The basic building blocks of an English sentence are the subject and the predicate. Together, the subject and the predicate form a clause. A Quick Review The complete subject is the main part of the sentence that contains at least one noun (or noun equivalent) and all of its modifiers. The complete predicate contains at …

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 …

If you have friends and family members with an interest in grammar, asking whether the word none is singular or plural is a good way to start a spirited discussion (and if you have this kind of social circle, we would enjoy knowing how the discussion concluded, but we digress). For many, the presumed wisdom …

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 …

One of the most entertaining facets of communication can also be one of the most frustrating: That's because people don't always mean exactly what they say. We refer not to lies or falsehoods, but to statements that aren't aimed to be accepted or understood by their literal meaning. For example, if a friend tells you …

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 …

Some people may see or hear the word palindrome and wonder what it is. A palindrome is a word, a phrase, or a sequence of words that read the same way in either direction, as with madam, don't nod, and Eva, can I see bees in a cave? A palindrome can include spaces and punctuation. …

When we want to express a reciprocal relationship between two things, should we write eachother as one word or each other as two words? Plenty of American English speakers ask this question, including many who grew up with the language. Fortunately, this area of grammar is rather simple to sort out. The short answer is …

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 English language includes four types of sentences: declarative, interrogative, exclamatory, and imperative. An imperative sentence is one in which we assert something, such as when we issue a command, make a request, or give advice, directions, or instructions. The word imperative stems from the 16th century Latin imperātīvus, from the Latin imperāre ("to command"). The word emperor …