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Case refers to the form a noun or pronoun takes depending on its function in a sentence. English pronouns have three cases: subjective, objective, and possessive.
The subjective (or nominative) pronouns are I, you (singular), he/she/it, we, you (plural), they and who. A subjective pronoun acts as a subject in a sentence. See the sentences below for illustration:
The objective (or accusative) case pronouns are me, you (singular), him/her/it, us, you (plural), them and whom. (Notice that form of you and it does not change.) The objective case is used when something is being done to (or given to, etc.) someone. The sentences below show this use of the objective case:
There are two types of possessive pronouns. The first type is used with nouns my, your (singular), his, her, your (plural), its, their, our. The other type of pronouns are sometimes called independent possessive pronouns, because they can stand alone. They are mine, yours (singular), his, hers, ours, yours (plural) and theirs. The possessive pronouns show that something (or someone) belongs to someone (or something).
Even though nauseous and nauseated are often used to mean feeling unwell, many purists insist that nauseous means “causing nausea” while nauseated means “feeling sick.” Casually, it is probably OK to use both words to mean feeling ill. However, in more formal situations, use each word correctly.
Find helpful usage tips, clarifying examples, and spelling tricks below.
Nauseous originally meant sickening, loathsome, or inducing a feeling of disgust. In that sense, things that are nauseous might include:
But nauseous is so often used to refer to experiencing those feelings that Merriam-Webster Dictionary has updated their definition of nauseous:
Here are examples of nauseous used with its original meaning:
Certain it is that minds, like bodies, will often fall into a pimpled ill-conditioned state from mere excess of comfort, and like them, are often successfully cured by remedies in themselves very nauseous and unpalatable.
—Charles Dickens, Barnaby Rudge
The council may prohibit and prevent the sale of every kind of unsound, nauseous, and unwholesome meat, poultry, fish, vegetables, or other articles of food.
—Digest of City Charters (Chicago)
And here’s an example of its contemporary usage, of feeling sick to one’s stomach:
The family […] would rush out to get lobster, but then the patient would take only one bite, or wouldn’t want it at all, he would smell it and feel nauseous and push it away.
—The New Yorker
The crowd draws in a collective breath and then you can hear a pin drop, and I’m feeling nauseous and so desperately hoping that it’s not me, that it’s not me, that it’s not me.
—Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
The definition of nauseated is the same as the second, more recent definition of nauseous: feeling sickly. Or, according to the official definition, to feel nauseated means:
Here’s the trick: “to nauseate” is a verb meaning “to cause to feel disgust,” so turning it into a participle—that is, adding the “ed” at the end—means that something has caused you to feel that way. Times you might feel nauseated include:
. . . and any other time your tummy gets a bit grumbly. Here are some examples of nauseated in a sentence:
Once, when she was six years old, she had fallen from a tree, flat on her stomach. […] Now, as she looked at him, she felt the same way she had felt then, breathless, stunned, nauseated.
— Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind
You define a good flight by negatives: you didn’t get hijacked, you didn’t crash, you didn’t throw up, you weren’t late, you weren’t nauseated by the food.
— Paul Theroux, The Old Patagonian Express: By Train Through the Americas
And, to cover our bases, here’s an example with “nauseating”:
I exist, that is all, and I find it nauseating.
—Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness
Nausea can be pretty existential, it turns out.
Any way you slice it, these words have got a lot of vowels. So how do you say them, and how do you remember how to pronounce them?
Nausea
Some people say NAW-zee-uh, some say NAW-zhuh, where the “zhuh” sounds like the “s” in “measure.” Here, take a listen.
There’s no surefire trick to guarantee you remember the spelling, but think about how lots of people who go sailing get seasick. That is, they get sick of being on the sea. Even though the “sea” part of the word nausea isn’t pronounced like the big body of water that might make your stomach a little choppy, it can help remind you how the second half of that word is spelled.
Nauseated
If you figure out nausea, chances are you can figure out nauseated: just add a “ted” to the end of the noun.
As for pronunciation, try to say it like this: “NAW-zee-ay-tid.” Here’s how that one sounds out loud.
Nauseous
This one’s a toughie. Some people say NAW-zee-us, but NAW-zhus is more common. Listen to it here.
As far as spelling, it’s the “eou” that causes confusion. A quick fix: think of something that makes you feel nauseous—or, if you’re more traditional, something that is nauseous. For example: eating oily urchins. Sounds pretty slimy, and probably smelly, too. But if you can fight back the nausea long enough to spell nauseous correctly, then you’re on the right track.
Now you can stop feeling nauseated by the nauseous distinction between these two confusable words. We can only hope that avoiding zombies is as easy.
February was officially recognized as Black History Month by the US government in 1976 as part of the US bicentennial, although its beginnings date to the establishment of Negro History Week in 1926. It’s a month to remember important events and people in African-American history. We’ve selected five inspiring authors to read during Black History Month as a remembrance of the great contributions of African-Americans who achieved literary acclaim.
