play video drive safe ly
Usage Notes

Drive Safe: In Praise of Flat Adverbs

You don't have to end all your adverbs in -ly to talk right.


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play video drive safe ly
Drive Safe: In Praise of Flat Adverbs

 

You don't have to end all your adverbs in -ly to talk right.

play merriam-webster eggcorns title page
What Is an Eggcorn?

 

And how did it get that name?

play fun funner funnest
Fun, Funner, Funnest

 

Why does it sound strange to say 'funner' or 'funnest?'

play video schwa
The Schwa

 

The most common vowel sound in English causes many spelling problems.

play video title attorney generals
Is It 'Attorney Generals' Or 'Attorneys General'?

 

'Poets laureate'? 'Court-martials'? The curious history of postpositive adjectives in English.

play hot mess
Hot Mess

 

Our research turned up two archaic literal meanings

play backward index mystery
The True Story of the Backward Index

 

These people needed a computer