January 20, 2025

When to Hyphenate Prefixes and Suffixes

If you need to hyphenate prefixes and suffixes perfectly, you have to consult a style guide. There are simply too many special circumstances and exceptions to commit them all to memory. For example, in AP style you hyphenate co-worker but not coworking. But if you just want to hyphenate prefixes and suffixes well, not perfectly, here's a guideline: Omit the hyphen unless it seems too weird that way. So ungentle is fine with no hyphen, but unAmerican looks weird, so hyphenate it: un-American. Here's more detail.

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January 13, 2025

The En Dash

Do you know about the en dash? – It’s not the em dash, —, which most people just call a dash, and it’s one of the lesser-known punctuation marks. There’s a good reason for that: in a whole bunch of editing styles, the en dash doesn’t exist. Here's everything you need to know.

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January 6, 2025

'Drive Slow' and Other Flat Adverbs

Is it correct to say drive slow in place of drive slowly? Short answer: yes. Here's the long answer.

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December 30, 2024

'Who' vs. 'Whom' at the Beginning of a Sentence

"Who are you going with" uses "who" as an object (the object of the preposition "with"), even though "whom" is technically the object form. But if you don't like the formality of "Whom are you going with," there's nothing wrong with using "who" instead.

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December 23, 2024

When 'Sneak Peak' Sneaks In

When you want to write about a "sneak peek," be very careful not to let "sneak peak" sneak onto the page.

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December 16, 2024

Indexes or Indices? Plurals of Irregular Nouns

Most nouns form their plural by adding s or, in some cases, es. But lots of words, especially words adapted from foreign languages, don't follow that pattern. Some of them give you a choice. For example, indexes and indices are both correct in English. But how do you know where to find answers? Here's what you need to know..

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December 9, 2024

Copular Verbs and Their Complements

Compare these two sentences: Joe saw the CEO. Joe is the CEO.

In the first one, you have the verb “saw” with its direct object, the CEO. But second one doesn’t work the same way.  In the second one, the verb “is” is not really an action but a reference back on the subject. The CEO referred to in the second half of the sentence is one and the same with Joe.

Verbs that are all about being are in a category all their own. They’re called copular verbs or linking verbs. And the word that follows is called the complement. Here's the full story.

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December 2, 2024

Indirect Objects

English has two kinds of objects: direct and indirect. In "I sent Joe a letter," Joe is the indirect object because the letter is receiving the action of the verb — it's the thing being sent — and Joe is the person it's being sent to. Here's a closer look at indirect objects.

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November 25, 2024

Direct Objects

English has two kinds of objects: direct and indirect. In "I sent Joe a letter," the letter is the direct object — the thing receiving the action — unlike Joe, which is an indirect object in this example. This week's podcast looks at direct objects.

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November 18, 2024

Graduate College or Graduate From College?

She graduated from Harvard in 2005.

She graduated Harvard in 2005.

Harvard graduated her in 2005.

Which of these is right? To understand the answer, you need two tools at the ready: 1. an understanding of transitive vs. intransitive verbs, and 2. a dictionary.

Here's how to find answers for yourself about verbs like "graduate." But for those who'd prefer a quick answer, here it is: the dictionary allows all three.

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