Tag Archives: right vs wrong words

Is ‘Ones’ a Valid Word?

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If one is defined as being or amounting to a single unit, how can the plural form ones be a valid word?

We recognize one when appropriately used as a personal pronoun referring to an individual or people in general:

One never knows how much good comes from a kind deed.

One should not drink and drive.

One also has a possessive form:

One’s home is one’s castle.

One’s health is more important than one’s wealth.

Yet enwiktionary.org defines ones as the plural of one.

Huh?

I’ve noticed ones in a number of online news reports, and I’m puzzled — and discouraged — by its use. Here are examples and my suggestions for rewrites: Continue →

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Your English Teacher Was Wrong: You MAY Start a Sentence with And, But, So

A new academic year begins soon. As students of all ages head back to school, many will work on developing or fine-tuning their writing skills.

Different teachers will have different expectations — and different grammar rules. Some will claim that you shouldn’t start a sentence with And, But or So.

Is that a valid edict? It depends.

And, but and so serve as conjunctions; they’re joiners.

As such, they can be the perfect transition between one thought and another when your writing has an informal tone. Continue →

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Confused by Anxious vs Eager, Bad vs Badly, Fewer vs Less, Good vs Well, It vs It’s? Read this post!

Is he anxious, or is he eager?

Does she feel bad, or does she feel badly?

I’ve written many times about misused words, but requests continue from friends, colleagues and blog subscribers to remind people of these common errors.

If you’re one who needs reminding, this post is for you! Continue →

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Bespoke: Verb? Adjective? Everyday Word?

You know as well as I do that English can be an odd — and challenging — language. You’ve probably seen lists of “weird English“: words whose meanings are convoluted from what we might expect:

We take English for granted. But if we export its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square, and guinea pigs are neither from Guinea nor are they pigs.

And why is it that writers write, but fingers don’t fing, grocers don’t groce, and hammers don’t ham?

If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn’t the plural of booth, beeth? One goose, two geese. So one moose, two meese? Is cheese the plural of choose?

One mouse, two mice. One louse, two lice. One house, two hice? Continue →

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‘Icky’ Words — Politics, Ethics, Optics — and Their Verbs

You’d have a hard time finding a news report these days that doesn’t include the word politics. Ethics and optics often aren’t far behind.

But which is correct:

Politics are in the news every day.

Politics is in the news every day.

Here’s how you determine whether to use the singular verb is or the plural form are with politics and other ics words. Continue →

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Can, May, Might: How Do They Differ?

Many of us learned either at home or early in our school days that there is a difference between can and may:

Can you (do you have the ability to) have your book report done by noon?

May I (do I have your permission to) read your book report to the class?

According to merriam-webster.com, can still is the verb of choice for ability, but both can and may are acceptable to express permission. Continue →

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How ‘In Behalf of’ Differs from ‘On Behalf of’

I’ve wondered from time to time about the difference between in behalf of and on behalf of. This recent post from Daily Writing Tips on GrammarBook.com sheds light on the nuance of difference between them.

In Behalf of vs. on Behalf of
Sometimes in writing and speaking we arrive at a phrase that forms a fork in the road to expression. Ideally, we can distinguish one path from the other, even if by subtlety.

Other forks pose a greater challenge. Each way looks the same, and the sounds from both are familiar. We pick our path and hope for the best, making our choice a 50-50 gamble. Continue →

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3 Tips to Solve the Who vs. Whom Dilemma

Fewer and fewer people seem to recognize when to use who and when to use whom. Have who and whom become interchangeable?

It depends on whom you ask.

There still are people who value grammatical correctness, and there still are those who will judge you for not knowing the difference between who and whom.

These three tips will help those who care but get confused:

Continue →

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Expanded Use of ‘Concerning’ is Disconcerting

I hate to be considered an inflexible, grumpy grammarian.

That’s why I’m working on controlling my irritation with the expanding use of concerning to mean something that is worrisome or unsettling.

There is so much going on in our country and our world that people are worried about, we hear this is concerning, that is concerning … ad infinitum. Continue →

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Verbal Tic ‘So’ Considered Annoying, Overused

So, here’s how this blog came to be:

A blog subscriber asked if I had noticed how widely “so” is being used, especially to start a spoken sentence.

When I Googled “overuse of so,” this headline appeared on my screen:

So, let’s bid farewell to 2016’s most annoying and overused word

It was followed by a subhead:

So, we undertook this research and we discovered the following … Continue →

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