CONFOUNDING WORDTRIPPERS
This is just a quick copy-and-paste from my #SharingwithWriters newsletter so subscribers to this blog won't think I've forgotten them! (-: It's one of those wordtrippers that doesn't get much attention. and one I can almost guarantee you didn't get any help with in school.
"Predominate” is not just a verb. It is also an adjective just like “predominant.” In fact, according to dictionaries “predominate” means “predominant.” Still, great editors know which are first choices when one or the other faces them in the copy they are editing.
Mirriam-Webster, the go-to dictionary for those who write books, says “predominatey” is the variant form of “predominantly”—meaning “predominantly” is more standard. In fact, it's so preferred that my Word program keeps auto changing predominately for me. It has no clue that I am trying explain the difference there and that's a good lesson in keeping a sharp eye out for its bad habit of thinking it's always right!
Regardless of which one you choose to use when you are writing books, you don’t want to use one version on one page and another on another page.
By the way, consider finding more editing tips by subscribing to SharingwithWriters at http://howtodoitfrugally.com. The subscription form is on almost every page of that Web site in the upper right corner. There's a freebie for doing so, too!
Carolyn Howard-Johnson edits, consults, and speaks on issues of writing and publishing. Find her at http://howtodoitfrugally.com. Find the second edition of her multi award-winning The Frugal Editor: Do-it-yourself editing secrets for authors: From your query letter to final manuscript to the marketing of your bestseller. (HowToDoItFrugally Series of Books for Writers)
. Learn more about her other authors' aids at www.howtodoitfrugally.com/writers_books.htm , where writers find lists and other helps including , Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips 
on the Resources for Writers page. She blogs on all things publishing (not just editing!) at her SharingingwithWriters blog. She tweets writers' resources at www.twitter.com/frugalbookpromo . Please tweet this post to your followers. We all need a little help with editing. (-:
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