• Grammar,  Preview

    Understand the Possessive and When to Use It

    Here’s a common writing mistake you need to be aware of. In this instance, the mistake was exemplified in an Apple News pre-Independence Day post that opened like this:  This weekend’s celebrations will look very different from years past…. Can you spot the error? The writer is comparing “celebrations” to “years past.” As it so happens, these two items always look different because one of them is a group of celebrations and the other is a group of years! What the writer was trying to say was          This weekend’s celebrations will look very different from celebrations of years past….   But the writer didn’t say that. Sure, maybe we can figure out what the…

  • Word/Phrase Selection

    Thanks But No Thanks

    “I would like to thank you for . . . .” Whatever. “. . . helping me cross the street . . . .” or “ . . . taking the time to interview me . . . .” and so on. What strange phenomenon do all these expressions of gratitude have in common? In not one of them does the writer or speaker express gratitude. Instead, the individual acknowledges that the recipient has earned gratitude, but the writer or speaker is unable to express it right now, for reasons undeclared; e.g., “I would like to thank you for helping me cross the street, but I can’t right now, because…