RSS Feed
Apr 11

I don’t have any more money anymore

Posted on Sunday, April 11, 2010 in Incorrect word usage

anymore means any longer, nowadays

any more means something additional or further

Apr 9

Can anyone here show me someone shy?

Posted on Friday, April 9, 2010 in Incorrect word usage

Here is a different way to look at the meaning of these words:

anybody, anyone, anything, anytime, anywhere
Imply there are many possibilities
Are not selective

somebody, someone, something, sometime, somewhere
Imply there are fewer possibilities
Are selective

For further explanation, visit Grammar Mishaps

Apr 8

Keep your up-to-date website up to date

Posted on Thursday, April 8, 2010 in Incorrect word usage

When should I hyphenate up to date?

Hyphenate up to date when it precedes a noun.
This is an up-to-date calendar of events.

Do not hyphenate up to date when there is no noun following.
Please keep me up to date on the progress.

Apr 6

I will fix it somehow anyhow

Posted on Tuesday, April 6, 2010 in Incorrect word usage

somehow means in some way not yet known or designated

anyhow means in any way or manner whatever

Apr 5

These aren’t even words

Posted on Monday, April 5, 2010 in Incorrect word usage, Pronunciation

gonna is a non-word
use going to

gotta is a non-word
use going to

wanna is a non-word
it is short for want a

Apr 3

They swam in the lake

Posted on Saturday, April 3, 2010 in Incorrect word usage

The past tense of these verbs has changed over time.
These appear to be the currently accepted forms:

begin, began

drink, drank

ring, rung

shrink, shrunk

sing, sang or sung

sink, sunk

spin, spun

stink, stank or stunk

swim, swam or swum

For more details visit this page.

Apr 2

Yesterday was Thursday, not Monday!

Posted on Friday, April 2, 2010 in Incorrect word usage

Maundy Thursday is the Thursday before Easter.
It commemorates the Last Supper.

Maundy comes from the Latin phrase: mandamentum do vobis.
It means “A new commandment I give unto you.” (John 13:34)

Apr 1

Surely you jest! You misunderstood the gist of it.

Posted on Thursday, April 1, 2010 in Incorrect word usage

jest means an act performed for amusement

gist means the main idea or substance

Use the proper word when you say, “That was the gist of the lesson from their teacher.”

Mar 31

Dumb and dumber become more stupid

Posted on Wednesday, March 31, 2010 in Incorrect word usage

dumb and stupid have different forms for their superlatives*:

dumb
dumber
dumbest

stupid
more stupid
most stupid

Never use stupider or stupidest.

*The form of an adjective that expresses which of more than two items has the highest degree of the quality expressed by the adjective; in English, formed by appending “-est” to the end of the adjective (for some short adjectives only) or putting “most” before it. — Wiktionary

Visit Everything Language and Grammar for more on this.

Mar 30

The anonymous vote was unanimous

Posted on Tuesday, March 30, 2010 in Incorrect word usage

anonymous means an author of unknown name

unanimous means complete agreement within a group

These could sound similar so be sure to choose the correct one.