You Can Bet Your Bottom Dollar That We Love Idioms!

In the United States, April 15 is Tax Day, the Internal Revenue Service’s tax filing deadline. While filing taxes can cause stress and frustration, language lovers can find some solace in these creative idioms about money. Here are three of our favorites:

Bet one’s bottom dollar Your “bottom dollar” is the last dollar you have. If you’re betting your bottom dollar, you’re probably very sure that what you’re betting on will turn out the way you think it will. Use of this phrase dates back to the mid-1800s.

Cost an arm and a leg It might seem like a simple explanation, but this phrase likely became popular because arms and legs are very precious. You would think twice about purchasing something if it cost you your arm or your leg! According to Mentalfloss, use of the related phrase, “I’d give my right arm” began as early as the 1600s.

Pay the piper This idiom supposedly originates with the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, Germany. According to the tale, the townspeople of Hamelin paid a piper with a magic flute to lure an infestation of rats out of the town with his song. They promised to pay him for his services, but after he rid the town of rats they took back their promise and refused to pay him. In retaliation, the piper used his magic flute to lure the children of the town away from their parents. Nearly all the children in the town were drawn away by the magical song and were never seen again. To “pay the piper” means to make good on your promise or face the consequences.

Squirrel away money This idiom means to store away money with the same intensity as a squirrel preparing for winter. You can squirrel away pretty much anything, but most often this idiom is used with money.

What are your favorite idioms about money? Share them in the comments!

What Is an En Dash, and How Do I Use It?

An en dash is a mid-sized dash (longer than a hyphen but shorter than an em dash) that is mostly used to show ranges in numbers and dates. It can also be used for clarity in forming complex compound adjectives. The en dash derives its name from the fact that it is meant to be the same width as the letter N.

Using an En Dash with Number and Date Ranges

A properly executed en dash is especially important in scientific and mathematical writing because it is used between numbers to represent the wordto. It is also used when writing times, dates, and page numbers in the sense of up to and including or through.

Our part-time employees work 20–30 hours per week.

By Monday, you should have read pages 79–113.

The years 1861–1865 were a dark time in American history.

Keep in mind that if a number or date range is introduced with from, the word to should be used instead of an en dash to keep the construction parallel. Similarly, when a range is introduced with between, the word and should be used.

Nelson Mandela was President of South Africa from 1994–1999.

Nelson Mandela was President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999.

Homer eats between 60–75 donuts per month.

Homer eats between 60 and 75 donuts per month.

Use an En Dash with Scores and Directions

When used with things such as sports scores, votes, and directions, an en dash bears the sense of to.

The Nationals defeated the Mets 5–1 last night.

A Denver–London flight takes about nine hours.

The National Wandmakers Union voted 10–9 in favor of a strike.

Using an En Dash with Complex Compound Adjectives

An en dash should be used for clarity when one of the elements in a compound adjective is an open compound (made up of two words with a space between them) or when both elements contain hyphenated terms. In terms of clarity, this is especially helpful when one of the terms is a capitalized proper noun.

Amanda only decorates with Ming Dynasty–style furniture.

I plan on wearing my great-grandmother’s World War I–era dress for my wedding.

En Dash Functions in Word Processing Programs

You can always use an Insert>Symbol function to insert a proper en dash into your writing. However, the pros use these shortcuts:

In MS Word: Ctrl + Minus Key (with Num Lock enabled)

In Pages: Option/Alt + Hyphen or Minus Key (with Num Lock enabled)

Google Docs is typographically more basic, but if you use Google Docs a lot, you should take the time to set up a shortcut like those above by going to Tools>Preferences.

Why You Should Learn Roots

Have you ever noticed how, in the English language, some small words sometimes appear in a lot of bigger words? Take the word “friend,” for example. If you notice someone who is acting friendly toward you, you might want to start a friendship, so you befriend her. You don’t want to be friendless, after all, but you also probably don’t want to befriend unfriendly people, so you save your friendliness for those who really deserve it. Those are six words based on a smaller one, and we call that smaller word a root word.

