January 7, 2025
Commas have many, MANY uses, from separating elements in a series to setting off introductory phrases to separating a speaker from their quotation to surrounding nonrestrictive clauses and so much more. But there are definitely some times when you should Read more…
January 6, 2025
Punctuation marks don’t just exist to end sentences. They have a whole range of jobs, like introducing quotations, marking transitions mid-sentence, and connecting compound words. Another one of their many jobs is to REPLACE missing letters or words, and this Read more…
You know, I really wish there were just one hard-and-fast set of grammar rules that everyone agreed on and followed all the time. That’d make things much easier for writers, editors, students, and anyone learning English as a second language. Read more…
January 2, 2025
I’m a textbook introvert who reads a lot and doesn’t like to talk very much. Consequently, I have frequently learned a new word, pronounced it a certain way in my head, and then later learned (sometimes in embarrassing ways) that Read more…
Hold on to your hat because this post just might blow your mind. Even if you’re a native English speaker, you might be getting these nine common phrases WRONG. Each of these phrases has an unfortunate buddy that SOUNDS like Read more…
December 23, 2024
Spaghetto, paparazzo, and confetto may sound unnatural and strange to our ears, but they’re real singular words! The same goes for die, magum, and a bunch of other uncommon singular forms of plural words that we use all the time. Read more…
Folks who are passionate about English and grammar love to talk about William Shakespeare. He’s called “The Bard”—not “a bard,” “THE Bard”—because he’s widely considered to be the greatest English poet (and one of the greatest storytellers) who ever lived. Read more…
December 16, 2024
Hey kids, spelling is fun! Songwriters are poets, and Taylor Swift is arguably one of the best. No one can tell me that “You kept me like a secret, but I kept you like an oath” isn’t some of the Read more…
December 5, 2024
I’m back to disprove yet another grammar myth. We’ve talked about avoiding contractions, putting two spaces after a period, ending a sentence with a preposition, and splitting infinitives. Now it’s time to tackle yet another “rule” that is actually complete Read more…
Has a teacher ever told you that you should never use contractions in formal or professional writing? Maybe you got an essay back with all the don’ts and I’ms scribbled out and replaced with do nots and I ams. I’ve Read more…