Category
A false friend is a word that looks or sounds like a word in your own language but means something different. They are dangerous precisely because they feel familiar — you recognise them, so you do
New words arise constantly through a handful of recognised processes, and dictionaries record them long after ordinary people started using them. How words are formed: Borrowing from other languages
Linguistically, there is no rigorous distinction. The common quip, usually attributed to Max Weinreich, is that "a language is a dialect with an army and a navy" — which is flippant but captures the
Largely because of one man: Noah Webster, an American lexicographer who deliberately reformed American spelling in the early nineteenth century. Before Webster, English spelling was inconsistent on
Disinterested means impartial — having no stake in the outcome. Uninterested means bored, or not paying attention. A disinterested judge is exactly what you want: someone with nothing to gain either
Both, depending on which side of the Atlantic you are writing for and what you mean. American English treats collective nouns as singular almost without exception. The team is winning. The government
Historic means important in history — significant enough to be remembered. Historical means relating to history, or belonging to the past, with no judgement about importance. A historic decision
Largely for practical reasons of legibility, dating from medieval manuscripts — not out of any sense of self-importance, which is the explanation people usually reach for. English is the only major
Alliteration is the repetition of the same initial consonant sound in nearby words. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. Note that it is about sound, not spelling. Kind cat alliterates;
The choice depends on the direction of movement relative to where the speaker is, or where the speaker imagines being. Bring is movement toward the reference point. Take is movement away from it.
Yes, when used deliberately. A fragment is a group of words punctuated as a sentence without a complete subject-verb structure, and the difference between a stylistic device and an error is whether
Both introduce a condition, but whether signals alternatives and if signals a condition. Using the wrong one occasionally creates genuine ambiguity. Compare: Let me know if you are coming. — tell me
In standard written English, two negatives in the same clause cancel out, so I didn't see nothing logically means you saw something. That is why it is treated as an error in formal writing. But the
The rule most people were taught is that between is for two things and among is for three or more. That is a useful starting point and an oversimplification. The more accurate distinction is about
Traditionally, can expresses ability and may expresses permission. Can you swim? — are you able? May I leave early? — am I permitted? This is the distinction behind the classroom exchange where a
Because were is the subjunctive, a verb form English uses for situations that are hypothetical, contrary to fact, or wished for rather than real. If I were you, I'd wait. — I am not you. Contrary to
Both are defensible, and the choice depends on which style guide you follow. The wider rules for possessive apostrophes are more settled. Singular nouns add apostrophe + s: the dog's bowl, the
In its original logical sense, begging the question means assuming the truth of the thing you are trying to prove. It is a form of circular reasoning, not a way of saying "this raises a question".
A simile compares two things using like or as. A metaphor states that one thing is another. Her argument was like a hammer. (simile) Her argument was a hammer. (metaphor) The distinction is not
It depends which side of the Atlantic you are writing for, and this is one of the clearest differences between American and British style. American style puts commas and full stops inside the closing
Both are abbreviations formed from initial letters. The difference is how you say them. An acronym is pronounced as a word: NASA, NATO, scuba, laser, radar. An initialism is pronounced letter by
The most widely used convention is to spell out numbers one to nine and use digits from 10 upward. Some style guides set the cut-off at one hundred instead, so the first thing to establish is which
Use that for clauses essential to the meaning of the sentence, and which — with a comma — for clauses that add extra information. The report that we published yesterday is online. — identifies which
Farther refers to physical distance. Further refers to degree, extent or additional amount. The station is farther than I thought. (measurable distance) We need to discuss this further. (extent, not