Author Archives: languageandgrammar

Myself Cannot Be the Subject of a Sentence

Posted on July 18, 2010 by languageandgrammar

Do not use myself as the subject of a sentence. Myself and the other -self words—himself, herself, ourselves, etc.—are  reflexives, and reflexives cannot be used as subjects. Nominatives should be used as subjects. The nominatives are I, we, he, she, … Continue reading →

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Breaking News: Bank Robber Decides to Not Wait for Police

Posted on July 16, 2010 by languageandgrammar

By Paul Yeager, author of Literally, the Best Language Book Ever Headline in today’s Daily Collegian, which is the excellent student newspaper at Penn State: Bank Robber Flees Scene. I have to admit that I was not surprised by that–rarely … Continue reading →

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Jefferson Mistake in Declaration of Independence

Posted on July 14, 2010 by languageandgrammar

By Paul Yeager, author of Literally, the Best Language Book Ever None of us is perfect, of course, but it’s interesting to note mistakes of particular notoriety, such as the one Thomas Jefferson apparently made in the rough draft of … Continue reading →

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Classic Example of Over-Inflated Language

Posted on July 9, 2010 by languageandgrammar

By Paul Yeager, author of Literally, the Best Language Book Ever and Weather Whys: Facts, Myths, and Oddities. Over-inflated and convoluted language does not make a person sound more intelligent, but it does make a person seem as if: he’s … Continue reading →

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Dear America–David Mitchell

Posted on July 8, 2010 by languageandgrammar

For some reason, I feel that I should introduce this video of a funny British man giving a language rant with the line of “And now for something completely different.”

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Common Grammar Errors

Posted on June 16, 2010 by languageandgrammar

Since we changed the design of the site, I know that some of our other pages are not as obvious as they were in the past, but they’re still there, including: Sherry’s Grammar List, which includes a heavy dose of … Continue reading →

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Facilitate Does Not Mean To Lead

Posted on June 11, 2010 by languageandgrammar

By Paul Yeager, author of Literally, the Best Language Book Ever We all have those certain little words or phrases that just drive us crazy (If you need proof, see  our Pet Peeves page), and the word facilitate has become … Continue reading →

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Meaning of Words

Posted on June 3, 2010 by languageandgrammar

Our blog friend, Frume Sarah, recently wrote an excellent piece on the meaning of words. The article focused on the shift of meaning of the word gay from happy to homosexual and how referring to something (such as the way … Continue reading →

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Memorial Day: A Solemn, not “Happy,” Holiday

Posted on May 28, 2010 by languageandgrammar

I enjoy a three-day weekend as much as the next person, and I’m not suggesting that you shouldn’t enjoy the Memorial Day weekend——–but———Memorial Day is a day to remember those who died serving our country. In other words, “Happy Memorial … Continue reading →

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Why Not Go for an Even Century…

Posted on May 21, 2010 by languageandgrammar

Apparently, the Oxford English Dictionary (OED as it’s called by some) has had a mistake in it for the last 99 years. It’s incorrectly stated that a siphon works because of atmospheric pressure, but it turns out that’s just good … Continue reading →

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