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Est. 1828
Grammar & Usage
Using Bullet Points ( • )
Point of View: It's Personal
First, second, and third person explained
31 Useful Rhetorical Devices
Beyond 'simile' and 'metaphor'
Commonly Confused
Punctuation
Spelling & Pronunciation
Usage Notes
Popular
How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
Be dashing—and do it well
Plural and Possessive Names: A Guide
A guide to plural and possessive names
The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'
For example, the different ways to use them
What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
In which we definitively answer a thoroughly uncontentious question
More Commonly Misspelled Words
Because spelling is tricky
Words You Always Have to Look Up
The dictionary is here to help
Absent Letters That Are Heard Anyway
They aren't seen but they are heard
How to Use Accents and Diacritical Marks
You know, the markings above and below letters.
Commonly Confused
Commonly Confused
'A' and 'An' and the Patterns of Their Use
Which gets used where?
Read
'Gray' vs. 'Grey': What is the difference?
Spelling isn't all black and white
Read
7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words
We promise you're not the only one who has trouble with these words
Read
Homophones, Homographs, and Homonyms
The same, but different
Read
See All
What's the difference between 'sympathy' and 'empathy'?
You don't know how it feels
Punctuation
See All
The History of 'Ampersand'
How the '&' got its name
All About Ellipses ...
How to use them … and talk about them
Should that word have a hyphen?
On open, closed, and hyphenated compounds
Comma Splices: What They Are and How to Correct Them (or not)
Adventurous writers pull them off regularly
Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?
The shifting role of the apostrophe
See All
Spelling & Pronunciation
Spelling & Pronunciation
Commonly Misspelled Words
Spelling is hard
Read
Revealing What Rhymes with 'Orange'
It's technical, but it works.
Read
7 Uncommonly Doubled Letters
For word games and other shenanigans
Read
How to Remember the Spelling of 'Definitely'
A definitive answer.
See All
The Many Plurals of 'Octopus'
But which is correct?
Usage Notes
See All
Is Singular 'They' a Better Choice?
The awkward case of 'his or her'
8 Grammar Terms You Used to Know, But Forgot
Plus yodeling
Fun, Funner, Funnest
Why does it sound strange to say 'funner' or 'funnest?'
Is it 'graduated' or 'was graduated from'?
No, this will not be on the test
Can You Use 'Comprised of'?
It's been in use for centuries.
See All