Tag Archives: usage problem

New in English Today: A Fuss about the Octopus

Posted on February 18, 2015 by Inge Otto

The March issue of English Today includes the latest feature article from our project in which I discuss the options English has to refer to more than one ‘octopus’ as well as a usage rhyme written on this specific topic. Four … Continue reading →

Posted in announcement, news, usage features, usage guide | Tagged acceptability, English Today, plural of 'octopus', usage guides, usage problem, usage rhymes | 1 Comment

A lost cause?

Posted on September 19, 2014 by Carmen Ebner

Yesterday Scotland has voted and decided to stay within the United Kingdom. Today newspapers are filled with punchy and informative headlines analysing the outcome of the Scottish referendum. When I was reading an article in The Independent, my eyes fell immediately … Continue reading →

Posted in usage features | Tagged BBC, British English, concede, defeat, media, Scotland, usage problem, victory, vote, wrong | 3 Comments

The Alphabet of Errors: L, M & N

Posted on February 20, 2014 by Inge Otto

Have you told people a 1000 times not to use lie for lay? Are those people, after all your well-meant though prescriptive advice, still lost as to when to use the one and when the other? Do they forget your … Continue reading →

Posted in usage features | Tagged can/may, double negation, errors, HUGE, lie/lay, rhyme, Richardson, school, The English Journal, usage guides, usage problem | 1 Comment

Something must have went on

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Viktorija Kostadinova

The first time I read about have went as a usage problem was in the context of what 18th century prescriptivists wrote about it: Robert Lowth and Noah Webster, two 18th (and, in the case of Webster, 19th) century grammarians, both … Continue reading →

Posted in polls and surveys, usage features | Tagged AmE vs BrE, attitudes to usage, have went, online survey, usage problem | Leave a comment

A Word on Asphalt

Posted on January 16, 2014 by Inge Otto

Did you ever see the word “ashfault” in a newspaper, book, article – or anywhere else at all? Well, until recently I was unaware of this word’s existence (too). It was only when I read Paul Brian’s usage guide Common … Continue reading →

Posted in usage features, usage guide | Tagged ashfault, asphalt, assfault, common errors in english usage, Merriam Webster, oed, paul brian, spelling, urban dictionary, usage problem | 9 Comments

Hain’t

Posted on September 16, 2013 by Inge Otto

Have you ever heard anybody say hain’t? Have you seen it written down somewhere for have not or has not? Until this morning I was totally unfamiliar with the expression. To be honest, I only knew of the existence of … Continue reading →