Or should that be terribly? This is something that can be confusing for native speakers, and I’ve noticed recently more and more people getting into tangles with this area of language. Which ironically, I think, is due to people having more knowledge about language than before. First of all though, what aspect of language are we talking about here?
When do I use who, and when can I use whom?
It’s a common question, especially for people who find themselves in a situation where they have to use formal written English, such as a job application, letter of complaint or academic essay. When people find themselves in such situations, especially if they’re unaccustomed to them, replacing who and while with whom and whilst respectively are often seen as convenient shortcuts to formality. And while it is possible to always replace while with whilst, the same is not true of who and whom, and there are specific situations in which we can use whom.
Before figuring it out, I want to look at two incorrect uses of whom, as that’s usually more instructive: Continue reading
Just a quick lesson today.
The two words in the title, loose and lose, are probably two of the most easily- and often-confused by native English speakers.
In the simplest terms, which one is which?… Continue reading
This is a question that always sparks debate, and we probably all know people whose views fall on opposite sides of this debate. Some are sticklers for grammar, pouncing on any tiny error with relish. Others put less thought into how they use language and make errors without regard to how well they’re understood. And most people fall somewhere in between these two extremes. If you’ve ever been concerned about whether you have good grammar or not, then let me reassure you that your grammar is almost definitely much better than you think. Such is usually the case for most people in terms of their native language. But to know exactly what we mean by having good grammar, first we need to look at what grammar is.
What is grammar? Continue reading
English-Language Thoughts 