.Joe smiled and said, "Jenny said 'yes' when I asked her to marry me".

If you need another layer of quotation, just keep alternating between single and double quotation marks."Joe was just here", said Susan. "He said, 'Jenny said "yes" when I asked her to marry me'".