Grammar & Usage

Usage Notes (page 2)

Using Bullet Points ( • )

Point of View: It's Personal

First, second, and third person explained

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

Beyond 'simile' and 'metaphor'

Plural and Possessive Names: A Guide

A guide to plural and possessive names

Words in Disguise: Do these seem familiar?

Some words resemble other words enough to make you think you know them. You might not.

Transgender vs. Transsexual

Disconcerting vs. Concerning

'Geminates': Twin Sounds

When do doubled letters have doubled sounds?

What is 'perfective done'?

An interesting facet of African American English

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

All your favorite pet peeves

What is a Preposition?

What is an adverb?

What is a Verb?

What is a Noun?

What is an adjective?

What is a conjunction?

'Duly Noted': What Does it Mean?

What is an appositive?

What is figurative language?

Paint a picture with words

Regarding the Incorrect Use of 'Decimate'

Stop complaining about this word

What's the Past Tense of 'Green-light'?

Is the project green-lighted? Or greenlit?

Can you use 'best' or 'biggest' or 'most' when you're only comparing two things?

Explaining the "best" of two

A Treatise on Parallel Adjectives

Or, 'trusty' and 'trusted'

What Is 'Semantic Bleaching'?

How 'literally' can mean "figuratively"

Do you wait 'on line' or 'in line'?

Depends where you're from

Do you 'gild' the lily or 'paint' it?

A Shakespearean comedy of errors

On 'Currant,' 'Current,' and 'Courant'

We're raisin' the issues of the day.

'Ferment' vs. 'Foment'

More heat than light.

Is it wrong to say 'from whence'?

Whence did you get that idea?

How to Use the Dictionary

Take it from the people who know.

'Frankenstein' and 'Frankenfood': Creator or creation?

Giving life to a new prefix

What counts as a 'dilemma'?

Does it have to be between two things?

Is 'face mask' redundant?

Our (sanitary) coverage of the matter.

Complaining About 'Obnoxious'

The word, not the behavior

'Arrive At' vs. 'Arrive To': A Very Nerdy Analysis

Is there a difference?

Sorting Out Essential and Nonessential Clauses

When are commas needed?

5 Verbal Slip Ups and Language Mistakes

Sorting out eggcorns, mondegreens, and more

Can you 'curate' anything?

Or can it only be art?

'Evacuate': Does it refer to people or places?

Notes on a nonexistent rule

Back Words

Words ending in 'back'

When Speaking of Age Ranges

Is it “ages 6 through 12” or “aged 6 through 12?”

7 Words That Are, In Fact, Real

They do exist

Snollygoster or Snallygaster?

In case you need to find out

A Guide to Double Possessives

They're perfectly grammatical.

A Word on 'Descriptive' and 'Prescriptive' Defining

When it comes to words, we're descriptive.

'Mano a Mano': A Hands-On Approach

Notes on a confusing borrowing

'Would just as soon' vs. 'Would just assume'

One's an idiom; one's an eggcorn.

16 Terms of 'Agreement'

These are the ABC's (literally).

'Essential' & 'Nonessential'

Or is it 'inessential'? Or 'unessential'?

The Weird Logic of 'Near Miss'

It's not the catastrophe it could have been.

'Furlough' vs 'Layoff'

Is there a difference?

'Quarantine' vs 'Isolation'

The vocabulary of keeping distance

'All Set': A Phrase Beyond "Ready"

A simple phrase with a lot of meanings

Kids' Table: A Table with a Mess of Names

It's a question for the adult table.

ls ‘series’ singular or plural?

Getting our ducks in a row on it.

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Well, who's asking?

Do the Names of the Seasons Get Capitalized?

On common nouns and falling leaves

A Note on the Nonbinary 'They'

It's now in the dictionary.

The Provenance of 'Providence'

As well as 'province' and 'provenience'

Must 'Collide' Mean Two Moving Objects?

