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Originally Posted by chrispenycate  Would I ever contradict you? even if you need to look up the difference between "hyphen" and "dash" (not this thread, no) |
No, I'd noticed too late that I'd written "dash" in a couple of places, when it should have been "hyphen" -- but by then I couldn't edit it. I was hoping no one would notice. Hmm ... couldn't slip them past you, no...
I'll blame it on my CFS...
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The "if I were" here is subjunctive mood, and even if few still use it (and I wouldn't correct someone who used "was") it is grammatically correct (and I am one of the few who would)
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I'd written "were" all throughout my 560-page manuscript, but then, after reading that some people prefer "was" in those instances, I changed them all (well, I've probably missed a couple). So you're not the only one!
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This probably falls in the general "repetition" bag but I'd point out that the English language is the richest in the world in synonyms; it is nearly always possible to find an alternative word for any given object and frequently, in doing so, you give more information about the object than by repeating the same word.
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In fact, if you use Microsoft Word, right click on a word, then go to "Synonyms". In most cases they'll have a list of alternates.
Oh, and if you ever want to contradict me, Chrispen, please, go ahead. That's how we learn. After all, you've got the certificate, so I'll always listen to your advice. In fact, I've already learnt a couple of things from reading your critiques.
And besides, I'm not infallible; I make mistakes too.
