Whilst vs. While—Which Is Correct?

Whilst and while are two words with identical meanings—usually. But you can’t always use whilst instead of while.

Typically, Brits use whilst and Americans use while. That’s the main difference. When used as a conjunction or an adverb, while and whilst are interchangeable:

There wasn’t much Stanley could do while he waited.

There wasn’t much Stanley could do whilst he waited.

While Danny was sleeping in, his little brother swiped his cell phone.

Whilst Danny was sleeping in, his little brother swiped his cell phone.

However, while can also be used as a noun and a verb, and whilst can’t:

We chatted for a whilst.

We chatted for a while.

We used to whilst away the long summer days in the pool.

We used to while away the long summer days in the pool.

Examples

I took their fly-tying and rod-building classes more than 30 years ago, and I’ve whiled away many an otherwise dreary winter hour cranking out thousands of flies and adding new fly rods and spinning rods to my ever-burgeoning collection.

Charleston Gazette-Mail

Mane will be joined by Divock Origi in attack whilst Emre Can and Georginio Wijnaldum will play in midfield for the Reds.

The Sun

With some important data still to come in, the possibility of GDP either inching forward or backwards remains evenly balanced, while there is little chance the RBA of moving at all.

ABC

Everyone vs. Every One?

Everyone vs. Every One

The pronoun everyone may be replaced by everybody. It is used to refer to all the people in a group. Written as two words, every one emphasizes each individual who makes up a group, and it means each person.

Unlike every time or everytime, everyone vs. every one is a decision that must be made with consideration to the meaning of the term in the context of your writing.

Everyone vs. Every One

Everyone (one word) should be used when referring to all the people within a group. A good way to remember this is to note that the pronoun everyone may be replaced by everybody. See the examples below:

The new protocols will affect everyone positively.

The new protocols will affect everybody positively.

Every one (two words) should be used when referring to each individual member of a group. Every one is the version you want when it’s followed by an “of” phrase. Consider the following examples:

My mother would like to thank every one of you who offered assistance during her illness.

My mother would like to thank everyone of you who offered assistance during her illness.

By applying these quick tips, the issue of everyone vs. every one should never trip you up again!

Correcting People’s Grammar: Just Don’t Do It

As grammar nerds, we care a lot about correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation. If you’re a grammar lover, maybe you’ve found yourself fighting the urge to correct a misspelled menu item at a restaurant. Perhaps you’ve even corrected a “who” to a “whom” when your friend used the wrong word in a story.

When it comes to grammar correction and education, where is the line between agitating and helping? As grammar lovers, our intentions are often good. We care about language and communication, and we want to make sure people are understood clearly. However, grammar lovers too often overstep the boundaries of appropriate correction.

Here’s a tip: Whenever you feel the urge to correct someone’s grammar, take a step back and ask yourself: does this person want to be corrected? If the answer is no, or even just maybe, keep your knowledge to yourself. Sometimes it’s hard, especially if an error is repeated over and over again. But remember that an essential part of good communication is building good relationships, and correcting people’s grammar without asking often hurts relationships rather than helping them.

Instead of correcting others’ grammar, try modeling good grammar in your own spoken and written communication. If people see and hear that you know how to construct a sentence correctly, they might reach out to you with questions about their grammar, spelling, and punctuation. These are your opportunities for education, not the moments when people make mistakes.

Above all, remember that communication—correctly formatted or not—is all about understanding. Give a little grace when it comes to grammar mistakes, and you’ll find that your communication improves overall.

The Primary Differences Among Major International English Dialects

The British Empire hasn’t been in existence for almost three-quarters of a century. At the peak of its might, it covered close to a quarter of the world’s land area and ruled a fifth of its population. But the empire changed, transformed, and passed as all things pass. When the territories Britain had conquered gained freedom, there was one thing that remained as evidence of how grand the empire once was—the English language. It’s the second most common language in the world in terms of the number of native speakers; it’s the most widely spoken language of all when you include people who use it as a second language. It’s an international language, and as such, it has developed various dialects around the world.

