Paul Yeager's weather book
Paul Yeager's language book
Tag Archives: grammar error
A.M. in the Morning, P.M. in the Afternoon
It seems to me that I hear this particular grammar error more frequently now than in the past. I don’t know why, and it doesn’t really matter; I’m just here to clear things up. Schools will open at 9:30 a.m. … Continue reading
Posted in grammar
Tagged a.m. in the morning, ante meridiem, grammar, grammar error, p.m. in the afternoon, post meridiem, writing
Comments Off on A.M. in the Morning, P.M. in the Afternoon
Using Had: the Past Perfect Tense
A reader wanted to know how to use the word had in relation to verb tense, so I’m going to try to give a simple, short answer to her question. I think what the reader was asking about was the … Continue reading
Posted in grammar
Tagged grammar error, had, past perfect tense, using had in past, verb tenses, writing
Comments Off on Using Had: the Past Perfect Tense
Leave and Let: Either Leave It Alone or Let It Go
Do not mistakenly use let for leave. As is true for most words, there are other meanings and nuanced meanings (I’m just going to stick to what is needed for our purposes), but generally, to let means to allow and … Continue reading
Could Care Less or Couldn’t Care Less; Do You Care?
How many times have you heard someone say I could care less? For every time you’ve heard it, have you wondered why the person saying it COULD care less about something he seemingly doesn’t care about at all? I could … Continue reading
Posted in language
Tagged English, grammar error, I could care less, I couldn't care less, language
5 Comments
Is It Have Gone or Have Went?
Don’t get the past tense of the verb to go confused with the past participle of the verb to go. The past tense is went, and the past participle is gone, and each one has a different place in a … Continue reading
Posted in grammar, language, writing
Tagged English, grammar error, have or has, language, past participle, past tense, writing
Comments Off on Is It Have Gone or Have Went?
Has Your Curiosity Been Peaked—or Piqued?
I understand why it’s tempting to use the word peak when describing an excited stage of interest in or curiosity about something. After all, a peak is the pointy top of something, so it’s natural to think of a peak … Continue reading
Posted in grammar
Tagged English, grammar, grammar error, language, peak or pique, writing
5 Comments
Fewer vs. Less: Fewer Things, Less Stuff
With countable things, use fewer, not less. With things that are not countable, such as emotions and things that are measured in bulk or total amount, use less; for example, you’ll notice fewer lines around your eyes if you use … Continue reading
Posted in grammar
Tagged fewer or less, fewer vs less, grammar, grammar error, writing
Leave a comment
Fun, Funner, Funnest: Are We Having Fun Yet?
A reader asked whether we could shed some light on the correct use of the word fun; this is one of my pet peeves, so I’m only too happy to oblige. I hear of people who had fun birthdays, movies … Continue reading
It’s or Its: It’s a Problem
Most nouns use an apostrophe s (‘s) to make the possessive (for example, Bill Belichick’s questionable coaching style, the quarterback’s excuses, the team’s dedication); pronouns, however, do not. The most common of these types of errors is the spelling of … Continue reading
Posted in grammar
Tagged apostrophe with its, English, grammar error, it's vs its, writing
1 Comment
The Past of -Cast: Is it Casted or Cast?
Some verbs are regular verbs, which means that they follow a set pattern when forming their tenses; for example, they add –ed when forming the past tense. Other verbs are irregular verbs, which means that they don’t follow those rules; … Continue reading
Posted in grammar, weather
Tagged broadcast or broadcasted, English, forecast or forecasted, grammar error, irregular verbs, past tense
1 Comment
Everything Language and Grammar 