SMH means “shaking my head.” It’s a text abbreviation that people use in online chats and text messages to show disapproval or frustration. You can add “SMH” to a piece of mildly frustrating information that you’re sharing, or you can use “SMH” as a reaction to a moderately difficult situation.
SMH exampleCoworker 1: I just read that I-70 is going to be closed again next week. SMH.
Coworker 2: Oh no! Hopefully, they’ll finish the construction soon.
TipOnly use “SMH” with people with whom you have a close personal rapport. “SMH” might come across as too negative if you use it with a supervisor or someone you don’t know well.
It’s also important to use correct grammar and spelling errors when you’re writing instant messages. To ensure your messages are error free, why not install the QuillBot app?
Give up is one of the most common phrasal verbs in English. It has several meanings— including “to stop trying” and “to quit or sacrifice [something].” In each meaning of “give up,” the verb “give” has a figurative meaning rather than the literal meaning (“to offer” as in “Mom gives the best gifts”).
The rules for using “give up” are a bit different for each meaning. For example, “give up” for “to quit or sacrifice [something]” is a transitive verb, which means it must have a direct object. When “give up” means “to stop trying,” it’s an intransitive verb, which never acts upon a direct object.
The examples and tips below show how to use the different versions of “give up.” QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker is also a great resource for using “give up” correctly in your writing.
Give up examples My teacher always says, “Never give up.”
After looking for starfruit at five different stores, I have given up.
Angelina temporarily gave upacting to focus on her family.
A phrasal verb is a type of English verb that has multiple words. The words combined have a different meaning than the verb by itself. For example, the verb “hang” means “to dangle” or “to attach,” but the phrasal verb “hang out” means “to spend time together.” Each phrasal verb has one or more particles (e.g., “on” or “in”).
Phrasal verbs can be very challenging for a few reasons:
They usually have figurative rather than literal meanings.
Many phrasal verbs have multiple meanings (e.g., “take off” can mean “depart” or “remove”).
There are different types of phrasal verbs—intransitive, transitive, inseparable, and separable—and special rules about how to use each type.
They have different tenses (just like other verbs), but some of them are irregular and follow special rules for conjugation.
Phrasal verbs do get easier with practice. The list, meanings, and examples below will help you use phrasal verbs more confidently. And with QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker, you can instantly find and fix phrasal verb errors in your writing.
Phrasal verbs examplesMark Twain grew up in Missouri in the 1800s. [“Grew up” means “spent his childhood.”]
Few families today can get by with one income. [“Get by” means “survive.”]
After a long night out, my cat finally showed up this morning. [“Showed up” means “arrived.”]
Our plane to Jamaica will take off at noon. [“Take off” means “depart.”]
Published on
April 25, 2025
by
Nicole Routh, M.Ed
Revised on
November 8, 2025
With the loss of Pope Francis in April 2025, the process of selecting the new pope (known as the papal conclave) has become an international focus. During this process, Roman Catholic cardinals convene in the Sistine Chapel and remain secluded from the outside world until they elect the new pope (usually for 2–3 days).
But what does conclave mean exactly?
Most dictionaries define conclave as “a secret or private meeting of leaders,” but the original conclave meaning from ancient Rome is “a locked room.” It originates from the Latin root word “clave,” which means “key.” Conclave can refer to the papal election or (less formally) to a gathering of people with shared interests (e.g., fraternities and sororities).
Conclave in a sentence examplesThe cardinals in the papal conclave take an oath of silence.
The Phi Beta Sigma Conclave 2025 will take place in Tampa.
Ralph Fiennes won an Oscar for portraying a cardinal in the film Conclave.
The Scythes in Neal Shusterman’s novels attend three conclaves each year.
TipWhen you’re writing about important world events—such as the papal conclave—QuillBot’s free Paraphraser can help you with clear syntax and precise word choices.
Published on
April 25, 2025
by
Nicole Routh, M.Ed
Revised on
November 18, 2025
The post interview thank you email is a crucial step in the job application process. When sent within 24 hours or less, an interview thank you email is evidence of the soft skills that are essential for almost any job—such as timeliness, interpersonal skills, and attention to detail.
A thank you email after an interview has a formal but friendly tone and includes a few main details in 2–3 short paragraphs:
A “thank you” for the interview
Something you were excited to learn about the role or company
A brief recap of your main qualifications
A call to action about the next steps (e.g., a second interview)
In today’s increasingly competitive job market, a timely, concise, and well-crafted interview thank youemail can help you stand out among other applicants. The steps, examples, and template below will help you make the best possible impression.
TipYour thank you email should match the tone and formality of the interviewer. Did you know that the QuillBot paraphrasing tool can instantly transform the tone of the emails you send to employers? In addition to the free standard mode, the tool has a formal mode and a simple mode.
Published on
April 23, 2025
by
Nicole Routh, M.Ed
Revised on
November 18, 2025
If you’ve been job hunting recently, you’ve probably read lots of advice to write cover letters that are perfectly aligned to skills that each job requires. But what if you’re pursuing a career change? How do you convince hiring managers that your previous career is relevant to the career change you’re hoping to make?
As with any job application, a career change cover letter is a formal, 1-page business letter that you send with your resume to elaborate on your top skills and achievements. With a career change cover letter, though, you should also explain why your achievements from your previous career are transferable to a new career or industry.
The examples, tips, and template below will help you present your unique background in a compelling and memorable way. QuillBot’s cover letter generator can also help you with concise and powerful word choices every step of the way.
