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Author Archives: languageandgrammar
Portmanteau: Blame it on Lewis Carroll
A reader requested the following explanation: “…Perhaps you can tell me what word is used when a part of one word is combined with part of another word to form a whole new word.” Well, the short answer would have … Continue reading
Posted in grammar, language, writing
Tagged grammar, language, Lewis Carroll, neologism, portmanteau, writing
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No Exclusions!
I recently received a flier in the mail from a department store whose goal it was to alert me to their latest sale offer. Their big news was that I could get 10 dollars off my sale or clearance purchases … Continue reading
Posted in language
Tagged christmas shopping, marketing, misleading language, no exclusions on apparel, promotioon
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Verb Moods: Indicative, Imperative, Subjunctive. What Mood Are You In?
Verbs can have one of three moods: indicative, imperative, or subjunctive. The indicative mood only includes verbs in sentences that are either statements (declarative sentences) or questions (interrogative sentences). It is unfortunate that more people do not live their lives … Continue reading
Posted in grammar, language, writing
Tagged English, grammar errors, imperative, indicative, language, subjunctive, verb moods, writing
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Leave and Let: Either Leave It Alone or Let It Go
Do not mistakenly use let for leave. As is true for most words, there are other meanings and nuanced meanings (I’m just going to stick to what is needed for our purposes), but generally, to let means to allow and … Continue reading
Past or Passed: When the Past Has Passed
Use past to refer to the time that came before now or to refer to beyond something in distance. His ten years of working for a corporation with a bad reputation is in the past (the time before now). Their … Continue reading
Could Care Less or Couldn’t Care Less; Do You Care?
How many times have you heard someone say I could care less? For every time you’ve heard it, have you wondered why the person saying it COULD care less about something he seemingly doesn’t care about at all? I could … Continue reading
Posted in language
Tagged English, grammar error, I could care less, I couldn't care less, language
5 Comments
Overspoke
I’m not sure what overspoke is supposed to mean. When you overeat, it means that you’ve eaten too much. When you oversleep, it means that you’ve slept too much and missed, for example, an appointment. So does overspoke mean that … Continue reading
Posted in grammar, language, writing
Tagged English, grammar errors, overspeak, overspoke, Tucker Carlson
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Plural of Mother-In-Law: It’s the Mothers, Not the Laws!
A faithful reader sent a comment about how hyphenated plural nouns such as mother-in-laws and sister-in-laws drives her crazy. She said that hearing this grammar error sounds like fingernails on a chalkboard, and since we all know how that can … Continue reading
Posted in language
Tagged English, grammar errors, hyphenated nouns, language, mother-in-laws, mothers-in-law, writing
4 Comments
Is It Have Gone or Have Went?
Don’t get the past tense of the verb to go confused with the past participle of the verb to go. The past tense is went, and the past participle is gone, and each one has a different place in a … Continue reading
Posted in grammar, language, writing
Tagged English, grammar error, have or has, language, past participle, past tense, writing
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Has Your Curiosity Been Peaked—or Piqued?
I understand why it’s tempting to use the word peak when describing an excited stage of interest in or curiosity about something. After all, a peak is the pointy top of something, so it’s natural to think of a peak … Continue reading
Posted in grammar
Tagged English, grammar, grammar error, language, peak or pique, writing
5 Comments
Everything Language and Grammar 