Here are some rules to keep in mind when using the Queen's English:
1. Verbs has to agree with their subjects.
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.
4. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
5. Avoid cliches like the plague. (They're old hat).
6. Always avoid annoying alliteration.
7. Be more or less specific.
8. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are
(usually) unnecessary.
9. Also, too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies.
10. No sentence fragments. No comma splices, run-ons
are bad too.
11. Contractions aren't helpful and shouldn't be used.
12. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
13. Do not be redundant; do not use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous.
14. One should never generalize.
15. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
16. Don't use no double negatives.
17. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
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Quote du Jour"The income tax has made more liars out of the
American people than golf has. Even when you
make a tax form out on the level, you don't know
when it's through if you are a crook or a martyr."
-- Will Rogers
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"English Lesson II"18. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
19. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
20. The passive voice is to be ignored.
21. Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary.
Parenthetical words however should be enclosed
in commas.
22. Never use a big word when a diminutive one
would suffice.
23. Kill all exclamation points!!!!
24. Use words correctly, irregardless of how others
use them. {The fact that 'irregardless' did not light
up as 'improperly spelled' scares me. - LadyHawke}
25. Understatement is probably not the best way
to propose earth shattering ideas.
26. Use the apostrophe in it's proper place and
omit it when its not needed.
27. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate quotations.
Tell me what you know."
28. If you've heard it once, you've heard it a
thousand times: resist hyperbole; not one writer in
a million can use it correctly.
29. Puns are for children, not groan readers.
30. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid
colloquialisms.
31. Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be
derailed.
33. Exaggeration is a million times worse than
understatement.
34. Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.
35. Run Spiel Chek.
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