How Do Root Words Work?

Let’s take a look at three of the words based on the word “friend”: befriend, friendly, and unfriendliness. The word “befriend” is made by adding “be” to the word “friend.” “Friend” is the root word here because it is the word we use as the base for creating a new word. We create the new word by adding the element “be.” “Be” is used as a prefix, an element added in front of a root word to change or expand its meaning, and sometimes even create a new word of a different class. So, from the noun “friend,” we get a verb, “to befriend,” which means to make someone a friend. We can also add elements to the end of a root word, as we did with “friendly.” The element “ly” changes the word “friend” into an adjective. We call an element we add to the end of a root word a suffix. Prefixes and suffixes are collectively known as affixes, and they can be added simultaneously to a root word, as in “unfriendliness.”

Are Root Words Really That Simple?

Actually, they are not. We used the root word “friend” as an example because it’s an English word that is very easy to understand. However, not all root words are of English origin. In fact, a lot of them come from Latin and Greek, and if you saw them without an affix, you might have a hard time guessing what they mean. Take the Latin root “ject,” for example. We see it in reject, eject, and interject. Those words can mean, respectively, throw away, throw out, and throw in between. We can see that “ject” has something to do with throwing things. In fact, it comes from Latin “jec,” which was a form of the verb “jacere” (to throw). Root words don’t have to be simple or obvious at all, but they are still well worth studying and learning.

Why We Need to Learn Root Words

Root words, especially those from other languages, tell us a lot about how a language evolved, how it is related to other languages, and what major historical influences caused it to change. For people who want to master a new language, learning root words is beneficial in different ways. Root words are sometimes called the primary lexical units. In other words, a root word cannot be further divided, and it is the most meaningful part of other words that it helps form. In the example we used at the beginning of the article, you didn’t have to know the exact meaning of all the words we constructed with the root “friend,” but if you knew the word “friend,” you could have figured out that the related words all have something to do with its meaning. Root words carry most of the meaning, and by learning them, we can better understand the whole language. The group of words created by adding to a root word are called a word family. By knowing a root word, or a base word, as they’re called when speaking in the context of word families, you will have a great base for learning the whole family. If you take some time to learn the most common affixes as well as root words, you’ll enrich your vocabulary more than you can imagine. Yes, from time to time you’ll create a combination that’s not usually used in English, but those small mistakes are well worth making if you think about how many new words you can use by simply knowing root words and affixes.

Grammar Basics: What Are Defining Clauses?

Sentences may contain many different types of clauses. Defining clauses, also called restrictive clauses, serve an important function. What role do they play in sentences and how does it relate to the name of these clauses?

First, let’s lay some groundwork. A subject, verb, and a relative pronoun (who, whose, where, when, which, or that) distinguish relative clauses from other types of clauses, though not all three are needed. Because these clauses are descriptive, some call them adjectival or adjective clauses. Relative clauses fall into two subtypes—defining and nondefining (or restrictive and nonrestrictive).

Defining clauses (restrictive clauses) give us necessary information about the words they modify. They help convey the intended meaning. Let’s examine some sentences with and without defining clauses.

The woman bought a lottery ticket. (You don’t know which woman.) The woman who won last year’s jackpot bought a lottery ticket. (You specify which woman purchased the ticket.)

The cantaloupe is ripe. (You don’t know which specific cantaloupe is ripe.) The cantaloupe that I grew in my garden is ripe. (The defining clause lets you know which cantaloupe is ripe.)

Sometimes people make mistakes with defining clauses. For example, they might put commas around a defining clause. However, you do not need to set off defining clauses with commas or any other punctuation.

Do you see how these types of clauses define the nouns they modify? It’s easy to understand their name. Now, what are nondefining clauses? You might already have a good guess!