American English

Out of all the international English dialects, American English has the most speakers. Around 250 million people use it as their main language in the United States. And if there are any common values that those 250 million people share, they’ll most likely be found in the way they use their language. For example, American English tends to be less formal than British English, so you’ll rarely hear “Might I . . .” at the beginning of a question, but you’ll hear “Can I . . .” regularly. Shortening words is very common (math, pro, admin). And American English tends to be action-oriented in word choice—you take a shower in American English, you don’t have one. It’s interesting that American English managed to retain some characteristics of seventeenth-century British English that are now lost in the original language. In words like flask and pass, Americans pronounce the “a” as a short vowel (æ), while Brits pronounce it closer to the sound in “ah.” Americans also still pronounce the “r” in words like start or far. But one of the most important features of American English is its eagerness to adopt words from other languages. Some words, such as “squash,” were borrowed from Native American languages. Others come from immigrants, who brought words like pretzel (German), bagel (Yiddish), waffle (Dutch), and zucchini (Italian). (It works with non-food words, too.)

Indian English

India is a country where English is one of two official languages, the other being Hindi. But only a small portion of the population speaks English as their first language—only slightly more than 225,000 in a country of 1.2 billion people. India has roughly 125 million English speakers in total, and their dialect is called Indian English. A very prominent characteristic of spoken Indian English is that some sounds that are common in British or American English are not distinguished from one another, or are pronounced differently altogether. For example, the sounds [v] and [w] are usually not distinguished from each other, and [θ] (the th- sound in think) is usually pronounced as [d]. These sounds are not present in Indian languages, so they pose a challenge for Indian speakers. Noticeably formal sentence structure is another feature of Indian English. It might be because so many people who speak English in India speak it as a second language and want to sound as correct as they can, or it might be because they have retained some stiffness of the Victorian era. Compound words are common in Indian English. Generally, their purpose is to further customize the language and make it more useful to speakers. For example, “cousin-sister”­ is used to denote a female cousin. It’s not a term used in other dialects of English, but it is found in other languages spoken in India.

Nigerian English

You don’t need a letter from a Nigerian prince to figure out that Nigerians speak English, and the English they speak is very distinct. Roughly half of Nigeria’s population, some 83 million people, speaks English as well as a native language. In fact, English is the official language of Nigeria. But Nigeria also has many widely spoken native languages, which exert a noticeable influence on Nigerian English. For example, articles are not a feature of the native languages of Nigeria, so Nigerian English often omits “a” and “the.” You “eat apple” or “take nap” in Nigerian English. Another quirk is that every class of word can be turned into a verb. So, for example, you “off the TV” in Nigerian English, instead of turning it off. An interesting characteristic of Nigerian English is that words are generally pronounced as they are written. Many languages around the world are spelled phonetically, but English isn’t one of them. In Nigerian English, though, you would pronounce the “t” in “listen” or “often.”

British English

Jay-Z becomes Jay Zed when he goes to the UK. Well, he personally doesn’t, but Brits might pronounce his name that way. A very striking characteristic of British English is its richness in dialects and accents. For a millennium and a half, the inhabitants of the British Isles developed distinctly local ways of speaking the same language, so now there are regions and even cities with their own dialects and accents. We already mentioned a few characteristics of British English pronunciation when we talked about American English. There are also plenty of subtle characteristics of British English that might be hard to pick up. Names of bands and teams are always treated as plurals in British English, although group nouns can be treated as either singular or plural. Brits use “got” as a past participle for the verb “get.” They spell some words differently than Americans do, like “colour” and “flavour” instead of “color” and “flavor.” They still use the suffix -t when creating the past participle of irregular verbs like smell or burn, and they wait in queues while Americans wait in lines.

