Author Archives: languageandgrammar

Me and You, Me and Him, Me and….Anyone Else

Posted on November 25, 2008 by languageandgrammar

This is not so much an English grammar rule as it is English grammar etiquette that says something about the speaker. When referring to yourself and anyone else, the polite thing to do is to put yourself last, not first. … Continue reading →

Posted in grammar, language, writing | Tagged English, grammar etiquette, language, me and him, me and you, speaking, writing | Comments Off

Dropped the Ball

Posted on November 24, 2008 by languageandgrammar

Despite what the Monday Night Football crew apparently thinks, dropping the ball is not the same thing as not catching the ball. I’m saying this because the crack announcers showed a highlight reel of dropped passes by Cleveland Browns’ wide receiver … Continue reading →

Posted in grammar, language, sports, writing | Tagged Braylon Edwards, Cleveland Browns, dropped the ball, football, Monday Night Football, Monday night football announcers | Comments Off

Linking Verbs Further De-mystified

Posted on November 22, 2008 by languageandgrammar

In Linking Verbs De-mystified, I said that I would talk more about linking verbs later because there’s just too much to do for one post. Well, later has arrived. Again, we’ll keep it simple for clarity sake. Remember, linking verbs … Continue reading →

Posted in grammar, language, writing | Tagged English, grammar, language, linking verbs, writing | Comments Off

O, What a Flight

Posted on November 20, 2008 by languageandgrammar

As regular readers of the blog may know, I was invited to this year’s Miami Book Fair. It was a wonderful experience–an honor to be invited and a pleasure to present. Air travel in our modern world, however, is always somewhat of an … Continue reading →

Posted in humor, off topic | Tagged air travel humor, annoying parents, humor, Miami Book Fair, modern air travel, o's, off topic, philadelphia, Philadelphia airport | Comments Off

Linking Verbs De-mystified

Posted on November 19, 2008 by languageandgrammar

Linking verbs have several things going on, so we’ll keep this one simple. Linking verbs are intransitive (Transitive and Intransitive Verbs); that is, they do not have direct objects after them. Linking verbs describe a state of being rather than … Continue reading →

Posted in grammar, language, writing | Tagged English, grammar, language, linking verbs, predicate adjective, predicate noun, subject complement | Comments Off

Anonymous or Unnamed Source

Posted on November 17, 2008 by languageandgrammar

Not every post on this blog is as simple being correct or incorrect. Sometimes, it’s about clarification to ensure accurate communication, and I think that we could use some clarification about the use of the adjectives anonymous and unnamed when … Continue reading →

Posted in grammar, language, writing | Tagged anonymous sources, anonymous versus unnamed sources, communication, grammar, language, Sarah Palin, unnamed sources | Comments Off

Miami Book Fair, Here I Come

Posted on November 11, 2008 by languageandgrammar

The Miami Book Fair is the largest and most prestigious book fair in the country, and I’m very excited to be one of the participating authors this year. The festival, which takes place on the campus of Miami Dade College … Continue reading →

Posted in grammar, language, writing | Tagged Ammon Shea, grammar, language, literally the best language book ever, Miami Book Fair, Miami Book Fair 2008, Miami Dada College, Mim Harrison, paul yeager, Reading the OED, Smart Words, writing | Comments Off

Is It Him and I or Him and Me?

Posted on November 9, 2008 by languageandgrammar

I’ve already written some general information about pronouns, but I think that it might be more helpful if I tackle them individually. Here, I’ll talk about the personal pronouns him and I versus him and me. Let’s get a couple … Continue reading →

Posted in grammar, language, writing | Tagged English, grammar error, him and I, him and me, language, nominative pronouns, objective pronouns, personal pronouns, writing | 2 Comments

On Either Side of This Mistake

Posted on November 7, 2008 by languageandgrammar

Either I’m missing something, or we’ve become very confused about the proper use of the word either. We still get it right when used in the way I just used it, either/or; it’s either one thing or another; however, either … Continue reading →

Posted in grammar, language, writing | Tagged both not either, either/or, grammar, HGTV, interior design, language, on either side, writing | 2 Comments

The Number Of versus A Number Of

Posted on November 6, 2008 by languageandgrammar

A number of should be used with a plural verb. Think of it this way: A number of equates to the word they. A number of fans buy tickets at the game. (They buy tickets.) A number of dogs in our … Continue reading →

Posted in grammar, language, writing | Tagged a number of, English, grammar error, the number of, writing | Comments Off