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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November 11, 2024

Can 'Apropos' Mean 'Appropriate'?

One dictionary definition of "apropos" is "fitting to the occasion," which means roughly the same thing that "appropriate" means.

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November 4, 2024

'Loan' vs. 'Lend'

Some editing styles say "loan" is a noun and that, if you want a verb, you must use "lend." Good news: These words aren't that restrictive.

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October 28, 2024

Historic vs. Historical

If your gut tells you "historic" means something with lasting significance, like a historic event, and that "historical" means something to do with history, like a historical record, listen to your gut. That's a good way to look at the difference between these two words.

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October 21, 2024

Sometimes 'That' Is Optional

I know you were there. I know that you were there. Both of these are correct and mean the same thing. When you leave "that" out, it's called the zero relative pronoun.

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October 14, 2024

'Different From' vs. 'Different Than'

Some people will tell you these two phrases can never be used interchangeably. That's not quite the case.

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