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Curious minds often wonder about complex questions, scientific theories, and even grammatical constructs — and there’s no doubt that the latter can make you scratch your head in wonder, too. So, what’s the difference between phrases like “I wonder” and “I am wondering”?  The difference between “I wonder” and “I am wondering” comes down to …

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A compound word is one where two words join together to form a new word, and the new word often has a new definition. “Home page” and “homepage” are examples of how words change over time. In the case of “home page” versus “homepage,” which is the correct spelling?   The Chicago Manual of Style prefers …

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At first glance, the words “hometown” and “home town” might seem to have different meanings. After all, “hometown” is a closed compound word, while “home town” is an open compound word. However, they have more in common than not. “Hometown” is the correct spelling in American English, while “home town” is generally the correct spelling …

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English grammar is riddled with rules, and some of the most confusing are those regarding the degrees of comparison for adjectives. For examples, take the two-syllable word “quiet.” Is it “more quiet” or “quieter”? The words “quieter” and “more quiet” are both grammatically correct examples of the comparative form, although “quieter” is far more common, …

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Both spoken and written English has undergone continuous change over centuries — no more so than in its spelling. For example, is it “taught” or “tought,” and what is the past tense of “teach”? There is no such word as “tought” in common usage today. Taught is correct both as the past tense and past …

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Most of us consider our lives pretty active, though is it correct to use “busier” or “more busy” when comparing ourselves to others? Busy is a relative term because some people may have more to do each day than others around them. Busier is the correct comparative adjective to use when expressing a degree of …

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