From Grammar Girl: A complement—that’s m-e-n-t—is a noun that completes meaning (1). Take the sentence “She is my sister.†The words “my sister†are the complement. There’s no agreement problem in that sentence, it’s all singular, but what about a sentence like this: “The two girls ate their sandwichâ€? Does this mean the girls shared… Continue reading Subject-Complement Agreement
Category: Grammar
Canadian Style Tip #33: Block format quotations
This post is part of the Canadian Style series. 8.06 Block format quotations Do not enclose in quotation marks a block quotation set off from the text. It does require indentation, single spacing, and double spacing above and below.
Canadian Style Tip #32: Words commonly misused un- and non-
This post is part of the Canadian Style series. 12.03 Words commonly misused or confused: un- and non- Un- means opposite of, whereas non- means other than. Compare un-Christian conduct and non-Christian religions.
Canadian Style Tip #31: The en dash: compound expressions
This post is part of the Canadian Style series. 7.49 The en dash: compound expressions Use the en dash to join the names of two or more places: The Calgary–Edmonton corridor The Vancouve–Lethbridge flight
Difference between principle and principal
This is part of the difference between series. I’ve heard some people confusing the words principal and principle. Here’s the difference between the two. Let’s start with the easier one first: principle. Principle Principle typically means something like rule, doctrine, or standard. I won’t compromise my principles. Principal Principal, on the other hand, has several… Continue reading Difference between principle and principal
Difference between stationery and stationary
This is part of the difference between series. Stationery means “writing materials,” while stationary means “immovable.” I bought some stationery from Staples. and That mountain is stationary.
Canadian Style Tip #30: Any, every, no & some
This post is part of the Canadian Style series. 2.08 Any, every, no and some The words any, every, no, and some form solid compounds when combined with the words body, thing, and where: somebody anything everywhere nothing somewhere everything
Canadian Style Tip #29: Punctuation in salutations
This post is part of the Canadian Style series. 7.27 Punctuation in salutations In business letters and printed speeches, a colon follows the salutation. In personal letters, a comma follows the salutation. Dear Dr. Jones: Dear Jimmy,
Canadian Style Tip #29: Comparative and inclusive numbers
This post is part of the Canadian Style series. 5.24 Comparative and inclusive numbers Join consecutive numbers with and or or, except when intermediate quantities are available. Our seats are in rows 5 and 6. (not 5 to 6) The temperature ranged from 10 to 11 °C. (not 10 or 11)
Canadian Style Tip #28: Titles of occupations
This post is part of the Canadian Style series. 14.06 Titles of occupations Eliminate titles and terms that suggest a job is not typically performed by persons of one sex. Do not feminize occupational titles by adding ess, ette, or ix, as in manageress, usherette, or executrix.