I’d better… Why do we say ‘had better’? Reader’s question: I don’t understand the grammar behind the expression ‘He’d better clean up his room’ or ‘She’d better ring me before tomorrow’. I am told it stands for: He had better clean up his room. She had better ring me before tomorrow. But how can we use […]
Some experts say ‘the reason is because’ is not correct An e-newsletter reader said I should have written the reason is that rather than the reason is because. The offending sentence was: The reason for a semicolon in the second example is because you’re introducing a new clause. The reader said that I should have written: The reason […]
Do we have enough newspapers to give everyone a copy? Where do you put enough in a sentence? Reader’s question: Are there any rules around where to place enough? Answer: Place enough after an adjective or adverb, but before a noun. Margaret isn’t well enough to attend. The restaurant didn’t have enough staff. When enough comes before a noun it is often followed by the infinitive (to + […]
Driving like a maniac, the rabbit was hit. Do you care if your modifiers are dangling? A newsletter reader commented how much dangling modifiers annoy her. A phrase is ‘dangling’ when it becomes associated with a word other than the one intended – or with no particular word at all. Walking down the street, […]
The droopy daffodils. They are droopier today than yesterday. The middle one is the droopiest. How to form comparative and superlative adjectives One-syllable words take -er and -est to make them comparative and superlative. hot, hotter, hottest Three or more syllables are preceded by more/less and most/least. beneficial, more beneficial, most beneficial The rules are not as clear-cut with two-syllable words. Those ending in -y tend to take -er and -est, […]
Many people believe the word that is overused and can often be deleted. In fact, it’s a pet hate for some people who rigorously delete every that they see. Which sentence do you prefer? The manager explained that the business support requests template would be generated through XPlan. The manager explained the business support requests […]
Watch for pronoun problems We often use pronouns to refer to noun we’ve previously mentioned. They’re short-cut words that help us avoid repetition. Jacob is a director on numerous boards. Jacob is also a keen swimmer. Jacob is a director on numerous boards. He is also a keen swimmer. The word the pronoun refers back to […]
The family is having fun Collective nouns take a singular or plural verb depending on the context A collective noun refers to a group of people or things, e.g. herd, assembly, staff, jury. When a collective noun refers to a single entity it takes a singular verb. The tax office is revising its management strategy. […]
Singular or plural? A pair of slippers takes a singular verb Slippers take a plural verb Non-native English speakers sometimes have difficulty knowing whether to use a singular or plural verb with some nouns. For instance, it seems odd to use a singular verb with a ‘pair of’ when we’re obviously talking about two things […]
What’s wrong with the following sign? What’s wrong with these sentences that Liz Boulter gives in her Guardian article, Excuse me, but I think your modifier is dangling? ‘Hopping briskly through the vegetable garden, John saw a toad. Gently warmed in the oven and smothered in cream cheese, my friends loved the bagels. To be really […]