Source: arcamax.com via Jean on Pinterest   Look at the second panel. Most people would have said “resumes…contain.” But Simone (the agency director) got it right! Her sentence is a good example of correct pronoun agreement. “Contains” is correct because the subject is “one.” Skip over anything that goes with “in (“in three resumes”). It’s [...]

On a website for writers, I just read an article that clears up some confusing points about punctuation:  Lame Duck Punctuation. I have a feeling I’m going to be cranky all day. Two things bother me about the article. First, the title isn’t helpful. The writer’s point is that punctuation errors make you as ineffectual as [...]

Source: arcamax.com via Jean on Pinterest   In the last panel, should it be “for Dad and I”? No. “Me” is correct. Here’s how you know: Read the sentence again WITHOUT “Dad and.” The sentence becomes: I meant the dummy jokes for me. (You wouldn’t say “for I,” would you?) “Me” is correct, and so [...]

Seen on AOL.com: Sigh. The apostrophe in Who’s is like a little i [Who is?]. So the question reads, “Who is Historic Bible Will Obama Use at Inauguration?“ Doesn’t make sense. The word needed here is whose: “Whose Historic Bible Will Obama Use at Inauguration?“ Possessive pronouns don’t have apostrophes. Guess what: You already knew that! You [...]

Source: arcamax.com via Jean on Pinterest   It’s or its? And how do you know? Take a look at “its” in the second balloon. Shouldn’t there be an apostrophe? No! Its (no apostrophe) is a possessive word, like his. In fact you can clear up the it’s/its confusion permanently by substituting “his” any time you’re [...]

Source: gocomics.com via Jean on Pinterest   Is “Me and my brothers” in the third panel correct? No. Here’s how you can tell (it’s easy!). Shorten the sentence by removing “and my brothers.” What you have left is “Me formed a rap group back in the day.” Doesn’t sound right, does it? So the sentence [...]

Source: blog.grammarly.com via Jean on Pinterest   Egad – The monkey knows all about pronoun case! Here’s how to get these sentences right every time: Cover up “other workers and” to make the sentence shorter, like this – “an insult to other workers and I” Sounds wrong, doesn’t it? Let’s try again: “an insult to [...]

Source: arcamax.com via Jean on Pinterest   Billy is young, so he can’t be expected to know that he should have said “more breath than I.” Here’s how you know whether it’s “I” or “me”: Add an extra word. “You’ve got more breath than I do” = “You’ve got more breath than I.” Incidentally, I’m [...]

Source: gocomics.com via Jean on Pinterest   Look at the first panel. Should it be “Pig and I”? (Sounds more elegant, doesn’t it?) Nope! Make the sentence shorter by covering up “Pig and.” You’ll hear that “me” is the correct choice: You promised to help me. You promised to help Pig and me. (This shorten-the-sentence [...]