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Sep 7

The word “fun” is in flux

Posted on Tuesday, September 7, 2010 in Misused words and expressions, Nonexistent words

fun as a noun:
I had fun at the carnival.

fun as an adjective:
I had a fun time at the carnival.
She had a more fun time at the carnival than me.
He had the most fun time of all of us.
She had a funner time at the carnival than me. [slang]
He had the  funnest time of all of us.
 [slang]

fun as a verb:
He is just funning you.

Grammar Girl has a more detailed explanation.

Jul 9

Wear a life-jacket to prevent drowning!

Posted on Friday, July 9, 2010 in Misused words and expressions, Nonexistent words

drown means to be suffocated in water

It is conjugated as follows:
I drown (He drowns)
I will drown
I drowned
I have drowned
I had drowned
I will have drowned
I would drown
I would have drown
I am drowning
I have drowned

Do not use drownd (missing the e).

Oct 12

He was taught to make the rope taut

Posted on Monday, October 12, 2009 in Incorrect word usage, Misspelled words, Nonexistent words

seamless, seemless
seamless means without seams
seemless is not a word

taught, taut
taught is the past tense of teach
taut means under tension [like a rope]

Aug 24

Bring a dictionary with you

Posted on Monday, August 24, 2009 in Incorrect word usage, Nonexistent words

Brang and brung are not proper conjugations for bring.

Use bring, brought and brought.

I bring my dictionary to every editing session.

I brought my dictionary home after school today.

He has brought his dictionary to class every day this week.

Jun 24

Woulda, coulda, shoulda

Posted on Wednesday, June 24, 2009 in Nonexistent words

The following “verbs” do not exist:
Woulda, coulda, shoulda, would of, could of, should of and must of.

The proper words are:
would have, could have, should have and must have.

For example, when would have is turned into a contraction, would’ve, and then written the way it sounds, you would incorrectly write would of. Let the ve in the contraction remind you that it stands for have.