November 12, 2024
If you went to the grocery store with your roommate, would you say “He and I went” or “He and me went”? And if your friend graciously offered to drive you both, would you say “They drove him and I” Read more…
November 5, 2024
Most words have antonyms, which are “opposite” words. For example, the antonym of good is bad. An antonym of sad is happy. Then there are these super CONFUSING words called contronyms. These words are their OWN antonyms; they mean both Read more…
September 28, 2024
It’s back! That pesky apostrophe is once again confusing people with two words that sound exactly the same but actually mean COMPLETELY different things. “Your” and “You’re” sound like the same word when we say them out loud, which is Read more…
September 17, 2024
“It’s” and “its” mean two COMPLETELY different things. These two little words get mixed up all. the. time. In fact, I’d say it’s one of the most common errors that I come across while copyediting. About this error, Lynne Truss Read more…
September 3, 2024
I can’t leave that question in the title hanging—it’s stressing me out too much to pretend that “which” could be correct in that phrase. The correct title is “The Grammar Faux Pas That Annoys Me the Most,” and there’s one Read more…
August 27, 2024
“Fewer” and “less” both mean “a smaller amount than,” so lots of people use them interchangeably. However, these words are actually different! There are specific times when you need “fewer” and other times when “less” is more appropriate. The rule Read more…
August 21, 2024
Here’s the problem with “affect” and “effect”: When we say them out loud, they often sound like the exact same word. Because we don’t get to practice differentiating them in our speech, when it comes time to write them down, Read more…
August 20, 2024
If you really stop and think about which form of “they’re,” “there,” or “their” you need, chances are pretty good that you’ll figure it out and arrive at the correct conclusion (likely by remembering your middle school English lessons). I Read more…
August 5, 2024
A common query in English is whether that first little vowel in further/farther really makes any difference. If you’re running a longer distance than someone else, are you going further or farther than them? And if you’re expounding on an Read more…
August 2, 2024
If you’re feeling sorry for someone, do you feel “bad” for them? Or should you feel “badly” instead? I’m writing about these two because I hear them get mixed up ALL THE TIME. I never judge people who mix them Read more…