Tag Archives: grammar error

Self Words: This Redundancy is Self-Evident

Posted on February 20, 2008 by languageandgrammar

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 →

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It’s These, Not These Ones

Posted on February 18, 2008 by languageandgrammar

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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More on Impact

Posted on February 13, 2008 by languageandgrammar

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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And Etc.

Posted on February 11, 2008 by languageandgrammar

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 →

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You Have a Couple of Something, Not a Couple Something

Posted on January 31, 2008 by languageandgrammar

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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Reason is Because

Posted on January 30, 2008 by languageandgrammar

Reason is because is incorrect. The meaning of because is for the reason that, and the meaning of reason is a basis or cause, so using these together makes a redundancy. The reason that our campaign is gaining in popularity … Continue reading →

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