Sprachgefuhl

The Olympics is , but the Olympic Games are . — The Wall Street Journal

According to the Wall Street Journal’s style police , it’s “South Florida,” not “south Florida.” The editors explain: “This is as subje...

Technical writer Paul Stregevsky clarifies an ambiguity you almost certainly never considered: “Repeat three times.” So, do it four tim...

Technical writer Paul Stregevsky articulates what I’ve long wondered : “Select each [CAPTCHA] square that contains a[n] ___.” If a CAPTC...

The New Yorker runs down the many definitions of this single letter: one kilometre 1,000 monetary units 1,024 bytes of computer-storag...

One sentence of each pair contains a dangling modifier. Identify both the dangler and the correct sentence. 1A. Having misunderstood the a...

In The Elements of Style , Strunk and White declare that finalize is a “pompous, ambiguous verb.” They explain, “ Finalize ... is not st...

Even though “grow” can serve as a transitive verb (“She grows daisies”), pedants object to a phrase such as “Grow your business.” They argue...

The Wall Street Journal settles the debate on whether it’s spelled “log into,” or “log in to”: The phrase is “log in to,” with the two-w...

Bad Writing : the setting of greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets Revision 1 : set targets for greenhouse gas emissions reduction ...

A percentage increase is not the same as a percentage point increase. If a number increases from 20% to 22%, that’s a difference of two p...

flaunt : to make an ostentatious or defiant display of flout : to show contempt for something — The Wall Street Journal

onetime : former one-time : for a single time Thus: “The onetime chairman said the dividend omission while he was there was a one-time e...

The word “divest” is often misused. In the debate about whether colleges should invest in entities based in Israel, many people use the ph...

“Venomous” applies to organisms that bite (or sting) to inject their toxins. “Poisonous” applies to organisms that unload toxins when you ...

biweekly : twice a month, and twice a week oversight : watchful care, and a lapse inflammable : flammable peruse : to skim, and to ...

We say, “I’m learning Italian.” We say, “She speaks Italian.” We say, “It’s written in Italian.” So why do we say, “Translated from th...

Ordinarily, I wouldn’t think twice of writing “it’s been” instead of “it has been.” Contractions are critical, and my meaning is clear. Bu...

Wrong : Barbie , Oppenheimer , and Killers of the Flower Moon all scored multiple Oscar nominations, including for best picture. Right :...

Ballerinas are graceful ; tactful people are gracious . — Paul Stregevsky

The grammar geeks at the Wall Street Journal clarify an issue I’ve long wondered about: The word ’tis takes an apostrophe, not an open ...

Use elder when comparing two people. Use eldest when comparing three or more. Lianna always admired her elder brother. The eldest ...

Which is better? 1. Your letter moved me. 2. I was touched by your letter. #1 is preferable, since #2 puts the focus on me, whereas #1...

Which sentence is correct? 1. She graduated from the University of California, Davis, in 2020. 2. She graduated from the University of C...

Which sentence is correct? 1. Tom Jones, PhD, specializes in oncology. 2. Tom Jones, PhD specializes in oncology. I think that #1 is b...

According to Google, “ newsletter ” (8.4 billion results) is more common than “ e-newsletter ” (5.7 billion results). Meanwhile, Merriam-W...

Is it your “chance,” or your “chances”? Here’s the answer from Colleen Newvine , the product manager of the A.P. Stylebook: Generally p...

Which is correct: “1 out of 2 people are ,” or “1 out of 2 people is ”? Here’s the answer from Colleen Newvine , the product manager of th...

In writing a recent article, I couldn’t decide whether to say that something “commands” attention or “demands” attention. In my mind, “com...

In my proposals, I include a section called either “timeline” or “timetable.” This section identifies how long the project at hand will take...

Which sentence is correct? 1. Many ghostwriters (including me) have experience as a journalist. 2. Many ghostwriters (including myself) ...

Which is correct? 1. Join Daria and me for lunch. 2. Join Daria and I for lunch. #1 is correct. How do I know? Because if I om...

▶️ A variety of words are found in religious services. ▶️ A variety of equipment is attached. Thank you, Bryan Garner .

Thank you, Frank Bruni ! I’m certain I said “no worries” quite recently, and I cringed, though with only a small fraction of the self-loat...

Which sentence is correct? 1. Join us, and go beyond a typical workday. 2. Join us and go beyond a typical workday. It’s a trick quest...

Technically, there’s nothing wrong with this sentence : “The Taiwan Relations Act set out America’s commitment to a democratic Taiwan, pro...

Consider this sentence from the New York Times — specifically, the text that comes after the colon (I added the emphasis): “The fact tha...

In describing their work, grant writers can sometimes be imprecise. For example, sometimes they use the word “grant” to refer both to the do...

In a new article in the New Yorker , Naaman Zhou runs down the pros and cons of what writers call “elegant variation.” The Case Against ...

I certainly do! Here’s the scenario: Which sentence is correct? 1. I appreciate you taking the time. 2. I appreciate your timing t...

As readers of Sprachgefuhl know, I favor the compound hyphen . It turns out that I’m not alone. The great Paul R. Martin, a longtime editor ...

Do you know the difference between a “robbery” and a “burglary”? Both are acts of thefts, but they’re not interchangeable. In a “robbery...

I’m stealing this excellent answer from Grammarly: Is it me or I ? Remove the other noun and say the sentence aloud. If it sounds wron...

I’m stealing this excellent answer from Grammarly: What’s the difference between fewer and less ? Can you count the items? Use fewer ....

Here’s a question I posed this morning to Paul Stregevsky: Q : Which phrase do you prefer? 1. a half dozen 2. half a dozen For what ...

One of my favorite writers, Derek Thompson, of the Atlantic , does a superb job of bringing clarity to a statistic  that most readers would ...

Q : Consider this sentence from the New York Times — specifically, the text that comes after the colon (I added the emphasis): “The fact ...

each other : two entities one another: three or more entities

farther : physical distances further : figurative distances