Susan Metzger, Author at Words by a Pro https://old.wordsbyapro.com/author/susan-metzger/ Tue, 07 Nov 2017 23:02:21 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.2 https://old.wordsbyapro.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/cropped-WBP-FAVICON_7-32x32.jpg Susan Metzger, Author at Words by a Pro https://old.wordsbyapro.com/author/susan-metzger/ 32 32 Is It Okay to Use the Word Hopefully? https://old.wordsbyapro.com/when-to-use-word-hopefully/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=when-to-use-word-hopefully Tue, 07 Nov 2017 21:15:58 +0000 https://old.wordsbyapro.com/?p=2456 There remains debate about whether this adverb is appropriate or not. According to an NPR article, thirty years ago a few famous grammarians decided to “vilify” the word. Prior to this, so they say, the word was used without complaint. After three decades of debate, most of us are now confused. I like to quote […]

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]]> Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers https://old.wordsbyapro.com/misplaced-dangling-modifiers/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=misplaced-dangling-modifiers Tue, 20 Jun 2017 20:57:35 +0000 https://old.wordsbyapro.com/?p=2135 “Huh?” you may ask yourself. “I kinda remember hearing those words in high school English class, but I have no idea what they mean,” you may answer. The robber was described as a six-foot-tall man with a mustache weighing 150 pounds. Funny, right? What weighed 150 pounds—the robber or the mustache? This sentence reads as […]

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]]> Style Guides & Manuals: What Are They? https://old.wordsbyapro.com/style-guides-manuals/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=style-guides-manuals Wed, 29 Mar 2017 20:42:33 +0000 https://old.wordsbyapro.com/?p=1960 Perhaps your high school English teacher told you about style guides, but maybe you didn’t even come across them until college when your English Composition instructor informed you, “You must use MLA style or fail this course.” I have said it, and other instructors have insisted on APA or Chicago (Turabian) Style as the style […]

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]]> Grammar Rules: A Lesson on “However” https://old.wordsbyapro.com/grammar-rules-lesson-however/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=grammar-rules-lesson-however Tue, 13 Dec 2016 20:54:10 +0000 https://old.wordsbyapro.com/?p=1891 It’s a little tricky. Many amateur writers use the word however incorrectly. The most common mistake—and we see it way too often—is using it as if it were a coordinating conjunction. A coordinating conjunction joins elements of equal grammatical rank. In middle or high school, you may have been given the mnemonic device FANBOYS. It […]

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]]> What’s So Awful About Adverbs? https://old.wordsbyapro.com/whats-awful-adverbs/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=whats-awful-adverbs Tue, 13 Sep 2016 23:06:41 +0000 https://old.wordsbyapro.com/?p=1783 My new husband is a long-time Ayn Rand fan and has belonged to their Objectivist group for decades. I went to a meeting or two. There were some very nice, seemingly intelligent people there, yet I remained skeptical about some of their beliefs about altruism and their extreme anti-religion stance, among others. So, I thought, […]

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]]> The Rocky Mountain English Professor: I wish I were OR I wish I was? https://old.wordsbyapro.com/rocky-mountain-english-professor-were-or-was/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rocky-mountain-english-professor-were-or-was Tue, 26 Apr 2016 23:05:38 +0000 https://old.wordsbyapro.com/?p=1663 If I were OR If I was? Which is correct? Most of us might vaguely recall a high school English teacher discussing mood, but few of us remember what it means. There are three moods in English: “indicative, used for facts, opinions, and questions; imperative, used for orders or advice; and subjunctive, used for wishes, […]

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]]> The Rocky Mountain English Professor Discusses “Which” vs. “That” https://old.wordsbyapro.com/the-rocky-mountain-english-professor-discusses-which-vs-that/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-rocky-mountain-english-professor-discusses-which-vs-that Wed, 27 Jan 2016 01:00:00 +0000 https://old.wordsbyapro.com/?p=1583 Do you ever wonder whether you should use “which” instead of “that” or vice versa? In the United States we use “which” differently than those living in the United Kingdom. I have no idea when or how the usage diverged, but according to our Modern Language Association, there is a correct way to use each. […]

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]]> What the Heck is Antecedent-Pronoun Agreement? https://old.wordsbyapro.com/what-the-heck-is-antecedent-pronoun-agreement/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=what-the-heck-is-antecedent-pronoun-agreement Wed, 18 Nov 2015 02:22:54 +0000 https://old.wordsbyapro.com/?p=1478 From The Rocky Mountain English Professor (aka Susan Metzger) “Somebody forgot to pay their bill.” Aaaaa! Antecedent-pronoun agreement. Can you hear me screaming all the way from Colorado? What’s wrong with this sentence? For those who have an ever-so-faint memory of the term antecedent-pronoun agreement from middle school, this sentence may sound wrong. That’s because […]

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