A reader asks if there is a distinction to be made between the words particular and specific. In some contexts, the words are close synonyms, but not in all. Both particular and specific mean “distinguished in some way among others of the same kind,” so the following sets of statements would have the same meaning: … Read more
The term complement comes from the verb to complete. The predicate nominative and predicate adjective complete the meaning of a state-of-being or linking verb. The most common linking verb is to be, with its forms am, is, are, was, were, being, been. Other verbs, like seem and appear, also function in this way. The predicate … Read more
When I heard an NPR reporter use the expression “passive indolence,” I decided I’d better look up the word because I thought indolent included the idea of passivity. I couldn’t imagine, for example, talking about “active indolence.” The noun indolence has traveled a long way from its original meaning of “freedom from pain.” The Latin … Read more
If memory serves, I was taught the rules for comparing adjectives in fifth or sixth grade: 1. Adjectives have three degrees of comparison: positive, comparative, and superlative. 2. The comparative is formed with -er or more. 3. The superlative is formed with -est or most. 4. Short words like big and happy take -er and … Read more
When I heard a man on the NPR Business News refer to a “new nascent industry,” my redundancy meter clicked. The adjective nascent comes from a Latin verb meaning “to be born.” The English word means “about to be born or in the act of being born or brought forth.” In extended use it refers … Read more
The Latin verb fidere means “to trust.” Adding the prefix con-, “with,” gives confidere, “to have full trust or reliance.” According to a note in the OED, the word may have originated to show the relationship between two people, “two friends who mutually confide in or trust each other, and hence are trusted by each … Read more
Inflections are word elements that indicate grammatical relationships among the words in a sentence. For example, the verb walked is in the past tense; we know this because of the inflectional ending -ed. The noun girls is plural. We know this because of the s that has been added to the singular word girl. All … Read more
Whether it is in conversation or in various kinds of writing on the Web, you will hear and see the abbreviation U.S. for United States used as a noun, sometimes with periods and sometimes without: I used to live in the U.S., but now I live in New Zealand. the resistance to a single payer … Read more
A transitive verb takes its name from the fact that its action goes “across” from the verb to a receiver of the action. The receiver of the action is called an object. Transitive verbs can take two kinds of object: “Direct Object (DO)” and “Indirect Object (IO).” Direct Objects A direct object may be a … Read more
Both due and owe have been in the language for a very long time. Due came into English from French in the 15th century. The French word it came from was the Latin verb debitum that gives us the word debt, “that which is owed.” As a noun, either singular or plural, due can mean … Read more
Among the most acrimonious writing-related debates one finds on language blogs is one sparked by the innocuous question, “Do you put one or two spaces after a period?” Wriing in Slate, Farhad Manjoo borders on the abusive: Can I let you in on a secret? Typing two spaces after a period is totally, completely, utterly, and … Read more