Whose vs. Who’s

Who’s is a contraction linking the words who is or who has, and whose is the possessive form of who. They may sound the same, but spelling them correctly can be tricky. To get into the difference between who’s and whose, read on.

Who’s vs. Whose

• Both who’s and whose come from the pronoun who (shocking, right?).
• Who’s is a contraction, meaning it’s two words stuck together. The formula: who + is, or who + has.
• For example: who’s hungry?
• Whose is a possessive pronoun. Use it when you’re asking (or telling) whom something belongs to.
• For example: whose sandwich is this?

But, when you need “whom” to explain what “whose” means, more information is needed. Plus, even though who’s is a contraction and whose is possessive, put them together and you sound like an owl starting to fall asleep. That’s because these two words are homophones, meaning they sound the same, but mean different things. Keep your apostrophes where they belong by continuing through this explanation of who’s vs. whose.

What Is Who?

First up, let’s introduce this exceptionally tricky pronoun. It has many forms, and many a brave soul has cowered in the attempt to use it correctly.

Who

Who is a subject pronoun, like he, she, I, or they, but it’s the interrogative used for animate subjects. In other words, use it to ask a question about which person did something or is someone.

“Who is in charge here?” “Who asked you to go to the dance?” “Who is that?”

Whom

This is the bane of many an English-speaker’s existence. But it’s not as hard as you think: whom is an object pronoun, meaning if you could replace it with “him,” “her,” “me,” or “them,” you’re good to go.

“Whom are you referencing?” “Whom did you ask to go to the dance?” “To whom are you speaking?”

Yeah, we know—it sounds stuffy. But if you want to be correct correct, that’s how it works.

And now, on to the spelling culprits.

Who’s or Whose

They sound the same: hoos. It rhymes with shoes.

So: is it who’s shoes? Or whose shoes?

Who’s

To recap, “who” is the pronoun used to mean “what or which person or people.” Add the apostrophe and the s for these reasons:

Who’s = who + is or

Who’s = who + has

Really. It’s that simple.

Who’s is a contraction. That means the apostrophe stands in for a letter that goes missing to make pronunciation easier and quicker. Imagine saying “I do not know who is going to go.” Out loud, it’ll probably sound more like “I don’t know who’s gonna go.” The jury’s still out on gonna, but we’d guess you’ve already heard of using an apostrophe to mark an omitted word or sound. Wouldn’t y’all agree?

Whose

Whose shoes? Translation: whom do the shoes belong to?

Whose is a pronoun used in questions to ask who owns something or has something. In other words, whose is about possession.

Don’t be tricked: on the one hand, because grammazons mark possessive nouns with apostrophe + s, it’s tempting to think that who’s (not whose) is the possessive form of who. But apostrophes are also used in contractions. That’s what the apostrophe indicates in who’s, and that’s why whose is the possessive form of the pronoun .

Think of it this way:

Its = belonging to it It’s = contraction of it is or it has Whose = belonging to whom Who’s = contraction of who is or who has

Incidentally, Who’s shoes? would mean “Who is Shoes?” Some folks have strange nicknames. Like Blue. Whose clues? Blue’s clues.

Weirdly, the above sentence wouldn’t mean “Who has shoes?”—you’d probably say “Who’s got shoes?” if that’s the meaning you’re after.

Who’s Got Time for Examples?

Well, we hope you do. But whose time is it? Your time. We hope you’ll spend it looking at these examples of how to use who’s and whose.

Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf?

If you have that tune stuck in your head the rest of the day, you can blame us.

Whose Line Is It Anyway?

Who’s against spicing up a grammar lesson with some ’90s comedy?

The People Behind the Tusks: A Who’s Who of the Cast of Warcraft

(moviepilot.com)

Consequently, their roles had to be filled by CIA officers whose identities had not been revealed to the Russians.

(Tom Clancy, Commander in Chief, 124)

Bessie carried a lantern, whose light glanced on wet steps and gravel road sodden by a recent thaw.

(Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre, 50)

This one’s worth an extra glance: “who” in all its forms generally refers to animate beings, but in the possessive there’s no equivalent for inanimate objects like Bessie’s lantern. The very awkward alternative is “Bessie carried a lantern, the light of which glanced on wet steps.” Not good.

And finally, a who’ve for good measure:

[They’re] Kids from wealthier districts, where winning is a huge honor, who’ve been trained their whole lives for this.

(Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games, 36)

Yes, that means who have.

Who’s Clear on Who’s and Whose?

By now, anyone who has read this far, we hope. Just in case, let’s review:

• Both of these words are versions of the interrogative pronoun who.
• Who’s is a contraction of who + is or who + has.
• Whose means “belonging to whom,” and occasionally “of which.”

Whose grammar got a boost from this read? Now you’re someone who’s ready to use these pronouns in style.

Say What?! Meet the Interrobang.

Few punctuation marks have as exciting a name as the interrobang. But what does the interrobang do?

The interrobang combines the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!) into a single punctuation mark. It conveys a question asked in an excited way. For example:

Are you really coming over to my house on Friday‽

You can’t be serious! You’ve never seen an episode of Friends‽

He said what‽

Although writers have used punctuation marks in combination in their writing for years, the interrobang was officially created by advertising executive Martin Speckter in 1962.

Many typefaces don’t include the interrobang with the superimposed question mark and exclamation point. However, you can get the same interrobang point across using the two marks next to each other like this: ?!

“Was” or “Were” in the “If” Clause/Conditional

If you find yourself debating whether to use “was” or “were” in a sentence, it’s likely that you’re dealing with an unreal conditional sentence. As a refresher, an unreal conditional sentence expresses events that are hypothetical or improbable.

Typically, an unreal conditional sentence begins with an if clause containing the past tense or past perfect tense of a verb followed by a conditional clause containing a modal verb such as “would.” Consider the following sentences:

If I had told you the answer, I would have been cheating. If I had run the race, I would feel accomplished.

In both sentences above, the “if” clause contains a form of the past tense of the verb. There is one exception to this rule, however. If the verb in the if clause is “to be,” use “were,” even if the subject of the clause is a third person singular subject (i.e., he, she, it). See the examples below for an illustration of this exception:

If I was a rich man, I would make more charitable donations.

If I were a rich man, I would make more charitable donations.

If he was here right now, he would help us.

If he were here right now, he would help us.

Remember, though, that this exception applies only to unreal conditionals—that is, situations that do not reflect reality. (Hint: unreal conditionals often contain words like “would” or “ought to.”) When you’re talking about a possibility that did happen or might be true, use “was” and “were” as you normally would.

If I were rude to you, I apologize.

If I was rude to you, I apologize.

What is a Reflexive Pronoun?

Reflexive pronouns are words ending in -self or -selves that are used when the subject and the object of a sentence are the same (e.g., I believe in myself). They can act as either objects or indirect objects. The nine English reflexive pronouns are myself, yourself, himself, herself, oneself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, and themselves.

Grammatical terms might seem complicated and a bit arbitrary when you first hear them, but they really aren’t, once you get to know them. The term reflexive is a good example. Through Latin, reflexive is related to reflect; this is useful to remember because a reflexive pronoun reflects back upon a sentence’s subject.

Reflexive Pronouns Are Direct or Indirect Objects

A reflexive pronoun can be a direct object in a sentence when the subject and the direct object are one and the same.

Jack decided to reward Mary with a dinner out.

Jack decided to reward himself with a dinner out.

In the first sentence, Mary is the object of reward. Jack, the subject, is the object of reward in the second sentence, so we use the pronoun himself.

Reflexive pronouns can also play the indirect object role in a sentence.

Cynthia pours a cup of tea for me every morning.

Cynthia pours a cup of tea for herself every morning.

It is worth noting that referring twice to the same noun as subject and object (rather than using a reflexive pronoun for the object) sounds just a bit creepy. “Jack decided to cook Jack a special supper,” for example, sounds unnerving to a native English speaker.

