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Tag Archives: English
Coldest I’ve Ever Been
It is with great shame that I must report that I have to write about one of my own language failings. When it was bitterly cold the other morning, I reported that I’ve never been that cold before. While I … Continue reading
Posted in grammar, language, writing
Tagged English, grammar, I've never been that cold before, imprecise language
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Alls Is a Grammar Error
I heard someone on television (one of my favorite resources for grammar errors) use the grammar error alls, as in Alls I know is…. It’s not an error that I hear often, but it has been around for a very … Continue reading
You Can Quote Me on That
While British English allows for period placement outside quotation marks, in American English, the period goes inside the quotation marks. He referred to the people being wrestled to the ground and the shoes flying in mid-air as a “disagreement.” Paul … Continue reading
Posted in grammar, language, writing
Tagged English, grammar error, language, quotation marks, writing
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It’s Supposedly, Not Supposably
What does supposably mean? Is it supposed to mean in a supposed way? How about able to be supposed? No, I don’t suppose; those don’t make sense. In reality, supposably is a non-word that is mistakenly used for the correct … Continue reading
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Tagged English, grammar error, language, supposably, supposedly, writing
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User Friendly Is Just Easy to Use
While flipping around the dial (that’s what we used to say back in the good old days), I heard the host of a travel show tell a traveler that Italy is the most user-friendly country. A country is user friendly? … Continue reading
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Tagged easy to use, English, grammar, language, user friendly, writing
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Me and You, Me and Him, Me and….Anyone Else
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
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Tagged English, grammar etiquette, language, me and him, me and you, speaking, writing
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Linking Verbs Further De-mystified
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
Linking Verbs De-mystified
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
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Is It Him and I or Him and Me?
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
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The Number Of versus A Number Of
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
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Tagged a number of, English, grammar error, the number of, writing
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