When we talk about the language spoken in the UK, US, India, Australia and other countries around the world, we use the word “English.” That word is deceptively simple, though. In fact, there are many different types of English. That refers to regional varieties like Indian English (spoken in India) and UK English (spoken in …
English
What do you think is the second most appalling question a writer ever gets apart from “Any plans on having a real job?” Actually, it is “Can you briefly tell me how the punctuation system works?” The punctuation system per se is far too complex to be explained in one sitting, let alone “briefly.” So, …
Social media has revolutionized the way that we interact with each other. Before social media, if you wanted someone to see a picture of you, you had to see them in person, send a physical photograph via the postal service, or make an appearance on TV. The modern way is so much quicker. Now, all …
A teacher once asked, “What else could be more perplexing than the punctuation system?” One student answers, “Punctuation decision before words, which belong to multiple parts of speech.” The straight-A student cringed and thought, “You should’ve used that. Not which.” No matter which kind of student you used to be, or you still are, this …
Questions on comma placement before subordinate clauses seem to pop up quite a lot on the internet. This might be because the term “subordinate” sounds a bit too technical, or perhaps, most people think that the punctuation system is too complicated and hard to digest. One thing’s for sure though, and that is, the role …
English has plenty of odd proverbs that you can use to describe just about everything. In this post, we’ll look at expressions used to describe differences between two people or things. What does the expression “(like) chalk and cheese” mean? The expression “chalk and cheese,” more fully written as “like chalk and cheese” or …
There are too many other things to worry about in the world, so why even bother taking the time to learn the punctuation system, right? Before I start discussing the nuances behind commas, I’d like to stress the point that having good writing skills could move mountains. Not literally, of course, but writing is the …
What is the most annoying punctuation mark in English? You guessed it right! Commas. But, are they really a hard nut to crack? Please read through the end of this post, and you’ll find out how easy peasy it is to punctuate sentences with commas, especially with the word “overall.” Do we always need …
A recurring topic here on Linguablog is how different communities develop their own words, expressions, and even entire languages. And, these communities don’t have to populate a country. They can be a relatively small group of people meeting online to talk about gaming. After all, it’s the Twitch community that has given us words like …