Search results for “possessive”

As the third Monday in February approaches, some people may wonder how to write the name of the American holiday that honors U.S. presidents. The answer may surprise you, since authorities seem to disagree on the spelling as well as the name itself. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the official name is "Washington's Birthday" …

We know that a noun in English is a person, place, or thing that functions as a subject or an object in a sentence. A noun also can operate as a subject or object complement or as an appositive. Nouns can further be grouped into types of nouns: common nouns (concrete, abstract, collective) proper nouns …

As February 14 approaches, some people may wonder how to write the name of the holiday that honors Saint Valentine. Do You Use an Apostrophe When Spelling Valentine's Day? The day was first recognized as “The Feast of St. Valentine” in A.D. 269. Both The Chicago Manual of Style and The Associated Press Stylebook identify …

Another year of exploring the vast terrain of American English comes to a close. Once again, our routes of study with you have been rich with thought and discovery. We are thankful that you, our dedicated readers, joined us in the pursuit of greater precision and eloquence for self-expression. Each year, we wrap up the …

A personal pronoun is a word that replaces a noun. It stands in for a particular person or thing after that person or thing (the antecedent) has been identified. We use personal pronouns to avoid redundancy that can become distracting. Redundant: Sheila goes to the library every other Saturday. Sheila returns old books and checks …

For some people, punctuation in English might be a fuss over details. For others, it provides vital markers for clear, precise, and eloquent writing. For yet others, a missing apostrophe can represent a great expense. In October 2020, an Australian man claimed in a Facebook post that a real estate agent did not pay his …

A relative pronoun substitutes for a noun to introduce a subordinate (dependent) clause, which is one that must be joined with an independent (main) clause to complete the sentence in which it appears. A dependent clause led by a relative pronoun is also referred to as a relative clause. You might hear it called an …

American English can be flexible and expressive in conveying thoughts and ideas. For example, we might write or say something such as that guitar has been lounging in my living-room corner since Reagan was president. Many of us may understand what that sentence conveys, but some of us might also ask ourselves if a guitar …

An indefinite pronoun is one that refers to an unspecified or unidentified person or thing. Unlike a definite pronoun, it is vague, and it does not have an antecedent. She drives the car. (The pronoun reference is specific to a person.) Anyone can drive the car. (The pronoun reference is general; no particular person is …

An interrogative pronoun introduces a question that seeks information. If the pronoun is not part of a question, it is not an interrogative pronoun. There are five interrogative pronouns: who, whom, whose, which, and what. Examples Who is the new park commissioner? Of whom are we speaking? Whose are the shoes by the door? Which …