Language Arts

On your morning walk through the park, a passerby gives you a nod and then asks, “How are you doing?” What should be your response? Is it proper to say, “I am doing well”?  It is correct to say, “I am doing well” to express that your life is in satisfactory condition. It’s a stock …

You are engaged in conversation with somebody and getting along well. Things are going smoothly until your conversational partner says something you do not understand. You need them to express what they spoke differently. You say, “Could you be more clear?” But is it correct to say “more clear?” It is incorrect to say “more …

When we need to refer to a large number of countable things, we often use the word “many.” In some situations, we might want to emphasize the “many.” But, is it correct to say “very many”?  It is correct to say “very many.” “Very” is an intensifier, and we use such words to add emphasis …

Your best friend goes on a date; your brother goes to a football game with the guys; your colleague has dinner with an important client. These are all scenarios in which you’d want to know details about how the night went and what happened, or it at least seems polite to ask. So, is it …

You are in the kitchen baking your grandma’s favorite cookies. You take it to her on a plate with a cup of tea, and she tells you, “You are my most favorite grandson.” It is incorrect to say “most favorite” because “favorite” already means something or someone is the best. Though it is grammatically incorrect …

English is chock-full of odd grammar constructions and idioms. One such oddity happens when someone says, “So be it,” at the end of a frustrating conversation. Is “be it” proper grammar? It is correct to say “be it” as part of a subjunctive statement resigning someone or something to its fate. It is an older …