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When a proper name has the word "the" in front of it, it has to be plural. My husband and I are NOT "the Wells." We are "the Wellses." If you are talking about us, it is just plural; if you are tal...

The word "what" is an interrogative -- asks a question -- pronoun. In the normal word order, it is, of course, "What was it?" When the sentence is turned around, it is just "bad grammar," and it st...

When a word ends in the "hard c" sound -- mimic, static, picnic -- you want to maintain that sound in all forms of the word. Since "ci" and "ce" sound like an "s," you need to alter the spelling to...

When a question like "Do you know?" or "Do you recall?" is tacked on at the end of another question, use an interrog for both questions. ...How close were you to the edge of the road? Do you know?...

There are a couple of options for these words: ...counted one/one thousand, two/one thousand, three... ...counted one, one thousand; two, one thousand; three... Happy punctuating! Margie

The word whereas, a combination of where and as, is a subordinate conjunction just as where and as are subordinate conjunctions. It is in the same category as and is punctuated like clauses that be...

When there is a noun or a pronoun with a participle -- -ing or -ed form-- after it, it is called a nominative absolute. ...That being said, we will go forward from here. ...The project completed, ...

A preposition must have a noun or pronoun as its object. If there is no object, we don't call the word a preposition. ...She took it OUT. ("Out" is an adverb.) ...She too it OUT the door. ("Out" i...

When someone makes up a word that looks like an English word and can be readily spelled, the rule is that the word should be quoted. There is no need to use after such a word. The quotes clue the ...