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    That Using ‘that’ Makes You Sound “Not Smart” Is Wrong

    Whenever I come across a post about “words to avoid,” I audibly groan. Such posts are prescriptivist attempts to impose more arbitrary rules on language use. I recently saw a post in my Facebook feed about “words to avoid to sound smarter.” One suggestion was to avoid the word that. The post claimed that that […] More

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    Christmas, Spelling, and Structured Word Inquiry

    Learn more about Structured Word Inquiry (SWI) by studying the spellings of some vocabulary words related to the Christmas holiday: Christmas, Yuletide, decoration, angel, mistletoe, ornament, poinsettia, fruitcake, eggnog, and gingerbread. Structured Word Inquiry English spelling is rule-based. There are no exceptions, just more rules to uncover. I have yet to find a word whose […] More

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    Thanksgiving, Spelling, and Structured Word Inquiry

    Learn more about Structured Word Inquiry (SWI) by studying the spellings of some vocabulary words related to the Thanksgiving holiday: Thanksgiving, gratitude, turkey, cranberry, Thursday, squash, cornucopia, delicious, acorn, and potato. Structured Word Inquiry English spelling is rule-based. There are no exceptions, just more rules to uncover. I have yet to find a word whose […] More

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    Autumn, Spelling, and Structured Word Inquiry

    Learn more about Structured Word Inquiry (SWI) by studying the spellings of some vocabulary words related to the autumn season: autumn, September, October, November, scarecrow, equinox, harvest, chestnut, deciduous, and chilly. Structured Word Inquiry English spelling is rule-based. There are no exceptions, just more rules to uncover. I have yet to find a word whose […] More

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    A Short History of the English Language

    Prior to c.450, the peoples of Britannia (Britons) spoke Celtic languages. Between 388 and 400, Romans occupied Britannia (modern England and Wales). Celtic-speaking Scots and Picts lived north of the Romanized Britons. In c.450, Germanic tribes including the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes invaded Britannia. The language that developed was Old English. Just as there are […] More

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    Word Matrix: Tract

    <tract> “draw, drag, move,” from stem of trahere “to pull, draw” Words Sums Tract -> tract Tract + s -> tracts Tract + or -> tractor Tract + or + s -> tractors Tract + or + Beam -> tractorbeam Tract + or + Beam + s -> tractorbeams Tract + ion -> traction Tract + ion […] More

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    Word Matrix: Augur(e)

    <augur(e)> “predict, foretell” from French inauguration and directly from Late Latin inaugurationem, presumably originally “installment under good omens,” from in– “on, in” + augurare “to act as an augur, predict” Words Sums Augur(e) -> augur Augur(e) + s -> augurs Augur(e) + y -> augury in + Augur(e) + ate -> inaugurate in + Augur(e) […] More

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    Word Matrix: Thank

    <thank> “thought, gratitude; think, feel,” from Old English þancian, þoncian, compare related Old English noun þanc, þonc Words Sums Thank + s -> thanks Thank + ed -> thanked Thank + ing -> thanking Thank + ful -> thankful Thank + ful + ness -> thankfulness Thank + ful + ly -> thankfully un + Thank + ful -> […] More

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    English Sentences: From Declarative to Interrogative

    Two types of sentences in English are declarative sentences and interrogative sentences. Declarative sentences, or declarations, convey information or make statements. Interrogative sentences, or questions, request information or ask questions. Periods indicate declarative sentences in written English. Question marks indicate interrogative sentences in written English. Declarative Sentences Declarative sentences are subject-verb (SV) in word order. […] More

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    Word Matrix: Sign

    <sign> from Latin signum “identifying mark, token, indication, symbol; proof” Words Sums (248) Sign -> sign Sign + s -> signs Sign + ed -> signed Sign + ing -> signing Sign + ing + s -> signings Sign + er -> signer Sign + er + s -> signers Sign + ee -> signee […] More

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    Introducing ‘Teach a Student to Read’

    If you have been following along on my LinguisticsGirl Twitter feed, you know that I have been working on a reading program for my second child. My reading program developed in response to Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, which I used with my oldest child. When the time came to teach […] More

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    The Habitual ‘be’

    What is the habitual be? Who uses the habitual be? I began writing this post a few months ago as I investigated verb constructions outside the tense-aspect paradigm of the mythical standard English for the grammar book that I am writing. Writing about a topic helps me with my understanding. Habitual be refers to the […] More

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    English Nouns: Common and Proper

    A noun can be defined semantically as “a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea.” In English, nouns can be singular or plural. Singular means “one.” Plural means “not one.” English nouns can also be possessive or non-possessive. English nouns can be classified into categories: common and proper. Common Nouns A common noun […] More

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    Is “Some Years Back” Grammatically Correct?

    Earlier today I came across a tweet that argued against the use of the word back in the phrase some years back. Tweeter Darlink (@NW6Rd) stated: “While standing on the platform some years back…” No. ‘ago’ ‘some years AGO’ #grammar I love adpositions, of which a postposition like back is a subcategory. As a closed, […] More

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