Category Archives: Grammar

These two words come up during the daily warm-up exercises with my students. Because of their similar spellings and meanings, they can be a tricky pair. Affect is almost always used as a verb. It means “to change or make … Continue reading →

Last week I went over the differences between lie and lay with my students. As I warned them, it’s probably the hardest grammar rule out there. I’ll try to make it as simple as possible. There are two basic steps: … Continue reading →

During my undergraduate years, I had a fabulous linguistics professor who told us that people often had the same response when they learned what he did for a living: “Oh, you’re an English professor? I guess I better watch my … Continue reading →

Did you know some verb tenses are “perfect”? Everyone knows about the three “simple” tenses: present, past, and future. However, we also have three “perfect tenses” in English: present perfect, past perfect, and future perfect. So what makes a tense … Continue reading →

Most people probably don’t even think about the difference between that and which. However, they are used for different purposes, and they affect comma usage. That The word that is used to introduce something called a restrictive clause. This is … Continue reading →

We all know about the three main verb tenses: present, past, and future. Some of us even know about the three “perfect tenses”: present perfect, past perfect, and future perfect. However, I’ve seen a lot of talk online about progressive … Continue reading →

This is a common question/problem for my students. Even published authors bicker about the rules for apostrophes in forming possessive nouns. While the rules may vary from publisher to publisher, the classroom grammar books (assuming they are actually used–but don’t … Continue reading →

As requested by my good friend and fellow blogger Ginny Marie, today I’m discussing the difference between “who” and “whom.” First, the easy answer . . . Use who in place of he. Use whom in place of him. Now … Continue reading →