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Est. 1828
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.
Commonly Confused
Usage Notes
Spelling & Pronunciation
Punctuation
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
Homophones, Homographs, and Homonyms
The same, but different
Read
On 'Biweekly' and 'Bimonthly'
Sorry, not sorry
Read
'Insure' vs. 'Ensure' vs. 'Assure'
Here's how to make sure
Read
Is it 'Forty'? Or 'Fourty'?
This is usage
Read
See All
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
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Spelling & Pronunciation
Spelling & Pronunciation
10 Words You See But Don't Hear
How to pronounce 10 words with unpredictable stress and vowel sounds
Read
How to Remember the Spelling of 'Definitely'
A definitive answer.
'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
'A historic' night or 'An historic' night?
Read
Absent Letters That Are Heard Anyway
They aren't seen but they are heard
Read
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The Many Plurals of 'Octopus'
But which is correct?
Punctuation
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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
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