FOR ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES is the usual and proper form of the phrase meaning “in every practical sense.” It dates back to English law in the 1500s, originally cited as “to all intents, constructions, and purposes” in the Oxford English Dictionary as early as 1546, and written “to all intents, Read more…
STATIONARY: an adjective or adverb, meaning “not moving”, “fixed in one place”, “still.” STATIONERY: a noun, meaning “paper, for letter writing or note-taking” Ex: I use a stationary bike for exercise. (adj) Ex: The hostages were ordered to remain stationary. (adv) Ex: The girl received stationery and a special pen Read more…
The formal rule is to use IF when you have a conditional sentence and WHETHER when you are showing that two alternatives are possible. Some examples will make this more clear. ex: “The President didn’t know WHETHER the zombie attack would begin on Monday or Tuesday.” Because I used “whether,” Read more…
There are two issues with this word. The first is that it is commonly misspelled as DIRTH. The second issue is the more egregious. Have you ever heard something like this? There is such a dearth of sand on this beach! Many seem to think that DEARTH means “a great Read more…
PASSED is the past tense and past participle of the verb “to pass.” It means to move on or ahead; proceed. It can function as both a transitive and intransitive verb. For example, “The car passed me in the left lane.” “I unknowingly passed by her in the crowd.” PAST Read more…