Only one letter separates this oppositional pair. To prescribe is to order the use of or set out a rule. From this we get a prescription, which sets out how you are to take a particular medicine. We also get prescriptive grammar, which is grammar that presumes that there is one set of grammatical rules … Read more
We all have our pet grammar peeves, usages that, when we hear them, affect us like the sound of a fingernail against a chalkboard. I’ll bet I’m not the only one who shudders to hear sentences like these: A boxer is different than a Doberman.This car is different to that one. Yet, are these usages … Read more
The preposition between is from an Old English word related to the word two. It denotes a position between two things: The guard stood between the door and the street. Just between you and me, I’m surprised that a graduate of Yale wouldn’t speak better English. The preposition among derives from an Old English word … Read more
The constant misuse of disinterested for uninterested is breaking down a very useful distinction of meaning. To be uninterested is to be lacking in any sense of engagement with the matter: Sallie is uninterested in algebra. To be disinterested is to lack bias: Let the company call in a disinterested mediator to settle the dispute. … Read more
Computers and the Internet are revolutionizing the way we create and share information. Through blogs, wikis and social networks, you can reach literally 1.2 billion of people without leaving your room. That being said, a little attention toward correct spelling and basic grammar rules couldn’t hurt, right? Below you will find some curious, to say … Read more
The following paragraph occurred in the denunciation of a certain person in a letter to the editor in my local paper: He has obstructed the most wholesome and necessary programs which provide for the common good, and has awarded massive financial advantages to a small percentile of the rich. This erroneous substitution of the word … Read more
The word degree has many meanings, but in academic terms, it refers to a certification awarded at the university level. The B.A. degree (Bachelor of Arts), for example, is awarded upon completion of a four-year program of study requiring a specified minimum of credits. An M.A. degree (Master of Arts) requires two or more years … Read more
Some writers and speakers use the words glimpse and glance interchangeably, but there are differences. Glimpse comes from a word that meant “glimmer” or “sparkle.” As a noun, a glimpse is something that catches the eye: I caught a glimpse of her through the car window. As a verb, to glimpse is to see something … Read more
Felix asks, “I was just wondering when it was appropriate to use people as opposed to persons.” There is some confusion regarding the two terms, especially because their meaning and usage suffered a mutation along the centuries. Both derive from Latin, but from different words. Person derives from persona, which refers to an individual. People, … Read more
Another day I was browsing around the Internet and I came across this sentence: You might want to check out this great article that I found; it is entitled “bla bla bla.” But was the article really entitled? There is a common confusion between the words titled and entitled. Titled would have been the correct … Read more
The lines between some word pairs like suit and suite, motive and motif, are beginning to blur. Here are six such pairs that may be worth your attention. 1. suit/suite As a noun, suit can be a suit of clothing or a legal action. Card players speak of the suits of hearts, spades, diamonds, and … Read more
How many times have you heard people say something is not their “forte” and pronounce forte as /for tay/? This mispronunciation has become so wide-spread that it’s on its way to establishing itself as an acceptable variation. The error has arisen from the fact that there are two “fortes” in English, each with a different … Read more