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Est. 1828
Grammar & Usage
On 'Biweekly' and 'Bimonthly'
Sorry, not sorry
Putting Adjectives in the Right Order
You do this without even thinking
What's the difference between 'sympathy' and 'empathy'?
You don't know how it feels
Commonly Confused
Usage Notes
Spelling & Pronunciation
Punctuation
Popular
'Affect' vs. 'Effect'
How to pick the right one
Is it 'autumn' or 'fall'?
Why does this season have two different names?
Using Bullet Points ( • )
How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
Be dashing—and do it well
The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'
For example, the different ways to use them
Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?
And which is the United States?
Your vs. You're: How to Use Them Correctly
Here's your explanation, and you're welcome
Every Letter Is Silent, Sometimes: A-Z List of Examples
When each letter can be seen but not heard
Commonly Confused
Commonly Confused
'Awhile' vs. 'A While'
There are rules, but who's listening?
Read
Is it 'forty' or 'fourty'?
This is usage
Read
Is It 'jail' or 'prison'?
How they differ and overlap
Read
'Deduction' vs. 'Induction' vs. 'Abduction'
Mmm, logic
Read
See All
7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words
We promise you're not the only one who has trouble with these words
Usage Notes
See More
Can you end a sentence with a preposition?
Yes, a preposition is something you can end with.
First, Second and Third Person Explained
First, second, and third person explained
31 Useful Rhetorical Devices
Beyond 'simile' and 'metaphor'
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.
See More
Spelling & Pronunciation
Spelling & Pronunciation
Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
A learned explanation that is not wicked hard
Read
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.
Why does English have so many silent letters?
Inexplicable silent letters, explained
Read
See All
The Many Plurals of 'Octopus'
But which is correct?
Punctuation
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Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?
The shifting role of the apostrophe
A Guide to Using Colons
We'll get to semicolons later.
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!
See More