When referring to mythical creatures, the plural of biker Normally cycloin the plural spelling used in French, although sometimes Cyclopsesaccording to the English plural convention, is also used. General rule of plurals First, let’s talk about plurals in general. The plural of most English words is formed by adding -S to the few. If the …
Pretend with us, if you will: You are calling a queen. You two are close and you have a direct number to the phone on the table next to the armchair she’s sitting on and waiting for your call. She replied and said, “Hello?” You say: “May I speak to the Queen?” She replied, “This …
dream And dreamed are all acceptable past forms of dream. dream follows the pattern of regular verbs, ending in “-ed” while dreamed is unusual. Often the irregular or “strong” form of a word gives way and is replaced by the normalized form, but both dreamed And dreamed is still being used. Let’s say it’s Monday …
Now, we may just be locals from Massachusetts, plain and simple, but we like to think we know a thing or two about words and how they work. And we can’t help but notice that lawsuit And complaint sometimes abused in the media and press. Your Honor, if we could get close to the bench… …
No one likes the task. This is not surprising, since the definitions we give to this noun include “a job normally assigned to normally be completed within a certain time”, “subject to adverse criticism”. ” and “something difficult or unpleasant to get done. You’ll rarely hear someone talk about the “lovely assignment” they’ve just been …
Verb enoughderived from Latin enough, which means “to fulfill or satisfy a need.” For the most part, it is used intransitively: The deal is available all day during each brewery’s normal hours. Voters should bring proof: an “I voted” sticker from the vote center or a photograph of the ballot will enough, the organizers said. …
Plum And plumb And plump look like siblings (or at least cousins), but you might confuse them: they’re not the same at all. Plum only ever is a noun (although it is a noun with an adjective inclination). It’s the fruit and the tree on which the fruit grows (it’s part of the rose family, …
What makes a thing? Great? It must be possessed of the power to surprised? If so, what feeling of surprised are we talking about here? Does it mean “fill in confusion”? Or is it “full of horror and alarm”? Or simply “filled with surprise”? Perhaps most importantly, maybe Great used to describe your dinner? It’s …
You may recall learning geometry in high school that there are 360 degrees in a circle. Angles are measured in degrees, with the vertex being at the center of the circle. That means a right angle—forming a quarter of a circle—is 90 degrees, and a horizontal line—forming the base of the theoretical semicircle—is 180 degrees. …
Sometimes our usage advice reads more like a public service announcement. This is a typical case. “I’m having a great time, thanks.” What does sad mean? There are two words that start with the letter “d” that rhyme with power. One is relatively common, and the other is very vague. The word common is an …
ONE linking verb-also called copulate—is a verb that connects a subject to a predicate that usually assigns a quality to that subject. Linking verbs are often distinguished from action verbs, which denote an action performed by the subject (Bob) eat forSarah SleepTony welcome Mary). The part of the predicate where the subject is connected with …
We’re guessing that at some point in your grammar school days, you’ve been told that using the phrase “the reason is because” is superfluous. And, according to a certain view of the definition, it is so. But we’re here to say that you shouldn’t be scolded or feel shy about using this phrase. Proponents argue …
from between sometimes misinterpreted as fog in the expression between—for example, “a city in the middle of the desert”, i.e., Las Vegas (we have an informative video about For example And IE if you’re interested), or “I was interrupted while reading the first sentence of this article.” In both examples between implies being in the …
Some usage rules have the potential to annoy people when the rules are not followed; Those who adhere to this rule get annoyed when people don’t use the word the way they think it should be used. Other usage rules are annoying to those who don’t follow the rules; Rule-breakers think that people shouldn’t tell …
When referring to someone who is in the process of taking bribes, gaining illicit profits, or participating in some other’s financial scams, it is important to use proper nomenclature to describe them. . For example, it would not be advisable to call someone peddlerwhen they really are one sharper – such things are not done. …
The letter combination “ae” is not common in English. We know what to do with the “oa” in boat and “who” in paddle and “ea” in sea, but “ae” doesn’t appear much, and in the cases where it does appear, it behaves inconsistently. It says one thing in algaeanother thing in Beautyand there is still …
One of the ways the English language wants to retain speakers is through the application of a large number of rules of arbitrary and capricious usage. We are comfortable with pronouns that do not need apostrophes in the possessive case (“his voice is more annoying hers”), unless they do (“his voice makes her think of …
Abbreviation Grandfather. comes from Middle English, where it stands for bossmeans “owner.” Master was the original preferred title for young unmarried men, and Mister exclusively for married persons, until the former is deprecated and the latter is applicable to both. Grandma. stands for lovera word formerly used mainly to refer to the female head of …
What is the difference between the adjectives climate And climax? And is this a typical weather event or the ending scene of a disaster movie? climate means “of or relating to the climate.” It can describe things related to the climate pattern of a place or events due to climate change. Since then, a steady …
For over 600 years everything with words weigh And weight neat and clean. The first is the verb, and the second is the related noun: you weigh something to get its weight.* This is largely still true. But then in the middle of the 17th century weight begins to wade into verb territory, carrying a …
