Search results for “WL”

Even those who pay attention to grammar can allow certain inaccuracies to slip in, particularly in informal communication. One of the most prevalent grammatical errors appears in how we apply phrases such as you and I and you and me. Writers and speakers might use one or the other to sound articulate and yet be …

Where and were are words that look and sound similar. That's probably why they could be easy to confuse sometimes. If you want to know the difference—and, more important, consistently use the right word in context—this brief discussion will provide what you're looking for. Let's start with a definition of each word, and then we'll …

You may have heard of an anagram or anagram words. They may appear in puzzles and quiz questions, as well as on the occasional game show. So what are they and how do they work? Anagrams are words or phrases that can be formed from the letters of other words. For example, both night and …

Numbers can often present different style questions in American English. When should we spell them, and when shouldn't we? In particular, what are ordinal numbers and what are cardinal numbers, and how do we treat them? Mastering these distinctions will refine your precision in your daily writing. For this discussion, we'll review style guidance from …

Many of us have seen a run-on sentence or what we thought might be one. Even if we couldn't explain technically why it was a run-on, we intuited that such a sentence included elements that were either improperly joined or insufficiently separated. In this discussion, we'll further review run-on sentences as well as different ways …

Among the many style items involved in American English, references to academic degrees remain a common source of uncertainty. Do we write doctoral degree or doctorate degree? What is the difference between a Ph.D. and an M.D., and when should the credentials appear in our writing? We'll address such questions to provide direction you can …

A plural possessive noun is a plural noun that indicates ownership of something. Example The dog's food is in the bag on the floor. (singular possessive: one dog) The dogs' food is in the bag on the floor. (plural possessive: multiple dogs) In the two sentences, the nouns dog and dogs are neither the subjects …

Idioms are a big part of language—as well as a common source of confusion, particularly for non-native speakers. Because idioms are used so often in communications from emails to text messages to daily conversations, understanding them is important to mastering American English. In today's post we'll explain what idioms are and how they work, as …

A coordinating conjunction is a word that connects other words or phrases as well as clauses of equal rank. The seven coordinating conjunctions are for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so. (One way to remember them is by using the acronym FANBOYS as a mnemonic device: For And Nor But Or Yet So.) We …

Some writers and speakers of American English may have a basic understanding of what a phrase is but may not always be able to define one or identify it in a sentence. In today's post, we'll further explore and explain what a phrase is. How Do You Define a Phrase? A phrase is a sequence …