Grammar

Using THEY as an alternative third-person singular pronoun is very common now because English doesn’t have a gender-neutral equivalent. Of the three singular pronouns, both HE and SHE are gender-specific. However, IT is only suitable for objects, things, and perhaps animals. That’s why they is a far better alternative because it is inclusive and avoids making…

The verb get is unusual because it has two different past participles: gotten and got. You might think that the preference for either one is simply between US and British English usage. But it’s more complicated than that because the two words have different and distinct uses. Making the right choice is not so much…

There’s no doubt that the hyphen is disappearing slowly from written English. It’s far more common today to use email rather than e-mail. Perhaps this one word, along with technology, started the hyphen’s demise. However, it’s not all over yet for the humble little dash. It still has many uses, but most of all, it…

Can you end a sentence with a preposition? It’s a question writers have constantly debated, so there are varying opinions. The traditional rule is to avoid ending sentences with prepositions, but this rule now seems outdated. Ending a sentence with a preposition is often the most natural and effective way to write. One of the…

Yes, double negatives are usually a big mistake in writing, but there are certain situations when you can use them effectively. In school, you probably learned that double negatives are always wrong. But that’s not entirely true. Surprisingly, there are particular situations when you can use them for emphasis, politeness, or to express a lack…

I have wanted this feature for years. Now, Grammarly Desktop for Mac integrates with many native Apple apps. The new Grammarly app has been available for a while now, and it works like a charm. The best feature is that I can now use Grammarly to check my emails in Apple Mail. It also integrates…

Absolute adjectives, such as unique, perfect, or dead, cannot typically be intensified or compared. These types of extreme adjectives are classed as incomparable, ultimate, or absolute. They relate to the superlative degree, which means the best or worst, or most or least of something. Most style guides recommend that you should not modify extreme adjectives.…

Why is a wish in the past tense in English when it’s about something you want now or in the near future? You might say that it’s simply grammar. But if you think about it, for a wish to come true, it needs to happen in the past. I wish I had a dog. For…

Is there a comma before such as? The answer is yes, there is, and no, there isn’t. As usual, with grammar and punctuation, it depends on the structure of a sentence. When such as is part of a nonrestrictive clause, you need to use a comma. But if the clause is restrictive, there is no…

Burned or burnt and learned or learnt are two of a small group of verbs that can end with either ED or T. Generally, the ED forms are more common in US English, and the T forms are more frequent in British English. However, in either form of English, you can sometimes make specific choices…