The misuse of “badly” is more of a problem in speech than in writing, and it is baffling. Here is… Read more »
Posts By: Pam Nelson
I wish I may, I wish I might
A reader asks for clarification on “may” and “might.” The best advice I have found on this issue comes from… Read more »
Infinitives and their pronouns
Here is a rule that many people don’t seem to know or remember: Use the objective case of a pronoun… Read more »
The whole shebang
I ran across this phrase in my editing recently: the whole shebang. Actually, the writer had misspelled the word as… Read more »
People, people
I have seen this mistake in print several times recently: peoples’. Although we may write about multiple peoples (“nationalities” would… Read more »
Strunk and White illustrated
I first heard about the new illustrated edition of “The Elements of Style” by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White… Read more »
Many veterans, one day
Veterans Day: This is the day the United States honors men and women who have served in the armed forces…. Read more »
Bare with us?
One of the funniest instances of homonym confusion that I have ever heard of purportedly came from a church bulletin… Read more »
Persuade me to follow the rule
We have an expression among copy editors: Don’t follow the stylebook out the window. That is, don’t be so rigid… Read more »
We do care
Some people, perhaps you, irritate some people, including me, by saying, “I could care less.” Y’all need to stop it…. Read more »