Archives
-
-
Lexical Investigations: Google
A motley combination of Anglo-Saxon, Latin, and Germanic dialects, the English language (more or less as we know it) coalesced between the 9th and 13th centuries. Since then, it has continued to import and borrow words and expressions from around the world, and the meanings have mutated. (Awesome and awful once meant nearly the same thing.) Some specimens in the English vocabulary have followed unusually …
-
Lexical Investigations: Goggle
A motley combination of Anglo-Saxon, Latin, and Germanic dialects, the English language (more or less as we know it) coalesced between the 9th and 13th centuries. Since then, it has continued to import and borrow words and expressions from around the world, and the meanings have mutated. (Awesome and awful once meant nearly the same thing.) Some specimens in the English vocabulary have followed unusually …
-
For All “Intents and Purposes” vs. “Intensive Purposes”
Both for all intents and purposes and for all intensive purposes are widely used to mean “for all practical purposes” or “virtually.” But which one is correct? The standard idiom is for all intents and purposes, not for all intensive purposes, though if you were to say these two forms out loud it might be hard to tell the difference between the two. For all …
-
What are Informal, Nonstandard, and Slang Words?
The status or stylistic labels informal and nonformal as well as colloquial are terms applied to written usage at the lowest level on the scale of formality.
-
What Is The Difference Between “Partly” And “Partially”?
Generally, the words may be used interchangeably to refer to some amount or degree that is less than the whole.
-
The Dictionary Difference Between Archaic And Obsolete
The meaning of these temporal labels can be somewhat different among dictionaries and thesauri. The label archaic is used for words that were once common but are now rare.
-
What Percent Of English Words Are Derived From Latin?
About 80 percent of the entries in any English dictionary are borrowed, mainly from Latin. Over 60 percent of all English words have Greek or Latin roots.
-
How can I figure out when to use some time, sometime, or sometimes?
Most often, sometime is one word: He will wash the car sometime.When some is used adjectivally with time to mean a short time, a long time, or an indefinite time, then it should be written as two words: She has not heard from her friend in some time.
-
“Bug” vs. “Insect”
We tend to use the word bug loosely for any very small creature with legs. However, a true bug is defined as belonging to the order Hemiptera. These creatures characteristically have tough forewings and lack teeth. True bugs have a stylet (a mouth shaped like a straw) that they use to suck juices from plants. Bugs are a type of insect, which belong to the class Insecta, and they are characterized by three-part bodies, usually …
-
Basic Spelling Rules Explained
You can teach yourself to be a better speller. It is important to realize that learning to spell is a process that is never complete. Spelling is something that everyone has to pay attention to and keep working at it.
-
The 8 Parts Of Speech In English
There are eight major parts of speech. Nouns name persons, places, things, ideas, or qualities, e.g., Franklin, boy, Yangtze River, shoreline, Bible, desk, fear, happiness. Pronouns usually substitute for nouns and function as nouns, e.g., I, you, he, she, it, we, they, myself, this, that, who, which, everyone. Verbs express actions, occurrences, or states of being, e.g., be, become, bunt, inflate, run. Adjectives describe or modify nouns or pronouns, e.g., …