1 Maya Angelou (1928–2014) was a prolific author and civil rights activist. Her memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, follows her journey from childhood in the south to womanhood in San Francisco and explores how love, strength, and reading the works of great authors keeps her free.
2 Langston Hughes (1902–1967) is famous for creating “jazz poetry” that revealed the lives of poor black people living in America. His poem “Let America Be America Again” talks about the inequality experienced by African-Americans and its contradiction to the American values of freedom, independence, and equality for all.
3 Claude McKay (1889–1948) was a poet, novelist, and journalist who was born in Jamaica. He began writing poetry at the age of ten. Banana Bottom, now lauded as his greatest work, didn’t sell many copies upon publication. It tells the story of a girl who has trouble reconciling the values she was taught in England with those of her native Jamaica.
4 Toni Morrison (1931– ) is an American novelist and the first African-American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature; she is also a Pulitzer Prize winner. Morrison was born in Ohio and became a professor after earning her master’s degree from Cornell University. Song of Solomon, Morrison’s third novel, tells the story of a black family living in Michigan in the 1930s and deals with racism, violence, and the connections that keep us together.
5 Phillis Wheatley (1753–1784) was the first African-American female poet whose work was published. Born in West Africa and sold into slavery, Wheatley nevertheless went on to prove to America that blacks could contribute to the fields of art and intellect. “An Elegiac Poem, on the Death of that Celebrated Divine, and Eminent Servant of Jesus Christ, the Reverend and Learned George Whitefield” was published in Boston, Newport, Philadelphia, and London and brought her international acclaim.
February is a month to reflect upon and appreciate the contributions of African-American authors and poets whose works honestly portray the lives of African-Americans throughout history.
How do you make octopus plural? It’s simple!
The plural is octopuses. Why do some dictionaries also list octopi as a possibility? In Latin, some plurals end with an i. The problem is, octopus derives from Greek. The i was a mistake, but so many people adopted it that it became an acceptable alternative. Many people don’t like octopi, and you will rarely see it in edited works, but it does occasionally appear.
The plural of octopus is almost as fascinating as the animal. What more can you learn about plurals and spelling?
An omelet (or omelette) is a type of egg dish, often served at breakfast or brunch. Neither spelling is wrong, but there are some guidelines for when to use which.
Omelet is the standard spelling in American English. In fact it appears about twice as often as omelette in American publications. But omelette beats omelet in British English. When you’re choosing which spelling you should use, pick the one your audience will be more familiar with and stick with it in your writing.
The British spelling, omelette, is actually the modern French spelling. (Omelets originated in France). The French have also had different versions of the word through time, including amelette and alemette. The spelling that’s used in the United States, omelet, first appeared early in the seventeenth century—so it’s not an American invention. It is, however, the spelling that was adopted by Americans, even though the rest of the English-speaking word chose to stay true to the French spelling.
Five hundred years ago, gentlemen used specialized vocabulary when referring to groups of animals. Most of the group names came from The Book of St. Albans, published in 1486. Their etymologies have been lost over the years, but why not have a guess?
Around the eighteenth century, some French farmers called côtiers banded together to work feudal lands. A coterie is an exclusive group who spends time together pursuing common interests. What’s the common interest of groundhogs? They dig burrows and guard them with sentinels who whistle when danger threatens.
The smallest rhinos weigh nearly 2,000 pounds. Rhinos running through the bush are sure to make a lot of noise! And given that rhinos don’t have the greatest eyesight, they might smash into things with more gusto than other animals.
You need only live next door to a beagle to understand this origin. A large dog barks at one hundred decibels. To put that in perspective, a jackhammer pounds at ninety decibels.
Yes, foxes creep quietly and stealthily to sneak up on prey. But they also love to frolic, especially when they can trick silly golfers into chasing them.
When Amazon invented the Kindle, were they thinking of cats? “To kindle” means to ignite emotions or feelings. Both good books and good kitties can do that, so it’s a good name for the electronic reading device and the fuzzy felines to share.
Parade comes from the French “display or show.” Elephants only have to spread their ears and sound a warning trumpet to let humans know who’s boss.
A prickle is a pointed tip. Prickly can also mean irritable, but wouldn’t you be a tad miffed if you were known for only one characteristic? Hedgehogs are immune to snake venom. Did you know that? And porcupines are great climbers. They use their sharp, curved claws to get a good grip on trees!
Years ago, hunters used ferrets to hunt rabbits. That’s a legitimate “business,” but the word ferret is actually derived from the Latin word for “thief.” Pet owners often catch them secreting away shiny doodads, but how can you blame them? They have to keep busy somehow.
You might be more familiar with a team of horses than a team of pigs. A team is two or more draft animals harnessed together to pull. However, it also refers to groups of young animals. Sows can have up to six piglets per litter, so they too qualify for the label.
What do you see as you peer into cages at the zoo? Now you know exactly what to say! It’s reason enough to start planning your next trip to a wildlife preserve!
