Paul Yeager's weather book
Paul Yeager's language book
Tag Archives: English
Me, Myself, and I
A story on a regional news show ended with the interviewee saying, It was good for the neighborhood and myself. I was glad that things had worked out for the community, but, being as concerned as I am with grammar, … Continue reading
Posted in grammar
Tagged English, grammar error, intensive pronouns, myself, reflexive pronouns, writing
4 Comments
You’re, Your
I often enough see your used where you’re should be used. You’re is the contraction for you are. Take the following sentence: You’re your own worst enemy. You’re (you are) your own worst enemy. Your shows possession just like my, … Continue reading
Posted in grammar
Tagged contractions, English, grammar, possessives, writing, you're, your
Comments Off on You’re, Your
Total 360
I know (believe me, I know) that it sometimes seems as if it’s difficult to change direction in life, and perhaps that’s a reflection of our tendency to say the phrase I did a total 360 instead of the correct statement I … Continue reading
Affect vs. Effect
This is one of those strictly written errors in English; nevertheless, it’s still a grammar error. Affect and effect have several meanings, but people get them most mixed up when trying to use the noun effect as the verb to … Continue reading
Posted in grammar
Tagged affect or effect, English, grammar error, writing
Comments Off on Affect vs. Effect
Blowback
Blowback has become an increasingly popular (i.e, trendy) term, and it’s being used to mean….uh…actually, I don’t know what it’s being used to mean. That’s one of the problems with words that are made up or words that are being … Continue reading
Choose This!
A couple of days ago, I was reading the comments related to an Internet article listing food that packs on the pounds (is there really anyone out there who still doesn’t know that cream-filled doughnuts and buttered mashed potatoes could … Continue reading
Most Stupid or Stupidest: Stupid Grammar Error
The superlative form of stupid is most stupid, as in I made the most stupid mistake, not stupidest. Stupidest can be heard and seen everywhere, including many modern dictionaries, but it’s wrong. (Please don’t ask me to roll out my … Continue reading
Posted in grammar
Tagged comparative, English, grammar error, stupid, stupider, stupidest, superlative, writing
4 Comments
Diss Goes Mainstream
It’s interesting to follow the progression of one generation’s trendy words as they spread into the more mainstream lexicon. The reason that the new generation started to create the new, trendy way of speaking was to separate themselves from the … Continue reading
Posted in grammar, language, politics, writing
Tagged Andrea Mitchell, Chris Matthews, diss, English, grammar, language, MSNBC, Newt Gingrich, politics, writing
Leave a comment
Sneak or Snuck: Sneak’s Snuck Sneaked In
Speaking of sneaking, maybe that’s how the word snuck got into the dictionary; I can’t think of any other reason for it to be there. Although snuck is used fairly widely, the correct past tense and past participle of sneak … Continue reading
Posted in grammar
Tagged English, grammar error, past participle, past tense, sneak, sneaked or snuck, writing
11 Comments
War on Everything
Many of us have heard of the law of attraction, which is the belief that whatever a person experiences is a direct reflection of what he believes. For instance, if he believes that he has to fight for every penny, then he will, indeed, have … Continue reading
Posted in language, writing
Tagged English, grammar, language, law of attraction, war, war on crime, war on drugs, war on poverty, writing
Comments Off on War on Everything
Everything Language and Grammar 