Paul Yeager's weather book
Paul Yeager's language book
Tag Archives: grammar
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
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Tagged a.m. in the morning, ante meridiem, grammar, grammar error, p.m. in the afternoon, post meridiem, writing
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Portmanteau: Blame it on Lewis Carroll
A reader requested the following explanation: “…Perhaps you can tell me what word is used when a part of one word is combined with part of another word to form a whole new word.” Well, the short answer would have … Continue reading
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Tagged grammar, language, Lewis Carroll, neologism, portmanteau, writing
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Past or Passed: When the Past Has Passed
Use past to refer to the time that came before now or to refer to beyond something in distance. His ten years of working for a corporation with a bad reputation is in the past (the time before now). Their … Continue reading
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
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Tagged English, grammar, grammar error, language, peak or pique, writing
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Future Tense or Present Tense: Is the Future Now?
I heard a meteorologist talking about weather that was going to happen later in the day and the next day, that is, going to happen in the future, so it was confusing when she said It does get better at … Continue reading
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
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Tagged fewer or less, fewer vs less, grammar, grammar error, writing
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Can’t Hardly or Can Hardly: I Can Hardly Stand It
In Shakespeare’s time, double negatives such as can’t hardly were common, but in current standard usage (and by current, I don’t mean that I just made it up this week!), double negatives are substandard grammar. Hardly means scarcely or barely, … Continue reading
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Tagged can hardly, can't hardly, English, grammar, grammar error, language, writing
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Lose versus Loose: Let’s Lose This Spelling Error
A couple of readers sent me e-mail to ask that I write about the difference between loose and lose. It seems that I’m not the only person to have seen these two spelling errors. When talking about something that is … Continue reading
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Tagged English, grammar, lose or loose, spelling error, verb lose, writing
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Subjunctive Uses I Wish I Were, Not I Wish I Was
When describing something that is contrary to what is true, you cannot use the regular past tense of the verb to be. You must, instead, use the subjunctive. The subjunctive is necessary in many situations, but I’ll discuss two of … Continue reading
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Tagged grammar, I wish I was, I wish I were, subjunctive, subjunctive and to be, was or were, was versus were, writing
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Dragged or Drug: Look What the Cat Dragged In
I was horrified to see that an online dictionary is now even mentioning the word drug as a non-standard past tense conjugation of the word drag instead of what it is, which is substandard. I haven’t checked to see whether … Continue reading
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Tagged dictionaries, dragged vs drug, grammar, grammar error, past tense of drag, writing
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