In most instances, the choice between the articles “a” and “an” is easy. Use “a” before a word beginning with… Read more »
Posts By: Pam Nelson
Something phony
I saw part of a good old movie this morning, “Nothing Sacred.” The movie, made in 1937, is a caustic… Read more »
What “decimate” means
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters, writers and broadcasters used the word “decimated” to describe the… Read more »
Lend an ear
A reader sent a note about this headline from the Sept. 16 City & State section : Grahams loan home… Read more »
“Me” is OK
I ran across this in Rita Cosby’s Cosby Connection on MSNBC’s site: My SUV with my two colleagues and myself… Read more »
How to use colons
A reader found fault with this construction in a recent column: An acknowledgement here: I had an intense appetite for… Read more »
Adverbs that have two forms
A reader asks, “Can you please explain to me why the increase in terms such as ‘more closely’ instead of… Read more »
The South — where modals are doubled
Most of us probably don’t remember precise moments when we learned something. I remember the feeling of my uncle guiding… Read more »
Baffling punctuation
I found this on a business card. The mistake leaves me baffled. Why did the folks get “his” correct and… Read more »
When words fail
For the past 10 days or so, we have been preoccupied with Hurricane Katrina and the heartbreaking aftermath. The coverage… Read more »