I like to read and collect books about grammar and usage. These books certainly come in handy when I need… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Uncategorized
Feeling the effect
I searched for some examples of the confusion of “affect” and “effect” and was glad that stories recently published in… Read more »
Our modifiers are compounded daily
Researching this topic, compound modifiers, I ran across the truest sentence I have read about style, grammar and usage. It’s… Read more »
Who needs whom?
Some people think we should give up on “whom.” This pronoun gives English speakers and writers absolute fits. Still, I… Read more »
It’s epidemic
My husband spotted this graphic on the NBC Nightly News on Friday night (July 1) during a report by Tom… Read more »
What is an icon anyway?
Writers use the words “icon” and “iconic” much more often today than when I entered the newspaper business almost 30… Read more »
Let me assure you
A reader suggested that the words “assure,” “ensure” and “insure” are often confused, with “assure” often serving all purposes. In… Read more »
It’s bad all over
My family and I took a vacation trip to Pennsylvania last week. (It’s a beautiful state, by the way.) Just… Read more »
Evil, not just big
I heard the word “enormity” used correctly this morning (June 18) as I listened to public radio’s “On the Media.”… Read more »
Feeling all right
This headline gave me pause this morning (June 18): He’s got them feeling alright. I spent quite a bit of… Read more »
I’m OK, you’re okay
Like many newspapers in the United States, The N&O follows the Associated Press Stylebook. For copy editors, the stylebook is… Read more »
Apostrophe madness
I saw this on the screen during the weather report on NBC’s “Today Show” this morning (June 13): A plural… Read more »
A choice word: dilemma
Copy editors are sometimes regarded as persnickety pests in newsrooms. We ask about words and phrases that other people use… Read more »
Too proud to beg (the question)
I heard Bob Schieffer of CBS’ “Face the Nation” utter the phrase “begs the question” on Sunday morning (June 5)…. Read more »
Testing, testing
Interactive online grammar tests can be great tools for learning, and they are fun. Here is a Web site that… Read more »
Look it up
A reader pointed out that in an earlier post “You could look it up,” I had made a mistake in… Read more »
Song of “myself”
I heard Rosemary Clooney sing “By Myself” the other day. It’s a lovely song, and the lyricist, Howard Dietz, used… Read more »
That’s you all, y’all
I love “y’all.” We don’t have a different form for plural “you” (like “we” or “they”) in standard English, but… Read more »
Two grammar and style sites
Academic Web sites are wonderful resources for grammar help. I was reminded of that today when one of my colleagues… Read more »
Premiere is first
We often see the words “premier” and “premiere” confused. A “premiere” is a noun that means a first performance. “Premier”… Read more »
Test yourself
One of my colleagues sent me a link to a fun grammar quiz: Does your English cut the mustard? It… Read more »
Apostrophe abuse, part 2
Here is a sign that uses an apostrophe to make a plural. It’s on a restaurant in Clayton. I’ll be… Read more »
You could look it up
We copy editors at The N&O turn to the dictionary quite often, probably several times every day. We use them,… Read more »
Hens lay, you lie
The verbs lay and lie give a lot of people trouble. Part of the confusion stems from the fact that… Read more »