In most declarative English sentences, the subject precedes the verb. But when a sentence starts with either here or there, the order is often reversed, and we are tempted to use a singular verb when we need a plural one. Can you spot the agreement error in each of...
Elsewhere on this site, we explain when to use I and me. This article is specifically about myself and other reflexive pronouns. People commonly misuse myself. Sometimes they mistakenly use it as a subject, such as in the expression “Anna and myself are going home.”...
Which of these two constructions would be correct if John and Rob each wrote a separate report and the administrative assistant filed them both? The administrative assistant filed John’s and Rob’s report. The administrative assistant filed John and Rob’s report. The...
Most of us use phrases such as “if I were you,” “if need be,” “be that as it may,” “God bless you,” “far be it from me,” and so on—but few of us are aware that we are employing the subjunctive mood when we do so. This lack of awareness is not surprising given...
Each year, as the festive season approaches and people make plans to send holiday greetings, many of us would benefit from a reminder about how to make last names plural. (Hint: Apostrophes need not apply.) If we pause to think, we will likely remember that...
Many of my posts include a quiz introduced by some form of the question “Which of the following sentences are problematic?” More than one subscriber has written to suggest that in this opening question, the plural verb are should instead be the singular verb is. That...
