You might like
When did a common word all of a sudden become offensive? Read this article to learn about th evolution of societal acceptance of certain terms. joshuakennon.com/the-constant-e…
My annual holiday caution: Always proofread the wrapping paper!
The noun "couple" takes a preposition, "couple of tweets.” As with “pair,” it’s not an adjective. A "couple tweets” is considered nonstandard.
To spell “frankincense," remember it combines “frank,” which has an old meaning of pure or high quality, and “incense."
Prof. Brians' website is so great, in fact, that he turned it into a book. Buy it here (it's on sale!): ow.ly/5Svs30hlEB6 He's also got a podcast! commonerrorspodcast.wordpress.com New episode released yesterday. Go listen now!
WSU Professor Paul Brians has a fantastic website for grammar junkies. brians.wsu.edu/common-errors-… Here's his take on "and/or" brians.wsu.edu/2016/05/17/and…
Correct usage: "For Christmas dinner, Mom is preparing turkey and/or ham." There may be turkey, there may be ham, or they may be both turkey AND ham. Mom isn't sure yet! You can use 'and/or' with confidence!
Incorrect usage: "Have a Merry Christmas and/or a Happy New Year." Okay, if you're rude, you may only want the person to have a good Dec 25th or a good Jan 1st and not both. But odds are you desire their entire holiday season to be wonderful. Right?? Use 'and' instead!
Incorrect usage: "I'm going to ask Santa Claus for the iPhone 8 and/or the X." Granted, you could ask for both (if you're a super tech junkie like @FlossyCarter or @UnboxTherapy). But for most people it's one or the other, and both would not even be feasible. Use 'or' instead!
To break down the term into its logical components, consider replacing the conjunction and its objects with the general structure: "Option A, Option B, or Options A and B." The options should not be mutually exclusive. i.e. Choosing one option will not prevent the other option.
The phrase “and/or” should be used only when referring to options that may both be applicable. It is not simply a replacement for ‘or’ or ‘and’ when the speaker doesn’t know which one to use. If both options cannot coexist in real life, then 'and/or' cannot exist in the sentence.
On a related point, those who continue to announce “It is I” have traditional grammatical correctness on their side, but they are vastly outnumbered by those who proudly boast “it’s me!” There’s not much that can be done about this now.
In informal English, beginning a sentence with “myself” to express an opinion is widely accepted: “Myself, I can’t stand dried parmesan cheese.” In all of these instances you are emphasizing your own role in the sentence, and “myself” helps do that.
It’s appropriate to use “myself” when you've used “I” earlier in the same sentence: “I am not particularly fond of goat cheese myself.” “I kept half the loot for myself.” “Myself” is also fine in expressions like “young people like myself.”
Trying even harder to avoid the lowly “me,” many people will substitute “myself,” as in “the suspect uttered epithets at Officer O’Leary and myself.” Conservatives often object to this sort of use of “myself” when “me” or “I” would do.
This confusion can easily be avoided if you just remove the second party from the sentences where you feel tempted to use “myself” or. You wouldn’t say, “The IRS sent the refund check to I,” so you shouldn’t say “The IRS sent the refund check to my wife and I” either.
The notion that there is something wrong with “me” leads people to overcorrect and avoid it where it is perfectly appropriate. People say “The document had to be signed by both Susan and I” when the correct statement would be, “The document had to be signed by both Susan and me.”
United States Trends
- 1. Quinn Hughes N/A
- 2. Arsenal N/A
- 3. #USAHockey N/A
- 4. Lil Poppa N/A
- 5. Arteta N/A
- 6. PLAY FREE BIRD N/A
- 7. Wolves N/A
- 8. Larkin N/A
- 9. #Olympics2026 N/A
- 10. Tucker N/A
- 11. Martinelli N/A
- 12. Iran N/A
- 13. Mike Sullivan N/A
- 14. Ash Wednesday N/A
- 15. Fanatics N/A
- 16. #WOLARS N/A
- 17. Raya N/A
- 18. Markstrom N/A
- 19. #bucciovertimechallenge N/A
- 20. Lucas Raymond N/A
Something went wrong.
Something went wrong.