It’s not just what you say, it’s how you say it. That’s the difference between grammar and style.
Here are a few principles that go beyond what you may have learned in English classes.
Questionable Meanings
You know what a word means to you, but you’re the one person who doesn’t matter. What’s important is what readers will understand. When that’s not clear, find other words.
Many people think “anxious” means eager anticipation. Others think it means “fearful apprehension,” which is an opposite concept. Since you don’t know which meaning will be understood, find better words.
The past tense of “lie,” meaning “to recline” is “lay,” but that’s not the word often found in common speech. People will say, “He laid down.” But “laid” is the past tense of “lay,” meaning “to put or place something.” Since some readers may understand your correct words to be incorrect, you do well to think of a description that doesn’t use “lay.”
American English
If you’re writing for the British market, you need a different dictionary and style book. In Britain, mixing white with black creates the colour grey. But in America, the color is gray. Did you notice the difference in spellings?
If you want to follow the American way, all the -ward words like inward, backward, upward, and toward should not have an S tacked on to the end.
To Each His Own
An important distinction exists between the phrases “each other” and “one another.” Use “each other” when referring to a relationship between two objects or people. Use “one another” when referring to more than two.