No, you can collide with a parked car

Must 'Avid' Mean 'Greedy'?

A word eager to transcend its roots

An Overview of the Contronym 'Overlook'

Are you watching or missing something?

On ‘Brisk’ and ‘Brusque’

We won’t be short about it.

A Word on the Classical 'Collateral Adjective'

Or, how 'feline' is an adjective for 'cat'

Is ‘plethora’ singular or plural?

When your options are plentiful.

'Teach 'em' or 'Learn 'em'?

When did 'learn' stop meaning "to teach?"

'Truthiness': Can something "seem," without being, true?

When you just know.

'Extort': An Old Word Doing a New Thing

Strong-arming its way into a new sense

Does ‘Uninhibited’ Contain a Double Negative?

You couldn’t be hibited even if you tried.

Should There Be an Apostrophe in ‘Farmers Market’?

Certified organic usage advice

‘Incommunicado’: We Won’t Be Silent on the Subject

When you just can't talk right now.

Can 'Exponential' Mean 'Lots'?

(Or, 'How to Disappoint Your Math Teacher')

'Broadcast' or 'Broadcasted'?

Conjugating an irregular verb

'Orient' or 'Orientate'?

Why the extra syllable?

What Is the Plural of 'Still Life'?

Ask the lowlifes among us.

Pro-Verb: The Complement to the Pronoun

Like the pronoun, it's a meaningful substitute

Some Odd Words with ISMO: "The One-derful Won"

Comedian ISMO tries to figure out 'one' and 'two'

What's the Non-Issue with 'Astronomical'?

Its figurative use is rarely complained about.

Can 'Fortuitous' Mean 'Fortunate'?

Do you feel lucky?

To Be or Not To Be: A Look at Other Linking Verbs

Watch as we go rogue.

On the Rightful Use of 'Entitle'

Can it be used to refer to names?

Can a Dinner Be 'Amazing'?

Semantic bleaching and the power to amaze

On ‘Suffice It to Say’

What exactly is the 'it' being sufficed?

Can 'Task' Be Used as a Verb?

Taking a usage peeve to task

'It is I' or 'It is me'?

All about the predicate nominative

Should You Never Use Adverbs?

And if so, what about 'never'?

Can 'creative' be a noun?

When adjectives drift into noun territory

Are 'stupider' and 'stupidest' real words?

Smart advice on modifying adjectives

'Memento’: Something to Remember the Moment

If you need a reminder.

The Truth About 'Y': It's Mostly a Vowel

A consonant that acts more like a vowel.

Can you earn a single ‘kudo'?

A pat on the back for a back-formation.

'Shaken' (Not Stirred) and Leaving Us 'Shook'

The participle made famous by Elvis

Can you 'feel good'?

We certainly hope so.

Getting in the (Subjunctive) Mood

A guide to the trickiest verbs

We're Going to Explain the Deal with 'Try And' and 'Try To'

Just try and stop us

We Know You're Concerned about 'Important' and 'Importantly'

But more importantly, we can help

Putting 'Myself' Where 'Me' or 'I' Usually Goes

It's just me, myself, and I

The Difference Between Dependent and Independent Clauses

Some clauses have an indie feel to them.

Natheless and Other Prepositions You’ve Never Heard

Feel free to put them at the end of a sentence.

Is 'Consensus of Opinion' Redundant?

Is 'consensus of opinion' redundant?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

How to pluralize pretty much anything

Can 'majority' and 'minority' be used with noncount nouns?

It's not as simple as you may think.

The Last Word on 'Finalize'

All good pet peeves must come to an end

Centuries and How to Refer to Them

Is it the 1600s or the 16th century?

'Than': What Follows It and Why

'Better than I' or 'better than me'?

'Restive': A Word That Won't Sit Still

From "stubborn" to "fidgety"

The Problems with 'Very'

People have issues with it

It's 'All of a Sudden' (There's No 'The')

Not 'all of the sudden,' yet
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