What Is Slang? (And Should I Use It?)

Languages What Is Slang? (And Should I Use It?) Slang is an informal, nonstandard variety of speech characterized by newly-coined and rapidly-changing words and phrases. READ NOW

This Is the Right Way to Use an Apostrophe

Languages This Is the Right Way to Use an Apostrophe The apostrophe has two jobs: to mark contractions and to indicate possession. These six tips will ensure that you always use apostrophes correctly. READ NOW

English Rules: Other Rules

English "Other" Rules

Capitalization Confusing Words and Homonyms Writing Numbers

English Rules: Punctuation

English Rules

Punctuation Rules Periods Commas Semicolons Colons Quotation Marks Parentheses and Brackets Apostrophes Hyphens Dashes Ellipses Question Marks Exclamation Points

English Rules: Grammar

English Rules

Grammar Rules Finding Nouns, Verbs, and Subjects Subject-Verb Agreement Irregular Verbs Clauses and Phrases Pronouns Who vs. Whom Whoever vs. Whomever Who, That, Which Adjectives and Adverbs Prepositions Effective Writing

40 Words You’re Probably Mispronouncing

Language 40 Words You’re Probably Mispronouncing We all know the embarrassing feeling of discovering we've been mispronouncing a word for years. On the other hand, some words are so commonly mispronounced that the "correct" pronunciation sounds downright strange. READ NOW

Fun with Word Play

Languages How to Have Fun With Word Play Word play, or verbal wit, is the manipulation of language with the intent to amuse. And it's something everyone from young children to adults can have fun with. READ NOW

The Most Commonly Misspelled Words in English

Languages The Most Commonly Misspelled Words in English Many of the words on this list have well-known definitions, but their spelling can trip up almost anyone. How many of these words have you misspelled? READ NOW

The "never end a sentence with a preposition" myth

Language Why This Popular Grammar Rule Is Largely a Myth We're here to explain and debunk the "never end a sentence with a preposition" myth. READ NOW

'Dummy' Words?

Languages Do You Use a Lot of 'Dummy' Words? In English grammar, a dummy word is a word that has a grammatical function but no specific lexical meaning. Here's what these words actually do. READ NOW

Remain CONSISTENT in VERB TENSE

Verb Tense Consistency

Grammar Rules

Verb tense consistency refers to keeping the same tense throughout a clause. We don’t want to have one time-period being described in two different tenses. If you have two or more time periods, start a new clause or a new sentence.

Take this sentence with problematic tense consistency, for example:

Mark finished his essay, tidies his room, and went out for supper.