“Christmas in July Special – Get 25% off 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Today” plus 1 more

Christmas in July Special – Get 25% off 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Today

Posted: 23 Jul 2010 08:22 PM PDT

The 25th July is tomorrow and at our place we've invited a group of friends over for a Christmas in July dinner (we do it as an annual thing and exchange gifts and do a full Christmas dinner).

On the spur of the moment today I thought it might be fun to extend the 'festivities' to ProBlogger and offer you – our wonderful community – a little gift to celebrate the ’season’.

For the next week I'm offering 25% off the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog eBook/workbook. To get it just use this discount code in the shopping cart.

chrisjuly25

It will give you 25% off the workbook bringing it down to $14.95 (under 50 cents per day over the 31 days) for some great teaching and activities to improve your blog. Each day in the 31 days gives you a little bit of teaching and a practical and tangible activity for you to do that day to improve your blog.

Get full details of what the workbook includes here OR add it straight to your cart where you can apply the above discount code by hitting the button below.

I hope you find the workbook to be useful and join the many thousands of bloggers who’ve worked through it already in improving their blogs.

PS: I’m doing the same 25% discount on our 3 best selling photography eBooks over at Digital Photography School – check them out and use the same discount code here.

Post from: Blog Tips at ProBlogger.

Christmas in July Special – Get 25% off 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Today

1. accept / except

INCORRECT: Please except this gift.
CORRECT: Please accept this gift.

Except, as a verb, means to exclude or leave out. As a preposition it means “with the exception of.” Accept means “to receive willingly.” For example: We visited every landmark except the Eiffel Tower. The school is accepting only those students who have had their shots; all others are excepted.

2. advice / advise

INCORRECT: He refused to take my advise.
CORRECT: He refused to take my advice.

Advise is a verb. The s has the sound of “z.” Advice is a noun. The c has the sound of “s.”

3. all right / alright

INCORRECT: He’s alright after his fall.
CORRECT: He’s all right after his fall.

Although arguments are advanced for the acceptance of the spelling, alright is still widely regarded as nonstandard. Careful writers avoid it.

4. effect / affect

INCORRECT: His death really effected me.
CORRECT: His death really affected me.

The most common use of effect is as a noun meaning “something produced by a cause.” The most common use of affect is as a transitive verb meaning “to act upon.” For example: The disease had a lasting effect on the child. The family’s lack of money affected his plans.

5. every day / everyday

INCORRECT: Dan walks the dog everyday at six p.m.
CORRECT: Dan walks the dog every day at six p.m.

Everyday is an adjective that means “daily.” Every day is a phrase that combines the adjective every with the noun day. For example: Walking the dog is an everyday occurrence. I practice the flute every day.

6. its / it’s

INCORRECT: Put the saw back in it’s place.
CORRECT: Put the saw back in its place.

It’s is a contraction that represents two words: it is. Its is a one-word third-person singular possessive adjective, like his. For example: The man lost his hat. The dog wagged its tail.

7. passed / past

INCORRECT: The car past the train.
CORRECT: The car passed the train.

Past is used as an adverb of place, or as a preposition. Passed is the past tense of the verb to pass. For example: The past few days have been hectic. The deadline has passed. He passed her the biscuits. The boys ran past the gate. As we stood in the doorway, the cat ran past.

8. quiet / quite

INCORRECT: We spent a quite evening reading.
CORRECT: We spent a quiet evening reading.

Quiet is an adjective meaning “marked by little or no activity.” Quite is an adverb meaning “to a considerable extent.” For example: The children are quite amiable today. Quiet can also be used as a noun. For example: We enjoyed the quiet by the lake. (The suffix “ness” should never be added to the abstract nouns quiet and calm.)

9. then / than

INCORRECT: I have more eggs then you.
CORRECT: I have more eggs than you.

Then is an adverb that indicates time. It can go anywhere in a sentence. For example: The man paused by the door and then entered. Then the noise started. As conjunction or preposition, than will always be followed by a noun or a pronoun. For example: I like Melville better than Hawthorne.

10. who’s / whose

INCORRECT: I don’t know who’s dog you’re talking about.
CORRECT: I don’t know whose dog you’re talking about.

Who’s is the contracted form of “who is.” Whose is the possessive adjective form of who. For example: Who’s your daddy? Whose car are we going in?

Maeve Maddox holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of Arkansas, and she is the editor of DailyWritingTips.com. The mistakes mentioned in this post come from her latest book, 100 Writing Mistakes to Avoid.

Post from: Blog Tips at ProBlogger.

10 Common Spelling Mistakes That Haunt Bloggers