Common Errors with Reflexive Pronouns

The misuse of reflexive pronouns abounds in certain sectors. (We’re looking at you, Business Speak.) The most common mistake of all is the incorrect use of reflexive pronouns in compound subjects or compound objects in a sentence.

Here is an example of the former type of offense.

Andrew and myself will conduct today’s meeting.

How do we know that myself does not belong as part of the compound subject (Andrew and the speaker) in this sentence? Remove Andrewfrom the equation to see if what remains functions correctly.

Myself will conduct today’s meeting.

Clearly, myself does not work, but the subject pronoun I does.

I will conduct today’s meeting.

Andrew and I will conduct today’s meeting.

The improper use of reflexive pronouns as objects is just as prevalent in today’s business world.

You may submit your expenses to Mr. Martin or myself before Friday.

The subject of this sentence is you, and the indirect objects are Mr. Martin and the speaker. Taking Mr. Martin out of the sentence will reveal that myself will not work.

You may submit your expenses to myself before Friday.

Rather, the sentence requires the object pronoun me.

You may submit your expenses to me before Friday.

You may submit your expenses to Mr. Martin or me before Friday.

Reflexive Pronouns as Intensive Pronouns

Intensive pronouns are reflexive pronouns that are used to emphasize the subject or antecedent in a sentence, often in the sense of “and not someone else.” You can tell when a word ending in -self or -selves is being used as an intensive pronoun because the sentence it is part of will not change in meaning significantly if you remove it.

Jack made his supper himself. (No one else did it for him.)

I closed the store on Saturday myself. (I didn’t have an employee to do it.)

We ourselves were forced to pilot the boat to safety. (Perhaps the captain was indisposed.)

Reflexive Pronoun for the Singular They

Although you should probably avoid using the singular they until it is more widely accepted as good English, the Associated Press green-lit its use this year. One of the reasons for not using the singular they in place of the more traditional, albeit more complicated, he or she is that it yields a very awkward reflexive pronoun: themself. For the time being, it is best to avoid constructions using themself, even if it results in more words.

Every parent needs to take a break for themself now and again.

Every parent needs to take a break for himself or herself now and again.

Every parent needs to take a break for him- or herself now and again.

Now that you’ve learned more about reflexive pronouns, give yourself a pat on the back.

Comma Before Parenthesis or After?

Commas may be placed after the closing parenthesis but not before either the opening or the closing parenthesis. If the sentence would not require any commas if the parentheses were removed, the sentence should not have any commas when the parentheses are present.

You’ve likely seen writers use parentheses to set apart information from the main sentence. But do you know how to use them correctly? One common issue writers have is how to punctuate parentheses properly, specifically whether to use a comma after parentheses or before.

Comma Before Parenthesis or After?

You’ll often see commas and parentheses used alongside one another. The question is: Do you place the comma after parentheses or before? Generally speaking, commas should never be placed before parentheses. Consider the examples below, and note the proper comma placement:

After opening the new cookie tin, (and eating several of the cookies) Mary had a hard time replacing the lid.

After opening the new cookie tin (and eating several of the cookies), Mary had a hard time replacing the lid.

Also note that the comma would be necessary even if the parentheses were removed, because it joins a dependent and independent clause:

After opening the new cookie tin, Mary had a hard time replacing the lid.

Commas and Parentheses Aren’t Always Used Together

Commas and parentheses are often used together, but they serve separate purposes within a sentence. Thus, commas should be used with parentheses only if the sentence would require a comma without the parentheses. The example below illustrates this point:

Peter cleaned his room before going out to play basketball.

Peter cleaned his room (grumbling all the while), before going out to play basketball.

Peter cleaned his room (grumbling all the while) before going out to play basketball.

Since the main sentence without the parentheses does not require a comma, it’s not necessary to add a comma when inserting the parentheses.

