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…
July 31, 2024
One sure-fire way to sound fancy is to (correctly) use “whom.” Consistently using it is so rare that we really only expect it from people like the Dowager Countess of Grantham (the posh grandmother on Downton Abbey, of course). It’s Read more…
July 30, 2024
Taylor Swift’s documentary “Miss Americana” was a beautiful work of art that I LOVED—except for one scene. While discussing the lyrics for her song “The Man,” she has a moment of doubt about the chorus: “If I was a man Read more…
July 25, 2024
If you don’t know a lot about dashes, this is gonna rock your world. Really. Everything is about to change for you. Because our friend the dash is not alone. There are actually not one, not two, but THREE kinds Read more…