Proofreading Services Retired
We’ve officially closed our proofreading services. You can probably guess why. With AI tools like ChatGPT now doing the job for free (and instantly), the demand for human proofreaders has all but vanished. If you still prefer a human touch, you're part of a rare—and shrinking—breed. We're now back to our roots: a forum for nitpicking the finer points of the English language. Thanks for your past support. We appreciate it.
Submit your question here.
Latest Posts : Style
I am working on a documentary film and have hit upon a conundrum that we hope one of the fabulous Pain in the English grammarians can solve. We are using the full capital case (”all caps”) to identify our experts, in a text box that pops up below them during their appearances on screen; for example: JOHN SMITH, HISTORIAN. One of our experts has a name that includes a superscript letter (e.g.: JANE MCDONALD) and another has the abbreviation Jr. after his name (e.g.: WILLIAM DOE, JR.).
Question: Should those superscripted and abbreviated letters stay in all caps, too? Or should they be treated differently, either lower case or small caps? (e.g.: JANE McDONALD / WILLIAM DOE, Jr.) I’ve searched the Chicago Manual of Style and the Government Printing Office’s online manual, and have found no guidance in either.
Thank you for your help!
Susan
There is a town called “Two Egg” in Florida USA. My question is; why the egg is not plural there. Also there is something like “Two egg cake”.
Can someone explain it? Actually i am planning to establish a shop. Which one would suit better “two egg” or “two eggs”
Thank you?
I’ve developed a “tic” for adding - I believe the expression is “postpositively” “is what I’m saying” at the end of a sentence. In usage, it is an intensifier. So I might say “I’ve been noticing that I use this expression a lot, is what I’m saying!” Typically after some prior exposition on the topic - this becomes the concluding thought.
Two questions - has anyone else heard anyone else say this? Where does it come from? Where did I pick it up? I’m in the Northeastern US. Is the expression or any variant from this region?
It’s awfully similar to “I’m just saying” but my understanding of “I’m just saying” is that it’s somewhat negative - connoting an undercurrent of a wink and a nod. “...is what I’m saying” doesn’t have that connotation, is what I’m saying. LOL!
Some authorities (such as IBM and Wikipedia) say that “big data” should not be capitalised, while others say it should be capitalised as “Big Data”.
Logically, it would be capitalised only if it were a proper noun, that is, if it identified a unique individual. For example, “the Internet” refers to the global internet, of which there is only one, so it is capitalised. Big data does not really seem to be like that. In any technical usage, it refers to the use of very large databases, and should therefore be a common noun.
In the popular imagination, however, all instances of big data coalesce into a monstrous global conspiratorial network of databases, called Big Data. It is akin to Deep State.
So, it seems to me that “big data” should be used in any sober context, and “Big Data” reserved for conspiracy theories untethered from objective reality.
But ... in a proofreading context I would have to correct “a Big Data-driven project” to “a big data-driven project”, which is ambiguous as it could mean either “a big project that is driven by data” or “a project that is driven by big data”.
Any suggestions?
I need to give a range of percentages. Do I say “somewhere between 40 and 50%?” or “somewhere between 40% and 50%”? Does the percentage sign get assigned to the first value, even though it’s not verbally articulated?
Is it alright to omit the word “I” in some cases. If I have already been writing about myself and I slip in a sentence that says for example, “Will be in town next week.” Is this acceptable or should I write “I” at the beginning of each sentence?
A) Must we have fish for dinner again?
B) Shall we have to have fish for dinner again?
C) Will we have to have fish for dinner again?
D) Do we have to have fish for dinner again?
Accepting that (D) is by far the commonest utterance and would express annoyance or lament. roughly the same as “I wish we weren’t having fish again”, my concern is with the other options, particularly (B) which looks “grammatical” but just sounds odd to me. (A) is less common today but seems to go back a long way whereas “have to” is relatively modern, so which sound “normal” to you?
How do you handle a quote within a quote within a quote in an MLA citation?
“She said she...” or “She said that she...”
All my life I have received great feedback about my grammar, but these past few years I find myself over thinking it—all the time. It actually causes me to create mistakes where there previously weren’t any. Bizarre?
One such thing that I have thought too much about is the necessity of “that” in phrases like the above. When would you say it’s necessary? Always? Never? Sometimes? Explain! Thanks!
Latest Comments
“I have two sons, Bill and Ben”: comma or colon?
- Paddybee
- November 24, 2025, 5:33am
Have you considered that using the comma indicates you are addressing two people named Bill and Ben, not specifying these names as being your sons,? A colon removes this ambiguity
“my” vs. “mine” in multiple owner possessive
- eztotap
- November 22, 2025, 6:40am
This is a clear and helpful explanation of how ‘my’ and ‘mine’ work, especially in multiple-owner situations. Grammar topics like this can be tricky, but your breakdown makes it easy to understand. For anyone who enjoys learning and sharing useful information online, tools like EztoTap make digital sharing smooth, quick, and secure.
“I have two sons, Bill and Ben”: comma or colon?
- ethalazarini
- November 21, 2025, 1:32pm
Cloud platform allows games to run on remote servers, while users receive a ready-to-play game video https://senet.cloud/ stream directly in their browser. This allows players to enjoy high graphics settings and stable performance without the need for expensive hardware.
Past perfect with until
- ethalazarini
- November 21, 2025, 1:31pm
Cloud platform allows games to run on remote servers, while users receive a ready-to-play game video ENESTECH - cyber cafe software stream directly in their browser. This allows players to enjoy high graphics settings and stable performance without the need for expensive hardware.
Past perfect with until
- ethalazarini
- November 21, 2025, 1:31pm
Cloud platform allows games to run on remote servers, while users receive a ready-to-play game video stream directly in their browser. This allows players to ENESTECH - cyber cafe software enjoy high graphics settings and stable performance without the need for expensive hardware.
“my” vs. “mine” in multiple owner possessive
- edumaster
- November 12, 2025, 7:12am
In the example from the original question, “my” is the correct choice, while “mine” wouldn’t work grammatically. T
“my” vs. “mine” in multiple owner possessive
- swachclinic
- November 10, 2025, 6:53am
Thanks for the detailed clarification on “my” vs. “mine” in joint-ownership contexts — this is a tricky one! I especially appreciated the point that “mine” is used only on its own (e.g., “That book is mine”) and shouldn’t be placed before a noun. So in the example given, “I so appreciate you taking my and Gregg’s child to school today” is far better than “mine and Gregg’s child”. And yes — saying “our child” would be even smoother when it applies. Great explanation!
“my” vs. “mine” in multiple owner possessive
- swachclinic
- November 10, 2025, 6:53am
Great breakdown of a tricky grammar question! I appreciated your clear explanation of why “mine” doesn’t work before a noun (e.g., “… child to school…”). You’ve shown why “my and Gregg’s child” (or better still, “our child”) sounds more natural than “mine and Gregg’s child”. Thanks for shedding light on this subtle distinction.
Cut on/off
- Dg63
- September 22, 2025, 10:44pm
I would think the knife switch theory to be the most plausible and likely, just as 'turn on' ( which has mostly supplanted 'cut on') originally referred to the early stopless rotary switches installed on clothbound peg & pole wiring . I have even heard VERY old folks use"push on the light"-- referring to the two-button ( on button/off button) see-saw type switch that were among the first of the in-wall box mounted switches.
couple vs couple of
The preposition must be included. One does not write "a pride lions' or 'a slice bread' or 'a bucket water'. Omitting 'of' is simply wrong