Cover letter for career change examples Emily is a reading teacher pursuing an implementation specialist role at an EdTech company that sells reading diagnostic software. In her cover letter, she describes her success using the software in the classroom. She also explains how her teaching experience uniquely qualifies her to meet the needs of K–12 clients.
Khalif is an experienced realtor who is pivoting to a career as a transaction coordinator for a real estate broker. In his cover letter, he explains how he’s already demonstrated strong communication and proficiency with client database systems and escrow paperwork as a realtor, which will prepare him to succeed in a different real-estate role.
Published on
April 21, 2025
by
Nicole Routh, M.Ed
Revised on
November 11, 2025
The genitive case in English is a grammatical form for nouns, determiners, and pronouns that have a possessive relationship with another noun. For example, the genitive case of “Ava” is “Ava’s” in the phrase “Ava’s car,” which shows that Ava owns the car. The possession can be literal or metaphorical (e.g., “our friend” or “the apartment’s balcony”).
English nouns in the genitive case have apostrophes (e.g., “Molly’s guitar”). Genitive case also includes possessive determiners (e.g., “her guitar”) and possessive pronouns (e.g., “The guitar is hers”).
Genitive case examples
Possessive nouns
Possessive determiners
Possessive pronouns
The mayor’sEarth Day speech inspired us to plant a garden.
The apartment above the bookstore used to be ours.
Diana’s backyard has a 300-year-old tree.
The iced mocha latte boosted her energy.
Aaliya just left, so this jacket must be hers.
All of my friends’ dogs are sweet and lovable.
Jude and Tracey are super busy because their kids all play sports.
The artists said that those designs are theirs.
You can also use a noun phrase with “of” to show a possessive (or similar) relationship. For example, in “The balcony of the apartment was full of plants,” the balcony “belongs to” (or is part of) the apartment.
The following tips and examples show when the genitive case is necessary and how to use the different versions of the genitive case correctly.
NoteThe other two cases in English are nominative case (e.g., “I” and “they”) and objective case (e.g., “me” and “them”). All three cases affect the spelling of pronouns. However, only genitive case affects nouns.
Published on
April 18, 2025
by
Nicole Routh, M.Ed
Revised on
November 18, 2025
An administrative assistant cover letter is a concise 1-page business letter of 300–400 words that you submit with a resume. It should illustrate how well your office skills and experience align with the type of administrative support that a specific office needs. Cover letters for administrative assistant roles also showcase your business writing skills.
Each administrative assistant cover letter should be tailored to the employer, industry, and the keywords from the job posting (e.g., “MS Office” or “data entry”) so that you’re more likely to be contacted for an interview.
The guidelines, example, and template below will help you craft a compelling cover letter for an administrative assistant position that you can adapt for different opportunities. QuillBot’s free AI cover letter generator also makes it easy to synthesize your skills and experience into a polished cover letter.
TipBefore you draft your administrative assistant cover letter, take some time to analyze the job posting and brainstorm details for the body paragraphs. It may seem like an extra step, but it will prevent writer’s block and save you time in the long run. One of the quickest ways to organize your ideas is by following these steps.
Review the job description, list of duties, and job requirements to find the hard skills (e.g., Microsoft Access) and soft skills (e.g., problem solving) that the role would entail.
For each skill that you already have, copy/paste the keyword into a blank document.
Below each keyword, type 2–4 bullet points about when and where you demonstrated the skill. Bonus points if you can link the skill to a measurable accomplishment (e.g., recognition from a supervisor or reduced wait times in a phone queue or reception area).
You can then use these brainstorming notes to decide what details your body paragraphs will include.
Published on
April 15, 2025
by
Nicole Routh, M.Ed
Revised on
November 11, 2025
In some languages, the accusative case is a grammatical case for the direct object of a verb. For example, in “I made two pizzas and baked them in the oven,” the pronoun “them” is the direct object of the verb “baked.” In English, the grammatical case for direct objects (as well as indirect objects and objects of prepositions) is called the objective case.
The term “accusative case” isn’t common in English because its three grammatical cases are nominative, genitive, and objective. In other languages (e.g., German and Russian), the accusative case is for direct objects, and the dative case is for indirect objects. In English, direct objects and indirect objects are both part of the objective case.
Learning about the objective case helps with correct pronoun usage. When a pronoun is a direct object, it must be an objective case pronoun (e.g., “her” or “me”). Nominative case pronouns (e.g., “she” or “I”) are not correct for direct objects.
Accusative case examplesJason invited us to Hawaii.
Published on
April 15, 2025
by
Nicole Routh, M.Ed
Revised on
November 11, 2025
The dative case is the grammatical case for an indirect object—a noun or pronoun that receives a direct object. For example, in “Sally baked us a cake,” the indirect object “us” receives the direct object “cake.”
The term “dative case” isn’t a common grammar term in English because the three cases in English are nominative, genitive, and objective. The objective case in English includes the accusative caseanddative case, which are different in some languages (e.g., Latin and German), but not English.
Learning about the objective case helps you use pronouns correctly. When a pronoun is an indirect object (dative case), a direct object (accusative case), or the object of a preposition, it must be one of the objective case pronouns (e.g., “them” or “themselves”). Nominative case pronouns (e.g., “they”) are not correct in the objective case.
Dative case examplesPedro wrote Summer a note.
The realtor showed us three houses.
The bank loaned themmoney for a car.
Kamal’s parents threw him a huge party on his birthday.