Using Commas Within Parentheses

When using commas and parentheses, it’s also important to distinguish commas that punctuate the main sentence from commas that punctuate the material within the parentheses. You will see commas properly used within parentheses, but this is only the case if these commas serve the parenthetical information, not the main sentence. See the sample sentences below:

The teacher chose three students (Rachel, Ashley, and Tom) to represent the class at the convention.

When they arrived (finally!), the students were promptly shown to their rooms.

When they arrived (, finally!) the students were promptly shown to their rooms.

When they arrived (finally!,) the students were promptly shown to their rooms.

In the first sentence, the commas within the parentheses are necessary because they separate items in a series, and this series makes up the information within the parentheses. In the second sentence, however, the comma is used to punctuate the main sentence (specifically, to separate the dependent and independent clauses). Therefore, the comma belongs in the main sentence, not within the parentheses.

Comma Between Correlative Conjunction Sets

Correlative pairs of conjunctions include words like neither…nor, not…but, and both…and. For this punctuation rule, we can also consider sets of words like not only…but also. When pairs or sets of conjunctions are being used, they do not need to be separated from each other by a comma. However, a comma may be used between the conjunctions to accommodate another grammar rule (see Exceptions).

Either the blue shirt, or the red sweater will look good with your jeans.

Either…or is a correlative pair of conjunctions. The comma should be removed from this sentence so the conjunctions are not separated from each other

Some common correlative conjunction sets include:

• either . . . or
• neither . . . nor
• both . . . and
• whether . . . or
• not only . . . but also

Commas Rarely Separate Correlative Conjunctions

Generally speaking, commas should not separate correlative conjunction pairs. Consider the following examples:

Either the blue shirt, or the red sweater will look good with your jeans.

Either the blue shirt or the red sweater will look good with your jeans.

I can’t decide whether to have pizza, or a cheeseburger.

I can’t decide whether to have pizza or a cheeseburger.

Exceptions Regarding Commas Between Correlative Conjunctions

As is the case with many grammar rules, there are exceptions to the rule regarding commas between correlative conjunctions. If the comma serves another grammatical function in the sentence, then it should be used, whether or not it separates parts of a correlative conjunction pair.

For instance, if commas are necessary to offset a nonrestrictive clause, then they may be used between the correlative pairs of conjunctions. Consider the example below:

Neither the job as a cashier, which paid only minimum wage, nor the washroom attendant’s job interested the woman with two PhDs.

Note that the correlative conjunction pair “neither . . . nor” is separated by the two commas necessary to offset the nonrestrictive clause “which paid only minimum wage.”

Commas may also separate correlative conjunction pairs when the comma separates two independent clauses with a coordinating conjunction. This is common with the correlative conjunction “not only . . . but also.” Look at the sentence below:

Not only did Jeff need a textbook, but he also needed a laptop for his college class.

Note that when part of a correlative conjunction pair doubles as a coordinating conjunction, a comma precedes it. Moreover, the subject of the independent clause (in this case, “he”) also separates the “but” and “also” in this case.

Commas usually don’t separate pairs of correlative conjunctions, but there are exceptions.

No-one, Noone, or No One—Which Is Right?

• No one is right.
• No-one is an uncommon variant form. It’s best to stick to the two-word version.
• Noone is wrong.

---

Too many choices can sometimes confuse you, but with no one, it’s easy to learn which should be your go-to spelling.

No-one, Noone, or No One—Which Should I Use?

The correct way to spell no one is as two words, without the hyphen:

No one warned us about the incoming storm.

We went to the schoolyard, but there was no one there.

If you add a hyphen to no one, you get a much less common variant spelling of the word: no-one. Although it’s not technically incorrect, the hyphenated version cannot always be used instead of no one:

No-one person can lift that much weight.

No one person can lift that much weight.

Noone is not an acceptable way to spell no one in any context:

We owe nothing and noone.

We owe nothing and no one.

Examples

He’d warned his colleagues of the dangers of Brexit and no one had bothered to listen.

