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.
Complement vs. Compliment: A Grammar Lesson
Thanks to this wonderful Pinterest post, there is no excuse for continuing to get this one wrong. If you needed more incentive, the AP Style defines complement as a verb "denoting completeness or the process of supplementing something: The ship has a complement of 200 sailors and 20 officers. The tie complements his suit." In summary, compliment … Continue reading Complement vs. Compliment: A Grammar Lesson
Eachother vs. Each Other: A Grammar Lesson
This is rather simple. According to Grammar Girl, each other is always two words in English. The AP Stylebook further explains each other and one another, where more confusion occurs. As quoted from the 2007 AP Stylebook "Two people look at each other. More than two look at one another. Either phrase may be used … Continue reading Eachother vs. Each Other: A Grammar Lesson