Grammar & Usage

Why "I Before E" Won't Always Help You

Unfortunately, the Rule Is Incomplete

Is it 'autumn' or 'fall'?

Why does this season have two different names?

The Double Negative: It's Not Unusual (Sometimes)

It's not the worst rule to break

Popular

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

What you really need to know

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

Beyond 'simile' and 'metaphor'

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Because spelling is tricky

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

All your favorite pet peeves

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

How to pick the right one

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Hint: neither is wrong

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

In which we definitively answer a thoroughly uncontentious question

Why does English have so many silent letters?

Inexplicable silent letters, explained

Commonly Confused

Commonly Confused

'Canceled' or 'cancelled'?

One L or two?

Usage Notes

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Verbs, Explained: A Guide to Tenses and Types

Verbs are more complicated than they look

Precarious Is Not "Before Carious"

The History and Meaning of Precarious

First, Second and Third Person Explained

First, second, and third person explained

Are 'funner' and 'funnest' real words?

We got a whole mess of fun here, folks

Can you use 'comprised of'?

It's been in use for centuries.
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Spelling & Pronunciation

Spelling & Pronunciation

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

A learned explanation that is not wicked hard

Punctuation

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To Use or Not Use the "?" in Requests

"Would you read this, please."

All About Ellipses ...

How to use them … and talk about them

How to Use Word Division Dots and Syllable Hyphens

Dictionary secrets, revealed!

A Guide to Using Colons

We'll get to semicolons later.

A Guide to Using Semicolons
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