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Tag Archives: English
Like a Bull in a China Shop
Most cliches have enough truth to them that, while the use of the phrase is monotonous and ineffective, there is at least some logic behind using it. That’s apparently not the case with the ever-popular like a bull in a … Continue reading
Posted in language, off topic, writing
Tagged bull in a china shop, cliches, Discovery Channel, English, language, mybusters, writing
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We versus Us: We the People
I’ve already written about general pronoun choice, but the we/us dilemma is worth tackling separately. We is a nominative pronoun, which means that it is used as a subject, and us is an objective pronoun, which means that it is … Continue reading
Posted in grammar, language, writing
Tagged English, grammar error, language, nominative pronoun, objective pronoun, pronouns, we or us, We the people, writing
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Can’t Help But Cringe at This Construction
Try to avoid the can’t help but construction. While it has been around for a while, most grammarians agree that it’s not the most logical construction. It’s considered to be a confused mix of the expressions can but and can’t … Continue reading
Posted in grammar, language, writing
Tagged can't help but think, can't help thinking, English, grammar error, language, writing
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Complement/Compliment
As a verb, to complement is to complete or to supplement. The wine complemented the meal. As a noun, complement is something that completes something else. The addition of the B6 vitamin to my morning routine now gives me a … Continue reading
Posted in language
Tagged compliment or complement, English, grammar error, language, writing
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Is It Amount, or Is It Number?
The number of times that I’ve seen these words confused is more than I can count—and that’s actually the point of the amount/number topic. Number refers to things that can be counted as individuals. Amount refers to a mass quantity, … Continue reading
Posted in grammar, language, writing
Tagged English, grammar error, language, number or amount, writing
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The “C” in Arctic Stands for Cold!
While the blast of bitterly cold Canadian air will be the major weather story across the country for the next several days, I thought that it was a good time to correct a common pronunciation (and possibly spelling) error. The … Continue reading
Posted in grammar, language, weather, writing
Tagged Arctic, Artic, English, language, meteorology, spelling errors, writing
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Stationary versus Stationery
There are certain lessons—and when I say lessons, of course, I mean grammar lessons—that we always remember having been taught, and this is one of them for me. I still recall my elementary-school teacher explaining the difference between stationary, which … Continue reading
Posted in grammar, language, writing
Tagged English, grammar error, language, stationary, stationery, writing
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Pangs or Pains?
This is as close to fast-food week as we’re ever going to get here at languageandgrammar.com. Not only did I recently talk about the Chick-Fil-A Bowl, but now I’m talking about a topic that’s been featured in a recent McDonald’s … Continue reading
Posted in grammar, language, writing
Tagged English, grammar error, hunger pains, hunger pangs, language
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12 Million Reasons
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: While not all of us care about using proper grammar at all times, we all have at least one language pet peeve. As you’ll notice from the Pet Peeves page on … Continue reading
Posted in grammar, language, writing
Tagged 12 million reasons, English, Kevin Millwood, language pet peeves, major league baseball, mlbtraderumors, writing
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