Supermarket express check-outs used to have limits of “12 items” (or 10 or 8 or whatever) “or less.” It took grammar advocates years to persuade markets to change the signs to read “12 items or fewer,” which is correct. But many, many people still admit that they can’t keep less and fewer straight and don’t …

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If you ever watched any of the “Next Generation” incarnation of the Star Trek franchise, you may remember that Data was an amazingly sophisticated  android who was always yearning to feel human emotions. Occasionally, he would be put in a situation where he would try really hard to tell jokes, be a parent, or have a …

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Using good (or at least audience-appropriate) grammar is a way of showing a baseline level of respect for the person or people you’re addressing. This is especially important in formal communications where you don’t know your audience personally, such as most business correspondence, including email, and early-stage online dating overtures. You wouldn’t post, in a …

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