Search results for “however”

You might sometimes wonder whether it's all right to use the word alright. As it turns out, there is a mostly right answer to that. The Meaning of All Right and Alright The two-word expression all right is a short way of saying "all is right." That phrase itself is a quicker version of the …

If you grew up attending American schools, at some point you probably received the advice to "write in the active voice." Although English instructors tend to hold passive-voice statements in lesser esteem, many English speakers (including college graduates) still often use them. Some speakers also might apply the passive voice without being able to readily …

Many of us who learned American English in school likely received certain inviolable decrees about usage. One of them was to use "___ and I" only as a subject. Another was never to split an infinitive (not true). Yet another was never to end a sentence with a preposition, a breach of form that can …

Writers and speakers of English use the verb continue to communicate the idea of something's going or keeping on, as in "We hope the good weather continues." The concept of the English word continue comes from the Latin root continuāre, meaning "to join together or connect, to make all one." We further understand the idea …

You've probably heard this expression used a couple of different ways. You may also have wondered which one is correct and where the confusion comes from. Let's break down what you should write and say, what the phrase means, and why there is confusion about it. Is For All Intents and Purposes Right, or Is …

In the English language nouns are commonly made plural by adding s or es. For example, car becomes cars and house becomes houses. In this discussion, we'll consider what irregular plural nouns are. With irregular plural nouns, an s or es is not used to create the plural. This can sometimes cause confusion for users …

Sometimes in American English, you find an expression that is used or pronounced more than one way. In the case of could and couldn't care less, we may often find that different people use one expression or the other—and they are certain their form is correct. So which is the right one for proper writing …

Few sets of words stump speakers and writers of American English as much as farther and further do. In this post we'll examine the correct uses for each word. One reason farther and further are difficult to distinguish is that both mean something close to "beyond." However, there is a big difference. Farther generally refers …

The past is many things—but it’s not the same as passed. Passed: gone ahead of; approved Past: a former time; beyond If you ever find yourself struggling with the grammatical difference between the two, you aren’t alone. They sound identical when spoken aloud and have somewhat related definitions. However, they do have different meanings, and …

The English language is filled with tricky words. One such word is lead. With just four simple letters, it can have different pronunciations and distinctive meanings based on use and context. Let's look at why that is, and how you can use lead correctly in its different forms. What You Should Know About the Word …