Welcome, dear Linguaholic! Today, we will discuss the good and bad results of our actions toward others. Oops, sorry that’s “karma.” What I meant was the one without the r-sound in the middle, “comma.” Commas are notorious for savagely annoying many students and office workers alike, not to mention natives and non-native English users. Ambiguous …
English
Language changes over time. A classic example is the word “literally.” Originally used to describe things that were not a metaphor, it has now come to be used to describe things that are metaphorical in an exaggerated fashion. Another interesting expression in this vein is the phrase “in a hot minute.” How long is …
This guide will help you become more comfortable using commas in everyday life. Commas are arguably the most underrated grammatical tool in writing. Let’s dive into the many ways in which “of course” can be used in relation to commas. We’re excited to embark on this journey with you! Is a comma necessary after …
Figuring out when to put a comma before “and” in a list can be confusing. If you have looked at various sentences that contain lists, you have probably seen that sometimes there is a comma before “and” and sometimes there is not. Worse, if you have tried to figure out when you do or don’t …
Hypothetically put yourself in the shoe of a person who has never heard of the English language his entire life. Now, try to say “where were we” aloud and think of how strange, not to mention alien-ish, you sound. Words that resemble each other, without fail, torture language learners, as in the enigma on “where” …
English has many idiomatic expressions that native speakers use without thinking about it. Although overuse of any idiom is frustrating, misusing these phrases can be really cringey, so it’s important to have a thorough understanding of them. One phrase with a long history and a complicated set of meanings is “turn the other cheek.” …
The topic today is related to the phrase “per usual,” a common expression used in “business talks.” Business communication is generally expected to be more formal and polite than casual conversations. As time went by, though, the need for convenience has also reformed the formalistic nature of business language, giving birth to some go-to expressions …
In this article, we will analyze when, if ever, it is grammatically correct to use a comma before country names. It can be tricky to introduce commas into a sentence following the appropriate sequence, especially in relation to addresses that include separate sections. Our goal is to help you discover the best way to include …
These days, social media websites and apps are a dime a dozen. It seems like every year, an old social media platform fizzles out, but two more somehow manage pop up in its place. For this reason, the social media platforms that have withstood the test of time are exceptionally notable. When compared to the …