Nicole Taft Expert Guru

Writing is my life. Has been for as long as I can remember, and with a B.A. in English and soon to be M.F.A. in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University, I intend on becoming a published writer of fantasy and science fiction within the next few years. When I am not writing, I am indulging in chocolate, being a soundtrack junkie, hiking anywhere from the Rocky Mountins to the hills of Pennsylvania, typing reviews for Epinions.com, and reading anything that comes my way. Life is short - no need for it to be boring!

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Channel Experience

 Health/Wellness
 Legal/Taxes
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 Internet/Web
 B2B/Business
 Small Biz/Home Biz

Career Experience

 Copywriter
 Web Writer

Project Experience

 Articles

Industry Experience

 Publishing

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Then & Than

Then: An adverb indicating time
"Mother explained, and then I understood what she meant."

Than: A conjunction that is used in comparisons
"I have more books than I expected."

Whose & Who's

Whose: The possessive form of "who"
"Whose watch is this?"

Who’s: The contraction of "who" and "is"
"Who’s on first base?"

Fragments

A fragment is a group of words posed as a sentence. However, these word groupings cannot stand alone and make sense.

"Tangled in the jewelry box."

When fragments appear next to other sentences in a specific context, they can be difficult to spot.

"That's when I saw the necklace. Tangled in the jewelry box."

The fragment is usually missing either a subject or a verb. In this case, the question would be what is lying in the middle of the floor? We can answer that if the fragment is in context. In this case the answer is the necklace. To fix the fragment, many times you can put the fragment with another sentence or transform it into a sentence.

"That's when I saw the necklace tangled in the jewelry box."

Or:

"That's when I saw the necklace. It was tangled in the jewelry box."

Some writers use fragments to emphasize other sentences or certain points. If you choose to do so, always make sure the fragment will be easily understood from the surrounding text so your reader will not be confused.