weaponry is a single group of weapons
weapons means more than one weapon
The weapons on the new fighter jet are lethal.
weaponry means weapons regarded collectively
The weaponry on the new fighter jet is extensive.
While investigating these nouns I found them to be part of what are called collective nouns. They are not as straightforward as I thought. I will be posting more on this topic but to read the details now, visit Grammar Girl.
Which one is that?
This came from GrammarBook.com and there are examples there:
Who refers to people. That and which refer to groups or things.
That introduces essential clauses while which introduces nonessential clauses.
If this, that, these, or those has already introduced an essential clause, you may use which to introduce the next clause, whether it is essential or nonessential.
Grammar Girl suggests:
Remembering to use that with restrictive clauses and which with nonrestrictive clauses is the best method, but the quick and dirty tip of using which when you could throw out the clause will also get you to the right answer most of the time.
Don’t run with scissors!
scissors is both singular and plural
The tailor used scissors.
The tailor bought five new scissors.
The tailor used a pair of scissors.
The tailor bought five new pairs of scissors.
For more details, see Grammar Girl.
Refueled by an eyeglass commercial
pair means two similar or identical things taken together
This is my favorite pair of shoes.
when referring to more than one, use pairs
Two complete pairs of glasses for $57.92.
It seems I have few blog post ideas
Quantitites can be expressed with few or little.
The meaning changes with the addition of the letter a.
few is used for countable nouns
little is used for uncountable nouns
few means maybe not many, but enough
a few means almost none
little means maybe not much, but enough
a little almost nothing
I feel like I am literally running out of ideas.
literally means in a literal sense or manner
He was literally insane according to the psychiatrist.
sometimes literally means in effect and is used for emphasis
Traffic was literally crazy today.
Its second meaning is controversial.
Everything Language and Grammar has more details on the subject.
I have neither time nor energy for posting
Here is a summary from Grammar Girl on when to use “nor”
To summarize, “nor” often pairs up with “neither,” but not always. When it comes to other negative words, use “or” if the second part of the negative is a noun, adjective, or adverb phrase. If it’s a verb phrase, choose either “nor” or “or.” If you’re unsure which one to use, consider saying, “and no” or “and not” for the second part.
Me, myself and I are studying grammar
Sally and I are the subjects of this sentence.
I am the subjects of this sentence.
The object pronouns of this sentence are Dave and me.
The object pronoun of this sentence is me.
I see myself as the reflexive pronoun in this sentence.
[Myself refers back to I.]
I used an intensive pronoun in this sentence myself.
[The sentence would be fine without myself. It just adds emphasis.]
Of course, Grammar Girl has a blog post on this topic.
Did you graduate from high school?
John graduated.
Jane graduated from Central High School. [the word from is required here]
Central High School graduated 500 students this year.
Click here to read the Grammar Girl rant on this topic.
Will Daniel and Abigail go? I would.
will is used to express intent or something scheduled
would is the past tense of will
will/would is a modal verb pair like can/could, may/might/must, shall/should
For a complete explanation of will/would, visit Grammar-Quizzes.com.