Grammar Help

Dear A+ Editor,

 

What’s the difference between lie and lay?  I always get those confused. – Stacy (College Student)

 

Dear Stacy,

 

Any college girl should know one thing about those two verbs.  College guys lie to get laid.  Avoid both verbs in all contexts.  That will keep your parents happy and you out of trouble!  You may also need to know that lie / lay / lain refers to the act of reclining while lay / lay / laid means “to put” or “to place.”  Again, since “lay” shows up in both conjugations, it's best to avoid the confusion by choosing an entirely different word.

 

 

Dear A+ Editor,

 

I was writing a mini-story for our newsletter at work. There were no assigned seats so I wrote, “Each person sat wherever they wanted.”  My boss put a red line through it and circled “they.”  I was so insulted.  I haven’t seen a red line through anything like that since high school!  I avoided using “he” since it was a mixed group of people.  Please respond so I can show this to her before I’m tempted to (expletive deleted) with the red pen.  Thanks.  - Sue

 

Dear Sue,

 

Can people really do that with red pens?  I’ll have to save your letter for the uncut DVD version of this grammar help column.   Anyway, I’m sorry to have to insult you again.  Your boss is correct.  You should have written, “Each person sat wherever he or she wanted.”  Since “person” was singular, the pronoun should be singular too unless each person in your company has multiple personality disorder or is possessed by demons.  In that case, the plural “they” could refer to a singular person.  If so, it sounds like I place I used to work.

 

 

Dear A+ Editor,

 

Quick question:  How can I remember if it should be affect or effect? – Maria 

 

Dear Maria,

 

Quick tip: Just remember two words – No AAA.  What does that mean? There are no Academy Awards for Affects.  Why not?  The Academy Award is for Special Effects with an “E.”  (“Affect” is a verb.  “Effect” is a noun.)

 

 

Dear A+ Editor,

 

I’m not the best speller in the world and I hate dragging out the dictionary to look things up.  It takes too long.  Any suggestions?  - Renee

 

Dear Renee,

 

Use www.dictionary.com; it’s much faster.  We have been using it for years.

 

 

Dear A+ Editor,

 

What is the worst or most embarrassing grammar error or typo you have ever made?  - Robbie G.

 

Dear Robbie G,

 

I have decided to delay answering that one and turn it over to my readers instead.  Readers, it’ your turn!  Send me your tales of typing woes and I will print the most entertaining in future columns over the coming weeks.  Keep reading, Robbie.  After we’ve let everyone embarrass themselves a second time by sharing their stories (the first time was when the events actually happened), I’ll fess up myself!

 

 

Dear A+ Editor,

 

This drives me crazy. Is it web site as two words or website as one word?  Everybody I ask has a different answer and none of them has a decent explanation. Thanks.  – Trevor

 

Dear Trevor,

 

I have good news and bad news.  The bad news is that the answer is still going to drive you crazy.  The good news is that no matter how you handle “web site” or “website” or other variations thereof, you probably won’t be doing it incorrectly.  (Notice the quotes.  When a word is referred to as being a word, it should be enclosed in quotes. Here’s a quick example.  I love eating anything with sassafras flavoring.  I love it because it makes me laugh to say the word “sassafras.”)  Let’s get back to your issue.  Both the forms you have stated are acceptable.  It depends upon which grammar style guide / guru you like to follow as to whether you should be using two individual words or one compound word.  Curiously, as words which become closely associated with each other progress from dual to singular status, there is usually an intermediate step during which the words are hyphenated.  This is not the case here.  I guess as technology rapidly progresses, so the language evolves rapidly sometimes also.   One very important warning about all this is that you must be consistent throughout a project when it comes to this. Pick your favorite method of handling the expression and stick with it throughout.  Otherwise, people will notice the discrepancies and their minds will decide that one of the ways is incorrect. 

P.S. All of the above information applies to “E-mail,” “email,” etc. Personally, these are our preferences at A+ Editors: The e-mail was sent from the website.