In my town, flags are flying at half-staff to honor a fallen firefighter, including the one at my office. Yesterday, I had to verify that flags do indeed fly at half-staff and not half-mast as some media outlet in town were reporting. Luckily, my favorite argument settler, the trusty AP Stylebook settled this question. Per the … Continue reading Half-mast vs. half-staff
That vs. who: A Grammar Lesson
Maybe its the anonymous nature of comments, bad grammar school or never learning to diagram a sentence, but the number of people who can't figure out when to use who or when to use that in a sentence appears to increase every day. To review from the AP Stylebook Who is for human beings and … Continue reading That vs. who: A Grammar Lesson
Lay vs. Lie: A Grammar Lesson
Even though I know this grammar rule, I still always double check in my trusty, well-worn, AP Stylebook. Simplified: lay is for objects, lie is to recline. You lay an object on a table. You lie down.
Annual Events
There is no such thing as first (or 1st) annual. The event can be inaugural in the first year, but never annual. "An event cannot be described as annual until it has been held in at least two successive years," according to the AP Stylebook. "Do not use the term first annual. Instead, note that the … Continue reading Annual Events
Punctuation Myths: A Grammar Lesson
The No, It’s Not Arbitrary and Does Make Sense: Teaching the English Punctuation System article from busyteacher.org is a great place to review what you know and think you know about punctuation. A true/false quiz is the best place to start. 1. You write a comma when you take a breath. True False 2. You … Continue reading Punctuation Myths: A Grammar Lesson