5 Overwatch Teamwork Tactics You Can Take to Work

This one’s for the gamer geeks. You know who you are. You’re the ones with thumbs permanently crooked from working analog sticks, or one hand formed into a palsied claw from clenching your [insert gaming mouse brand of choice here] in a death grip. You’re the ones whose parents said would never amount to anything if all you did was play video games all day. (To which you had to retort, “I’m building hand-eye coordination!”)

If Overwatch (or any other team-based shooter) has you in its clutches, fear not! You can take pride not only in your finest Play of the Game moments but also in the knowledge that, while you’re potentially alienating friends and family, you’re also building valuable collaboration skills that will help you rock your day job. Here are five team play tactics that have been subtly helping you get better at life. Go you!

1Stay on the payload!

Gamer skill

Just push the payload, buddy. Okay? No one wants to have to tell you this again. People aren’t making videos, songs, and memes to remind you of this all-important team play strategy for nothing. You’ve acquired this lesson, and you use it when you play Overwatch, right? Right!

Parallel career skill

Payload missions are a lot like meeting a team objective at work—you’ve got to stay focused on the thing that’s going to carry you to victory. At work, when some Genji goes skipping off doing his own thing, you’ll be the sensible everyday hero. You’ll get things done by pulling your teammates together and reminding them that you’ll only accomplish your goals if you keep your eyes on the prize.

Seriously. That payload isn’t going to move itself.

2Know your team composition

Gamer skill

You may learn to own the maps as a six-person team of healers or tanks, but it sure isn’t going to be easy. You’ve learned that success in Overwatch, or any other team-based shooter, comes in knowing your team and playing to its strengths. (This works especially well if you have a group of friends you play with.)

Parallel career skill

The same is true in a work setting. If you’re brilliant with words and your coworker can dazzle with Photoshop, there’s no reason you should be trying to edit your own graphics while she writes copy. Aces in their places, everybody!

3Play to your strengths

Gamer skill

Some players are born to tank, others to finesse with DPS. You understand that you’re on the most solid ground when you’re doing what comes naturally.

Parallel career skill

Part of succeeding at work comes with knowing what you’re good at. Let your light shine by taking on roles and tasks that highlight your strengths. That promotion can’t be far off!

4Hone alternate skills

Gamer skill

Of course, it’s always a good idea to diversify. You play to your strong suits, but you also have a few tricks up your sleeve. Your healer can’t make it to today’s gameplay session? No problem, you’ve got this. Who’s the hero? You are.

Parallel career skill

You’ll shine when you show your colleagues you’re more than a one-trick pony. If writing isn’t your regular thing, but you’re able to swoop in with a graceful bit of proofreading when no one else is available, you’ll earn a reputation for being multi-talented.

5Know that everyone is important

Gamer skill

Okay, so healing and support may not be the flashiest roles in Overwatch, or in any other game for that matter, but they’re essential. You know this to be true every time Mercy snatches you from the claws of death. “Heroes never die!”

Parallel career skill

The same is true in a work environment. Some roles are more glamorous than others, but every role is important. When you’re working together with your teammates, make sure you never undervalue what each contributes. That guy in payroll doing data entry may not seem to have much going on, but you have him to thank when your paycheck is deposited and your W-2 shows up on time.

Life’s a game

When you think about it, you can gamify just about anything in life, including work. We all know what comes of being “all work and no play,” but when work becomes play, life just gets better. So, the next time someone tells you that you’re wasting time playing video games, just point out the many ways gaming has made you into a hero not just in the digital world but also in the real one.

Famous Friendships in Children’s Literature

Everyone knows you can’t get good at grammar without friendship. Children’s literature has some great models of friendship at its finest.

In growing-up order, here are five such examples of best friends through the ages.

Frog and Toad

“We will skip through the meadows and run through the woods and swim in the river. In the evenings we will sit right here on this front porch and count the stars.”

