Grammar Repair Shop

Grammar Repair Shop answers all your questions on grammar, punctuation and usage with examples of what's right and what's wrong.

Conversation stoppers

While these phrases aren’t grammatically incorrect, they tend to be used in all the wrong places: “With all due respect, ...” “Does that make sense?” ... “I hear what you’re saying, but ...”

Inter vs. intra

An admin reader recently wrote, “My goodness, will you please do a piece that tells people the difference between ‘intra’ and ‘inter’? While you’re at it, ‘effect’ vs. ‘affect’ wouldn’t hurt, either.”

Grammar school rules

Which unforgettable writing lesson did you learn in school? Are there any you still use today? See if any of these ring a bell:

What's wrong with this sentence?

Correct any punctuation errors in the following sentences. Caution: Some sentences may ­already be correct, so don’t be fooled.

Grammar Repair Shop: Use one word? Or two?

Is it one word or two? Take this quiz to test your knowledge of common spelling snafus:

'What' did you put in quotes?

The grammar police are applying full force to the rampant misuse of quotation marks. At least one web site and The Book of “Unnecessary” Quotation Marks are documenting the sometimes hilarious application of quotations in inap­propriate places. Examples of publicly posted signs:

LOL! Text-speak now in the dictionary

OMG! The Oxford English Dic­tionary officially approves of the three-letter “word.” Among the entries in its latest edition are a number of expressions that first became popular online but then crossed over into everyday use.

5 grammar myths

Grammar Girl has debunked these grammar rules, saying, “Almost everyone believes at least one of these myths”:

Avoiding the slash

The slash or “/” is usually deployed when you need a quick and dirty way of saying “and” or “or.” Examples: “writer/director” and “and/or.” But, one reader asks, how do you make such phrases possessive?

Making it plural

Writers sometimes stumble over how to make words plural. Here are two tricky situations: 1. Family and brand names. 2. Decades and other numbers.