I vs I’ve
“As I mentioned before” or “As I’ve mentioned before”
Which one is correct and why, or is there a different place and time to use either?
4 comments • Posted in Grammar
Genius and Ingenious
Genius has no ‘o’ in it and yet ingenious does. Why the difference in spelling?
13 comments • Posted in Etymology / History
What is the word for intentionally incorrect spelling?
You know when people or businesses use improper spelling for effect?
eg. “Rogz for Dogz” or “Phantasy Star”
What is that called? I simply can’t find the answer anywhere.
61 comments • Posted in Misc
“It is I” vs. “It is me”
Which of the following is correct?
It is I. It is me.
A grammar teacher mentioned to me something about the nominative case being used after the verb “to be” and not the usual objective case (”me”) that I thought it should be. He said the verb “to be” was an exception, but I can’t find anywhere that this is written down as such. Anyone any thoughts?
75 comments • Posted in Grammar
Butter won’t melt in my mouth...
So I am a university English Lit student of about three years, and I have to admit, I don’t exactly know the meaning of this phrase. I came across it while reading “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” and was reminded how much this phrase has always annoyed me, because I have a general idea of what it means, but couldn’t specifically define it. I am also curious as to where this phrase originated from. Any ideas?
5 comments • Posted in Expression
‘is/are’ and ‘do/does’
From a grammar test this was a correct sentence:
Dr. Stephens is one of those professors who do whatever it takes to get his point across to his students.
It still sounds odd to me, however. Should it perhaps say:
1. Dr. Stephens is a professor who does whatever it takes to get his point across to his students.
or
2. Dr. Stephens is one of those professors who do whatever it takes to get their point across to their students.
Any thoughts?
16 comments • Posted in Grammar
Thisclose
I recently used the phrase (?) “thisclose.” A friend asked me what it’s called when the literal writing matches the meaning. Is there a word for that? What is it?
3 comments • Posted in Expression
Title vs. Entitle
I like to think I’m pretty swell at English grammar, punctuation, and usage, etc. But there’s at least one thing I have never gotten down, and that is, when do you use “title” versus “entitle.” For example, would I write: “She read a book titled ---”? Or is it “She read a book entitled ---”?
In what circumstances would either one be used?
11 comments • Posted in Usage
First double negatives and now double possesives?!
I was watching the news today, and the title of a story they presented was “Legacy of Don Knott’s”.
Now, at first glance, I was positive that it was a grammatical mistake. I mean, why say “Legacy of Don Knott’s” when saying “Legacy of Don Knott” would do the job?
But then I replaced “Don Knott’s” with “his” (the phrase thus becoming “legacy of his”) and the latter phrase seemed to make sense. We say things like “that book of his”, so why not “legacy of his”?
So here comes the question: Are both the phrases “Legacy of Don Knott’s” and “Legacy of Don Knott” correct? Is there such a thing as double possesive? And why, for goodness sakes, can’t we just simply say “Don Knott’s Legacy”?!
And whatever happened to the man, anyway? Why are they all of a sudden presenting a story on his legacy? (Or, shall I say, legacy of his.)
3 comments • Posted in Grammar
Fora vs Forums
According to the Oxford English Dictionary...
forum n. (pl. forums) 1) a meeting or medium for an exchange of views. 2) (pl. fora) (in an ancient Roman city) a public square or marketplace used for judicial and other business. Origin ME: from Latin, lit. what is out of doors.
But everywhere else I’ve looked, it seems that forums and fora are interchangable. I personally prefer to use the word forums, when referring to a group of workshops and meetings.
I want to argue for this at my work because the term fora is being used and I want to know if there’s more evidence that I’m actually correct, besides what the Oxford English Dictionary tells me.
190 comments • Posted in Etymology / History
Cow Eyes
What does it mean when someone says you have cow eyes? I’ve heard a bunch of answers but I don’t know which is right. I have been told it means:
- Your eyes kind of stick out (like Steve Buscemi) - Your eyes are different colors (I guess this is common among cows? I know it’s common among certains dogs and cats) - Your eyes have a sad look to them (cause cows look sad?) - You have a stare that suggests you are “hot to trot” - You have a blank, empty stare.
Any ideas what this really means?
24 comments • Posted in Expression
Nashes or Nash’s??
I am recently married and don’t really understand how to pluralize (is that a real word?:)) my new last name, Nash. For example, if I want to have a party at my house, would I invite people to meet at “The Nashes” house or “The Nash’s” house? My husband and in-laws state that the first use is correct but my friends seem to want to use the latter version. Some enlightenment please!
8 comments • Posted in Grammar
Capitalization of hyphenated words
Imagine the title of an essay:
A Study of Molecular-Based Reactions A Study of Molecular-based Reactions
(I’m not a scientist so ignore whether or not the title makes sense!)
Which is correct, or more widely accepted? Personally I think the first one looks best.
21 comments • Posted in Punctuation and Mechanics
Should you sign the copy of a letter
If you have cc’s in a letter, when you mail it, should the “copy” be signed?
5 comments • Posted in Misc
Colon and semicolon in a single sentence
Can I use a colon and a semicolon in the same sentence? Here’s my example, “There were no known friends or family members, so besides his physical symptoms he was admitted with only one certainty: his longstanding IV drug use; he had numerous track marks and was noticeably malnourished.” Is there a better way to structure this?
12 comments • Posted in Punctuation and Mechanics
Are there diffferent types of latin?
Why are latin expressions written differently in English and in French? Example: “ne plus ultra” in English is “nec plus ultra” in French.
7 comments • Posted in Misc
Is ‘love’ continuous or not?
A TV ad about a food company uses the phrase: I’m loving it! how can I explain the use of the verb ‘I love’ in the Present Continuous? According to the British English Grammar, some verbs such as ‘I love’ have no continuous form.
17 comments • Posted in Grammar
The use of “hey” in place of “hello”.
I never paid this much attention until my dad mentioned today that it’s never sounded right to him when people say “hey” instead of “hi” or “hello”. I’ve been using it this way for at least 20 years, but I looked it up in various dictionaries and haven’t yet found a definition consistent with this usage. Most references just define it as “an interjection used to call attention” or something similar and leave it at that. Any thoughts or references that might shed some light?
62 comments • Posted in Etymology / History
Perfect Storm
Does a phrase exist (english or other) that describes a situation in which something that normally would not occur takes place, solely because the circumstances surrounding it (themselves possible anomolies) make it possible.
Example: A “perfect storm” can take place because wind speeds reach the correct speed at the correct moment, water temperatures are at the right temperature at the correct time, etc., etc.
8 comments • Posted in Expression
As wet as ?
as dry as a bone as cold as ice as sick as a dog as wet as ??? a fish? water? what’s right?
29 comments • Posted in Expression
