Grammar and Usage

Sometimes apart vs. a part can be confusing, especially to non-native speakers of English. Let’s break this down.  Apart is more commonly used as an adverb. It indicates a separation between things. A part on the other hand means “a section of a whole,” or in a theatre setting,… continue reading

    One of our readers was confused by the use of enamored by rather than enamored of (British enamoured). As they explained, the only usage of “enamored” that sounds correct to them is the phrase “enamored of,” which can be found in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream: “Methought I was… continue reading

Often the source of confusion for writers, awhile and a while are homophones; they’re pronounced the same but have different meanings. Additionally, they both are considered different parts of speech, which makes their difference even more important! Related: See our other articles on homophones – Whose vs. Who’s and… continue reading

Wether is a word that often slips past spell check. This is thanks to the fact that it’s easily confused with two homonyms, whether and weather. It’s easy to miss the single letter that separates these words as you’re typing along! And unless you happen to be a farmer,… continue reading

The symbol used for the word and (&) is called an ampersand. It is a logogram (also called a logograph), which is a written symbol that stands for an entire word or phrase. The ampersand’s origin is the Latin conjunction “et,” which means “and.” This symbol… continue reading

There’s often confusion regarding the past tense of the verb lead. The correct past tense is led, not lead. A reason for this confusion could be that read, a similar verb, has a past tense that’s spelled the same as the infinitive. However, that’s not the same case with lead.… continue reading

What is Etc. (Et Cetera)? A Latin phrase, Et cetera combines the words Et, which means “and,” and Cetera, which means “the rest.” The abbreviation of et cetera is etc.  You can use etc. when you present a list that you will not complete. It tells the reader that the list has other items, in addition… continue reading

The words who’s and whose may sound the same, but knowing when to use each one correctly can be challenging. Who’s is a contraction that combines the words who is or who has. Meanwhile, whose is the possessive form of who. For an in-depth explanation of the difference, read on. Who’s vs. Whose The words who’s and whose both come from the… continue reading

Whether you’re learning English or studying grammar, there are several terms you’re likely to come across. Two of them are “predicate nominative” and “predicate adjective.” Both of these are types of “predicate complements.” Although this can sound complex, the good news is that these terms… continue reading