Search results for “p”

Paulina seems optimistic. The blueberry muffins smell delightful. That essay is certain to persuade people. Most of us will be familiar with sentences such as these. We may even find ourselves using such expressions daily, as they contain a common structure for describing something in writing or speech. Each sentence includes a subject, a verb …

When a color-changing leaf first falls from a tree in autumn, it represents a beautiful reminder of the cycles inherent in nature. It's also a sign that many more soon may fall and you should probably find a rake. As you gather one leaf after another, what word do you use to identify the growing …

Most of us have read a status update from a coworker or perhaps a friend on social media. But what if we are receiving or giving more than one status? What would be the correct word to use? Phrased differently, what is the plural of status? This can be a common question, and it doesn't …

Let's say you're attending college to become a scientist. After much research, you have designed your own study and collected the data, and you're ready to publish your findings. Your initial analysis suggested one result, and now you also need to reference several of them as they relate to it. What word do you use …

How do you describe more than one deer, from a perspective of spelling and grammar? It can be a common question among our dear readers, so we'll address it in today's discussion. Let's arrive at the proper plural of deer, as well as how to make sense of similar questions. What Is the Word for …

Michelangelo was a painter. Mr. Yao is a mathematician. Her favorite gifts are roses. In each of these sentences, we have a subject, a verb (more specifically, a linking verb), and another noun. The second noun in each sentence renames or identifies the subject noun (Michelangelo = painter, Mr. Yao = mathematician, gifts = roses). …

Those who speak, write, and study English are typically familiar with how nouns are enhanced by adjectives and other nouns, such as appositives and subject complements. Examples The brown satchel belongs to the lawyer. (adjective describing the subject noun, satchel) Jenna is a lawyer. (subject complement renaming the subject noun, Jenna) My sister Jenna, a …

You might already know that a person who graduates from a school is considered to be an alumnus. But what's the word for several people who have completed their education at an institution? The answer lies in some basic Latin, as we'll discuss. Finding the Correct Plural Version of Alumni Many American grammar conundrums have …

Case in English concerns the function that a word performs in relation to other words in a sentence. In older English, grammar referred to the nominative case (subject), the accusative case (direct object), the dative case (indirect object), and the genitive case (possessive form). (Current English refers more often to three cases: subjective, objective, and …

Suppose you have a date coming up and want to take your partner to a place where live actors will perform in a play. If you are writing your note in American English, should you invite that person to the theatre or the theater? We'll give you a quick answer to the theatre vs. theater …