The Guardian

China’s first astronaut says he heard mysterious knocks during his first flight in space – but no one has been able to explain the cause of them.

The Daily Mirror

The Prince arrived in the Commonwealth realm of St Kitts and Nevis after an overnight crossing from Antigua, but docked so early that there was no one there to welcome him.

The Daily Telegraph

There are several reasons for a word to have multiple spellings. Sooner or later you’ll run across one that will make you second-guess your spelling choices. Camaraderie is that type of word. Minuscule has become that type of word as well. And that’s without mentioning all the words that shift their spelling depending on the country in which they’re used.

Bad Writing: What it Means for Your Career (INFOGRAPHIC)

Is poor writing an indicator that you will be less successful in your career?

Kyle Wiens, CEO at iFixit, suggested as much in a July 20, 2012 article (“I Won’t Hire People Who Use Poor Grammar. Here’s Why.”) which appeared in Harvard Business Review’s blog network.

Yesterday, in honor of National Grammar Day, Harvard Business Review posted another article (“Grammar Should Be Everyone’s Business”) written by Grammarly CEO Brad Hoover. Brad’s article provides real data to back up Mr. Wiens’ supposition that poor grammar predicts poor career outcomes.

Here’s a breakdown of the data:

• Professionals with fewer grammar errors in their Linkedin profiles achieved higher positions. Those who failed to progress to a director-level position within the first 10 years of their careers made 2.5 times as many grammar mistakes as their director-level colleagues.

• Fewer grammar errors correlate with more promotions. Professionals with one to four promotions over their 10-year careers made 45 percent more grammar errors than those with six to nine promotions in the same time frame.

• Fewer grammar errors associate with frequent job changes. Those who remained at the same company for more than 10 years made 20 percent more grammar mistakes than those who held six jobs in the same period. This could be explained in a couple of ways: People with better grammar may be more ambitious in their search for promising career opportunities, or job-hoppers may simply recheck their résumés between jobs.

Are you interested in sharing the data? Tweet about it now!

Or, let us know what you think in the comments below. Have your writing skills ever influenced your career in a positive or a negative manner?

Grammar Basics: How to Use Singular “They”

You probably learned about “they” and other pronouns in the first grade. “They” is the third-person plural pronoun, used for talking about groups of things or people.

Henry and Lucy want to go to the movies, but they (Henry and Lucy) don’t have enough money.

“Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they (people in general) will surprise you with their ingenuity.” —George S. Patton

When you’re only talking about one person, though, the only pronoun choices you have are “he” or “she,” even if you don’t know the gender of the person in question. At one time, usage guides advised writers to always use “he,” but in time, people started to think about gender equality. Should the pronoun “he” continue to represent indefinite pronouns and singular nouns in cases of unknown or unspecified gender? In speech and even in some writing, people had already started using “they” as a singular pronoun. In fact, people were using the singular “they” all the way back in the fourteenth century. So why not also accept the singular “they” in formal writing? Some people still balk at the practice, calling it an antecedent-pronoun agreement error. However, the American Dialect Society voted the singular “they” as the 2015 Word of the Year. Bill Walsh, copy editor and author of “The Elephants of Style” calls the move “the only sensible solution to English’s lack of a gender-neutral third-person singular personal pronoun.” How do you use it?

Use the singular “they” to replace unknown or unspecified gender:

I will have an interview with an executive. (You have never met this person, and you do not know their sex.) Rather than the bulky “he or she,” use “they” to refer to this singular person: They will ask me questions that I hope I can answer!

Formerly, “he” filled this role. Now, you have a gender-neutral option. What will “they” think of next?

Which kind of writing mistakes most reduce news articles’ credibility?

This poll is part of a series that Grammarly is running aimed at better understanding how the public feels about writing, language learning, and grammar.

Please take the poll and share your thoughts in the comments. We can’t wait to hear from you!

If you are interested in more, check out last week’s poll.