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Category Archives: grammar
Who Versus That
We all know that it’s important to avoid major grammar errors if we want to present ourselves in the best possible light, but it’s often subtle grammar errors that ultimately make the difference. Even when those subtle errors go unnoticed, … Continue reading
Posted in grammar, language
Tagged grammar, grammar error, language, using who or that, who vs. that, writing
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Self Words: This Redundancy is Self-Evident
The reflexive pronouns are myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, and themselves. (Notice that there is no themself, ourself, theirselves, or hisself in that list, so please don’t ever say those non-words again.) When you use one of these … Continue reading
Posted in grammar
Tagged grammar error, reflexive pronouns, self grammar, self-control yourself, writing
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NPR Redundancy
Some of the most common grammar errors are those of redundancy. In fact, there are so many such errors that I devoted an entire chapter (Play It Again, Sam) to them in Literally, the Best Language Book Ever. Examples in the … Continue reading
Posted in grammar, language, writing
Tagged National Public Radio, NPR, NPR Radio, redundancy, writing
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It’s These, Not These Ones
These ones come from Paris. Those ones come from Australia. Used in this way, these and those are demonstrative pronouns that should never be followed by ones. These already refers to the objects (the ones, the things) that are near, and … Continue reading
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Tagged grammar, grammar error, these, these ones, those, those ones, writing
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Ideation and Ideating
I wasn’t paying much attention to the television, but when I heard a guest on an MSNBC broadcast say ideation, it grabbed my attention. The exact quote was There is a lot of ideation out there. I’m not sure of the … Continue reading
Is it Literally or Figuratively?
A news anchor after the congressional hearing on Roger Clemens’ alleged use of steroids, February 13, 2008: You‘ve been watching Roger Clemens, the rocket of baseball, literally in the hot seat. I don’t think so. Literally means that something occurred … Continue reading
Posted in grammar
Tagged grammar, grammar errors, literally or figuratively, literally vs figuratively, writing
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More on Impact
I’ve noticed that many people are as interested in the misuse of the word impact as a verb as am I. In my IMPACT DOES NOT MEAN TO AFFECT post, I explained that impact isn’t a verb unless it’s used … Continue reading
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Tagged grammar error, impact, impact verb or noun, writing
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And Etc.
I do quite a bit of academic editing of journal articles, proposals, and dissertations, and I find that students and professors of all ages and levels like to use the redundant and etc. Et cetera (etc.) is an abbreviation that … Continue reading
Hope Against Hopefully
The word hopefully is an adverb; notice the -ly, which to an adverb is analogous to the stripes on a zebra–most adverbs have them. An adverb is a word that describes a verb, so hopefully is a word that describes how something is done. Charlie … Continue reading
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Tagged grammar, grammar errors, hope vs. hopefully, hopefully, I hope, writing
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You Have a Couple of Something, Not a Couple Something
AP article, January 20, 2008: In a national economy teetering on the brink of recession, there are a couple bright spots for Pennsylvania. Perhaps it’s not fair, but I expect more from institutions such as the AP. I actually didn’t … Continue reading
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