Grammar & Usage

Hypercorrections: Are you making these 6 common mistakes?

When your 'correction' is incorrect

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Be dashing—and do it well

Having a Think About 'Another Think/Thing Coming'

'Thing' wins the popularity contest.

Popular

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

How to pick the right one

More Words You Always Have to Look Up

The dictionary is always here to help

Using Bullet Points ( • )

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

A learned explanation that is not wicked hard

Words You Always Have to Look Up

The dictionary is here to help

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

A case can be made for either

'Lose' or 'loose'?

Keep this somewhere you won't forget it

How to Use Accents and Diacritical Marks

You know, the markings above and below letters.

Commonly Confused

Commonly Confused

The Difference between 'Race' and 'Ethnicity'

How they differ and overlap

Usage Notes

See More

Singular Nonbinary ‘They’: Is it ‘they are’ or ‘they is’?

Notes on a conjugation

Is Singular 'They' a Better Choice?

The awkward case of 'his or her'

8 Grammar Terms You Used to Know, But Forgot

Plus yodeling

Words in Disguise: Do these seem familiar?

Some words resemble other words enough to make you think you know them. You might not.

Is it 'graduated' or 'was graduated from'?

No, this will not be on the test
See More

Spelling & Pronunciation

Spelling & Pronunciation

The Many Plurals of 'Octopus'

But which is correct?

Punctuation

See More

The Serial Comma Explained

Why don't they call it the Merriam-Webster comma?

The History of 'Ampersand'

How the '&' got its name

All About Ellipses ...

How to use them … and talk about them

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 More