Many people wrongly believe that till is an abbreviation of until and say it should not be used. Traditionally, till is the older and original form, coming from Old Norse til into northern Old English. The form until is a later compound of Old Norse und (meaning as far...
The expressions such as consist (of), comprise (be comprised of), composed of, constitute, make up (be made up of), include, etc. describe the relationship of parts to the whole, or whole to parts. We sometimes use them interchangeably but not in all cases. Let’s look at the usages of...
Ending a sentence with a preposition has long been frowned upon by traditional readers and is still considered grammatically incorrect. However, it’s not technically an error. It’s perfectly OK to end a sentence with a preposition such as with, for, of, and to in the English language. ‘Where did...
Fewer and less both represent the opposite of the comparative adjective more. However, the main difference between fewer and less is to deduce whether fewer and less will be working with a countable or uncountable noun in the given sentence.
People often confuse when to use less and when to use fewer in a sentence. Here are some tips on...
Rise (as a verb, intransitive) means to move, or appear to move, physically upwards relative to the ground; to move upwards; to grow upward; to assume an upright position; to leave one's bed; to get up; to be resurrected; to terminate an official sitting; to adjourn.
Some example sentences of...
The difference between the two –demics, according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is that an epidemic is “an outbreak of disease that spreads quickly and affects many individuals at the same time.” On the other hand, a pandemic is a type of epidemic (one with greater range and coverage), an outbreak...
Disgusted (at/by/with)
Disgusted (adj) means ‘feeling or showing disgust; disturbed physically or mentally by something distasteful; cause (someone) to feel revulsion or strong disapproval; severely disappointed at someone or something:
We were disgusted at her incessant lying and cheating on her husband.
I am totally disgusted at you for not feeding our...
Tell on = The phrase ‘tell on’ in the context of the statement means ‘to have an effect that can be clearly seen, especially a bad effect’; to begin to show a negative effect that something is having on one:
She's lately been under a lot of stress and it...
Whose = Whose is the possessive form of both who and which. We use whose to refer to “animate antecedent.” “Animate” conveys living people and animals (but not plants):
Hot Dog whose dislike of Reggie Mantle is no secret to anyone is now coming to terms with him. √
Here “Hot Dog”...
Wonder about = If we wonder about something, we intend to do it in the future, either because we are interested in it and we want to know more about it, or because we are worried or suspicious about it:
I wonder about her attitude. She didn't even raise a...