Annual flowers, or annuals, have a lifespan of one year, rather than appearing annually (as the name might suggest). On the other hand, Perennial flowers, or perennials, regrow each spring. Both of these words are derived from the Latin root for “year.” Each year, as the dreary winter months pass, aspiring gardeners begin to plan …
People who want to describe themselves as food lovers, but don’t like to identify themselves with this word gourmet, left with some options. Have Epic, is defined as “a person with sensitive and discriminatory preferences, especially regarding food or alcohol.” However, the word also means “one devoted to sensual pleasure,” and is therefore probably best …
professional is a common prefix in the English language that has several quite different meanings. It has the basic meaning of “for” or “for”, as in the words pro-democracy or proponent (from the same Latin source as propose and imply that someone who proposes something is doing so beneficially); however, the prefix can also mean …
Plural of nouns life To be lifeas in “private life of the rich and famous” or “the fireman who saved life of two stranded passengers.” But the plural of artwork (as in a painting or photograph) is called still life? And how do you capture such nuanced shadows? Inspired by Dutch times still life, Larsen’s …
Are you the type to add unnecessary syllables to words, and if so, how is such a condition diagnosed? Do friendly dogs growl and snap at you? Do flowers wilt and milk curdle when you pass by? Or do you simply notice that people say things like “it orientationAre not orientation.” ‘Orient’ is a verb …
Noun department And basis differ only by a few letters and are also the same in other respects. Each has several meanings, and each is ultimately derived from the same word, Latin. basis (“easy”). Continue reading for full score. department can make us think about the body of educators working in a school, and basis …
The English language is, depending on one’s point of view, blessed or burdened with a number of irregular verbs (most people probably feel that burden apply here more Happy). However, the correct conjugation is like Go And put is quickly absorbed by children (and a little more difficult for adults who learn the language). Most …
We’ll start with the one you’re probably more familiar with. Verb culmination means “to rise or form a peak” or “to reach the highest point or climax or decisive point.” It comes from the late Latin verb culminationmeans “to wear a crown”, and its usage in English comes from the field of astronomy: a star …
Editor Peter Sokolowski breaks down some body parts with metaphorical uses like verbs, words head ARRIVE toe. Transcript: Many parts of the body can be used as verbs in a physical or metaphorical sense. You can head a company, but if something goes wrong, you will have to take responsibility or face your investors. A …
In scientific usage, a light year is a unit of length equivalent to the distance light travels in a year in the vacuum of space: about 5,878,000,000,000,000 miles. But non-scientists apply the term much more freely, using light year for any extremely large comparative metric — be it distance, time, or branding skill: Those who …
Have you ever found yourself writing a report or essay, your thoughts flowing, your fingers gliding across the keyboard, and then you misspelled a word? But that word is not like love animalsit is daily sometimes or Anytime. “Do I use closed or open spelling?” you ask yourself. Your brain is messed up, and you …
The reasons people feel itchy and uncomfortable for a word change meaning are many and varied. For some, darkness accompanies any form of semantic drift, while others choose to complain only when they fear that some particular word is in danger of losing its specificity. Experts in the technical field seem especially fond of criticizing …
Traditionally, to be unconnected means no access to any method of communication. That generally applies to people who are imprisoned, quarantined or involved in the absence of a telephone or other communication device: “You are not supposed to be without a lawyer. You are not charged, and you cannot send it to anyone. They can …
Everyone knows contractions like Are not And will have, but what about more complicated ones? Editor Serenity Carr looks at situations where up to five words can be shortened at once. Transcript: You may be familiar with common contractions made with two words like you want And Are not. And maybe you even used three-word …
Dictionary entry for farmers markets show three forms of variation: farmers markets, farmers marketsAnd farmers markets. You might come across any of these styles on your travels to buy fresh, locally grown produce—or maybe even all three. No pesticides were used in the writing of this article. The apostrophe is one of the more intriguing …
Accept is a verb that means “willing to receive something” (as in “we received the gift” or “they were accepted into the class”). Except often used as a preposition to mean “not to include”, a synonym of But (“all but one”), and also often used as a conjunction (“he does nothing but complain”). These words …
Verb inhibition means “not to do something” or “to control”, as in “climatic conditions that hinder plant growth”. In the field of psychology and sociology, the adjective participatory inhibition often describe people who are unable to express their thoughts and feelings freely: People with type D personalities often have a negative outlook on life and …
In typical established use blackmail is about a specific type of nasty behavior in which someone uses force or threat to take something from another person. It is a verb, and specifically a verb of the transitive type, which means that it is followed by a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase that completes the meaning …
Civil rights refers to a person’s loyalty to a government in exchange for its protection at home and abroad. Full political rights, including the right to vote and hold public office, and civil liberties are generally granted to native citizens (according to jus soli, a legal term in Latin that literally means “ownership of land”) …
