Crosswords 5 min
How to Get Better at Crosswords
From reading clue signals to learning crosswordese, practical techniques that take you from staring at an empty grid to finishing puzzles without help.
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Editorial team
WordFinderZ Editorial Team
The team behind WordFinderZ's guides, grammar lessons and spelling library.
About the team
The WordFinderZ Editorial Team writes and maintains the site's long-form guides, grammar lessons and the misspellings library. Every article is written in-house and reviewed by a second editor before it goes live.
When an article says a word is playable, we check it against the same word lists our tools use: the NWL/TWL list for North American Scrabble, the Collins (SOWPODS) list used in most other countries, and the ENABLE list behind Words With Friends. Definitions come from Princeton's WordNet 3.1, and word frequency data comes from SCOWL.
If you spot an error or have a topic you would like us to cover, use the contact form. Corrections are reviewed, and the article's "updated" date changes when we fix something.
- English grammar
- Spelling and usage
- Vocabulary building
- Word lists and dictionaries
Articles
Strategy 5 min
Connections Strategy: How to Spot the Groups
A clear method for grouping puzzles like Connections: how categories are built, the tricks setters use, when to submit and how to spend your mistakes.
WordFinderZ Editorial TeamRead
Crosswords 5 min
Crosswordese and Crossword Abbreviations
Why ETUI, EPEE, ERNE and ALOE keep turning up, how clues signal abbreviations and foreign words, and a cheat sheet of repeat answers by length.
WordFinderZ Editorial TeamRead
Strategy 5 min
Word Game Dictionaries Compared
TWL, Collins, ENABLE, Wordle's lists and the lists behind daily puzzles all disagree. How big each one is, how they overlap and why a word gets rejected.
WordFinderZ Editorial TeamRead
Vocabulary 5 min
Palindromes, Reversals and Anagram Records
The longest palindromes in the Scrabble lists, words that spell other words backward, the five letters with twelve anagrams, and how curiosities help your game.
WordFinderZ Editorial TeamRead
Grammar lessons
tenses
Active vs Passive Voice and When to Use Each
Learn to spot the passive voice, turn it into the active voice and back again, and decide which one makes your sentence clearer.
Intermediate 2 min 5-question quiz
commonly confused
Affect vs Effect and How to Tell Them Apart
Affect is usually a verb and effect is usually a noun. Learn the RAVEN trick, the rare exceptions (effect change, a flat affect) and test yourself with a quiz.
All levels 2 min 5-question quiz
punctuation
Apostrophes, Possessives and Its vs It's
Where does the apostrophe go in James's, the players' and it's? A clear guide to possessives and contractions, plus the plurals that never need one.
Beginner to intermediate 2 min 5-question quiz
punctuation
Capitalization Rules for Names and Titles
Capitalize the first word of a sentence, proper nouns, I and the main words in titles. The rules for days, seasons, directions and job titles, then a quiz.
Beginner 3 min 7-question quiz
figurative language
Common English Idioms and How to Use Them
16 everyday English idioms with clear meanings and examples, why idioms don't translate word for word, and how to use them well. With flashcards and a quiz.
Intermediate 3 min 7-question quiz 16 cards
tenses
English Irregular Verbs and Past Tense Forms
Regular verbs add -ed; irregular verbs don't. The patterns behind them, the mistakes to avoid (brung, have went) and 18 key verbs to drill with flashcards.
Beginner to intermediate 3 min 7-question quiz 18 cards
commonly confused
Fewer vs Less: Countable and Uncountable Nouns
Use fewer for things you can count and less for things you measure. The rule, the everyday exceptions (time, money, distance) and many/much and number/amount.
All levels 3 min 7-question quiz
word formation
How Prefixes and Suffixes Build New Words
The most useful prefixes and suffixes, what they mean, the spelling rules for adding them and how they help in word games. With flashcards and a quiz.
All levels 3 min 7-question quiz 14 cards
parts of speech
How to Choose Between Adjectives and Adverbs
Good or well? Bad or badly? Learn the simple test for adjectives and adverbs, the linking-verb trap, and the -ly words that break the pattern.
Beginner to intermediate 2 min 5-question quiz
sentence structure
How to Fix Run-On Sentences and Comma Splices
A run-on joins two complete sentences with nothing between them; a comma splice joins them with only a comma. Learn five easy fixes and practise with a quiz.
Intermediate 3 min 6-question quiz
punctuation
How to Use Commas: The 8 Rules That Matter
Lists, compound sentences, introductory phrases, extra information, direct address and more. Learn the comma rules that matter and the comma splice to avoid.
Intermediate 3 min 5-question quiz
punctuation
How to Use Hyphens, En Dashes and Em Dashes
The hyphen joins words, the en dash shows ranges and the em dash sets off a thought. When to use each, how compound adjectives work and how to type them.
Intermediate 4 min 7-question quiz
word formation
Irregular Plurals: Mice, Geese, Cacti and More
Most nouns just add -s or -es. Learn the patterns behind irregular plurals (-f to -ves, -o to -oes, Latin and Greek endings) with flashcards and a quiz.
Beginner to intermediate 4 min 7-question quiz 15 cards
commonly confused
Lie vs Lay in Every Tense
Lay needs an object (you lay something down); lie doesn't (you lie down). Both verbs in every tense, why "lay" is also the past of "lie", and a quiz.
Intermediate 3 min 7-question quiz 9 cards
parts of speech
Pronouns: I or Me, Who or Whom?
Subject pronouns act and object pronouns receive. The "remove the other person" test for I and me, the he/him test for who and whom, and myself mistakes.
Beginner to intermediate 3 min 7-question quiz
figurative language
Similes, Metaphors and Figurative Language
Learn the figures of speech you meet every day (simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, idiom, alliteration and onomatopoeia), with examples and a quiz.
All levels 3 min 6-question quiz
sentence structure
Simple, Compound and Complex Sentences
How independent and dependent clauses combine into simple, compound, complex and compound-complex sentences, with flashcards for the joining words and a quiz.
Beginner to intermediate 3 min 6-question quiz 12 cards
sentence structure
Subject-Verb Agreement Rules and Tricky Cases
A singular subject takes a singular verb, a plural one a plural verb. Find the real subject, handle "each", "none" and collective nouns, then take the quiz.
Beginner to intermediate 4 min 7-question quiz
tenses
The 12 English Verb Tenses in One Chart
Past, present and future, each in simple, continuous, perfect and perfect continuous forms. See how all 12 English tenses are built and when to use each one.
Beginner to intermediate 3 min 5-question quiz
punctuation
The Difference Between Semicolons and Colons
A semicolon links two closely related sentences; a colon introduces what comes next. Learn when to use each, with clear examples and a quick quiz.
Intermediate 2 min 5-question quiz
parts of speech
The Eight Parts of Speech With Examples
Nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions and interjections: what each one does, how to spot it, and why a word can change jobs.
Beginner 3 min 6-question quiz
commonly confused
When to Use Their, There and They're
Their, there and they're sound alike but mean different things. What each one means, a quick test for each, and the similar pairs your/you're and whose/who's.
Beginner 2 min 5-question quiz