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Usage Notes

Is Singular 'They' a Better Choice?

The awkward case of 'his or her'

"Everyone should do his or her best in whatever situations he or she happens to find himself or herself in?" That's awkward. Perhaps everyone should just do their best in the situations they find themselves in. Even if their best involves they as a singular pronoun.

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play video his or her
Is Singular 'They' a Better Choice?

 

The awkward case of 'his or her'

play video affect vs effect
Affect vs. Effect

 

Here's the lowdown on what may be the most confusing pair of words in the English language.

play video its vs its
Its vs. It's

 

Some practical guidance, and interesting history, about a common mistake.

play semantic bleaching text on white background
What Is 'Semantic Bleaching'?

 

How 'literally' can mean "figuratively"

play video between you and i or me
I vs. Me

 

'Between you and __'? Simple guidance for a tricky pronoun.

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Old-School Grammar

 

Many of today's grammar rules can be traced to the opinions of one 18th century writer.

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The Serial Comma Explained

 

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

Games & Quizzes

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Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game You can make only 12 words. Pick the best ones!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A crossword with a twist
winning words from the national spelling bee logo
Spelling Bee Quiz Can you outdo past winners of the National Spelli...