—Arnold Lobel, Frog and Toad Are Friends

Friendship can take effort, especially if you’re dealing with a hibernating amphibian. Frog’s trying to get his pal out of hibernation, and all Toad can say is “Blah.” But Frog proves the importance of patience and gentle encouragement—and in this case, a slight bend of the truth, since it takes telling Toad it’s a month later than it really is to coax his buddy out of bed.

Toad may be a little curmudgeonly. But in the end, the fun of frolicking together makes it all worth it.

George and Martha

“And why didn’t you tell me that you hate my split pea soup?” “I didn’t want to hurt your feelings,” said George. “That’s silly,” said Martha. “Friends should always tell each other the truth.”

—James Marshall, “Split Pea Soup,” in George and Martha: The Complete Stories of Two Best Friends

Nothing says friendship like pouring soup in your shoes to avoid telling your bestie you’re not a fan of her cooking. But even though sparing friends’ feelings is important, so is telling the truth. The two happy hippos, George and Martha, give their fair share of friendship lessons—from honesty to hot air balloons to plain old togetherness. And luckily for them, they usually get a healthy portion of chocolate chip cookies to keep their friendship sweet.

The BFG and Sophie

“You stay where you is in my pocket, huggybee,” he said. “We is doing this lovely bit of buckswashling together.”

—Roald Dahl, The BFG

There’s plenty of adventure to be had between friends—even if your version of buckswashling with your best buds doesn’t involve jumping across oceans or trapping a pack of giants. Sophie starts out a spunky but lonesome orphan, and has the good luck to get kidnapped by the Big Friendly Giant. The friendship that blossoms isn’t just about sharing adventures: it also shows the importance of caring for one another—even if you can’t fit into your friend’s pocket.

Charlotte and Wilbur

Wilbur blushed. “But I’m not terrific, Charlotte. I’m just about average for a pig.” “You’re terrific as far as I’m concerned,” replied Charlotte, sweetly, “and that’s what counts. You’re my best friend, and I think you’re sensational. Now stop arguing and go get some sleep!”

—E.B. White, Charlotte’s Web Friendship means thinking the best of your friends and telling them so—in a spiderweb or just in words. And it sometimes means a bit of bossiness to go along with those much-needed confidence boosts. After all, as a piglet, Wilbur was a little lonely and more than a little runty. But Charlotte’s extremely literate web-spinning skills (she must be a fan of Grammarly) win the attention of all the humans around and Wilbur’s continued involvement with this mortal coil. From the barn where Wilbur goes for a daily manure roll and Charlotte spins pig-related messages that give Spiderman a run for his arachnid money, they develop an intelligent, slightly zany, and very cute friendship.

Lyra and Roger

“We better rescue him, Pantalaimon,” she said. He answered in his rook voice from the chimney. “It’ll be dangerous,” he said. “Course! I know that.”

—Philip Pullman, The Golden Compass

Nothing says friendship like risking your neck to help a buddy in trouble. Sure, in most cases your friend won’t have been kidnapped by a mysterious international organization set on luring you into the mix, but hey, there’s always hoping.

Lyra is a girl with a mind of her own in a world that looks similar to but not exactly like ours. Her first partner in crime from the university city where she runs wild as a young ’un is Roger (the one who needs rescuing), but the friendships in The Golden Compass get deeper—and weirder—the further you read. Among the friends Lyra makes are a hot air balloonist, a polar bear warrior, a pack of gypsies, witches, and daemons—kind of like human souls who can take animal form. The friends in this story are fiercely loyal and willing to face danger for the people they care about—even if it means leaving their whole world behind.

These are only five of the many fabulous friendships in children’s literature. They may seem too good to be true, but these sets of pals face conflict, quarrels, and less-than-tasty food, just as the rest of us do. Except, to be fair, they do it in a more literary way.

Which set is most like the friendships you cherish? Take the quiz below to find out!

Literary Friend Quiz

Bear minimum vs. bare minimum

ESL TIP: This play on words intentionally misspells the phrase “bare minimum” as “bear minimum,” which, from the picture of this bear, looks to be quite relaxing.