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Frequently asked questions: Language rules

What is a synonym for “favor”?: There are numerous synonyms and near synonyms for the various meanings of “favor”:

Prefer (verb) Approval (noun)

Advocate Adoration

Approve of Appreciation

Endorse Praise

Support Respect
Is pathetic fallacy a logical fallacy?: Pathetic fallacy is not a logical fallacy. It is a literary device or figure of speech that often occurs in literature when a writer attributes human emotions to things that aren’t human, such as objects, the weather, or animals.

Pathetic fallacy is used to reflect a character’s emotions. For example, if a character has lost a loved one, they may hear “mournful” birdsong.
Why do people use pathetic fallacy?: A pathetic fallacy can be a short phrase or a whole sentence and is often used in novels and poetry. Pathetic fallacies serve multiple purposes, such as:

Conveying the emotional state of the characters or the narrator

Creating an atmosphere or set the mood of a scene

Foreshadowing events to come

Giving texture and vividness to a piece of writing

Communicating emotion to the reader in a subtle way, by describing the external world.

Bringing inanimate objects to life so that they seem more relatable.
What is the difference between pathetic fallacy and appeal to pathos?: Pathetic fallacy and appeal to pathos sound similar but they refer to entirely different things.

Pathetic fallacy is a figure of speech, at least in most contexts, and not a reasoning error. It refers to the attribution of human emotions to something non-human in novels or poems.

Appeal to pathos, on the other hand, is a logical fallacy in which the speaker or author takes advantage of emotions, like fear or love for one’s family, to convince their audience instead of using rational arguments.

In other words, pathetic fallacy and appeal to pathos both relate to pathos or emotion but to a different end.
When do you put the apostrophe after the “s”?: When forming the possessive of a plural noun that already ends in “s,” you should add an apostrophe after “s” and not add an extra “s.” For example, the plural noun houses becomes the possessive noun houses’.

This is different from forming the possessive of a singular noun (e.g., “house”) or an irregular plural noun that doesn’t end in “s” (e.g. “men”). In those cases, you add an apostrophe followed by an “s”: house’s; men’s.
Is “because” a compound word?: Yes, the conjunction because is a compound word, but one with a long history. It originates in Middle English from the preposition “bi” (“by”) and the noun “cause.” Over time, the open compound “bi cause” became the closed compound “because,” which we use today.

Though it’s spelled this way now, the verb “be” is not one of the words that makes up “because.”
Is “today” a compound word?: Yes, today is a compound word, but a very old one. It wasn’t originally formed from the preposition “to” and the noun “day”; rather, it originates from their Old English equivalents, “tō” and “dæġe.”

In the past, it was sometimes written as a hyphenated compound: “to-day.” But the hyphen is no longer included; it’s always “today” now (“to day” is also wrong).
What is a synonym for “every time”?: Some synonyms and near synonyms of every time include:

Each time

Whenever

Without exception
Is “everytime” a word?: “Everytime” is sometimes used to mean “each time” or “whenever.” However, this is incorrect and should be avoided. The correct phrase is every time (two words).
What’s the difference between “nobody” and “no one”?: Nobody and no one are both indefinite pronouns meaning “no person.” They can be used interchangeably (e.g., “nobody is home” means the same as “no one is home”).
Is “no one” one word or two?: No one (two words) is an indefinite pronoun meaning “nobody.” People sometimes mistakenly write “noone,” but this is incorrect and should be avoided. “No-one” is also wrong.
What is a synonym for “favored”?: There are numerous synonyms and near synonyms for the two meanings of “favored”:

Preferred (verb) Most-liked (adjective)

Advocated Adored

Approved of Appreciated

Endorsed Praised

Supported Preferred
What does “yours truly” mean?: Yours truly is a phrase used at the end of a formal letter or email. It can also be used (typically in a humorous way) as a pronoun to refer to oneself (e.g., “The dinner was cooked by yours truly”). The latter usage should be avoided in formal writing.

It’s formed by combining the second-person possessive pronoun “yours” with the adverb “truly.”
What is a synonym for “truly”?: There are numerous synonyms for the various meanings of truly:

In a truthful way Absolutely Properly

Candidly Completely Accurately

Honestly Really Correctly

Openly Totally Exactly

Truthfully Undoubtedly Precisely
What is an indefinite article?: The indefinite articles a and an are used to refer to a general or unspecified version of a noun (e.g., a house). Which indefinite article you use depends on the pronunciation of the word that follows it.

A is used for words that begin with a consonant sound (e.g., a bear).

An is used for words that begin with a vowel sound (e.g., an eagle).

Indefinite articles can only be used with singular countable nouns. Like definite articles, they are a type of determiner.
What’s the difference between regular and irregular verbs?: Regular verbs are verbs whose simple past and past participle are formed by adding the suffix “-ed” (e.g., “walked”).

Irregular verbs are verbs that form their simple past and past participles in some way other than by adding the suffix “-ed” (e.g., “sat”).
What are the different types of verbs?: There are many ways to categorize verbs into various types. A verb can fall into one or more of these categories depending on how it is used.

Some of the main types of verbs are:

Regular verbs

Irregular verbs

Transitive verbs

Intransitive verbs

Dynamic verbs

Stative verbs

Linking verbs

Auxiliary verbs

Modal verbs

Phrasal verbs
Are numbers adjectives?: Cardinal numbers (e.g., one, two, three) can be placed before a noun to indicate quantity (e.g., one apple). While these are sometimes referred to as “numeral adjectives,” they are more accurately categorized as determiners or quantifiers.
What are the different types of adjectives?: There are many ways to categorize adjectives into various types. An adjective can fall into one or more of these categories depending on how it is used.

Some of the main types of adjectives are:

Attributive adjectives

Predicative adjectives

Comparative adjectives

Superlative adjectives

Coordinate adjectives

Appositive adjectives

Compound adjectives

Participial adjectives

Proper adjectives

Denominal adjectives

Nominal adjectives
What is indirect quotation?: Indirect quotation means reporting what someone said (or wrote) but not using their exact words. It’s similar to paraphrasing, but it only involves changing enough words to fit the statement into your sentence grammatically (e.g., changing the tense or the pronouns).

Since some of the words have changed, indirect quotations are not enclosed in quotation marks.
How do I punctuate quotes within quotes?: Quotes within quotes are punctuated differently to distinguish them from the surrounding quote.

If you use double quotation marks for quotes, use single quotation marks for quotes within quotes.

If you use single quotation marks for quotes (e.g., in UK English), use double quotation marks for quotes within quotes.

Make sure to close both sets of quotes!
Should I use single or double quotation marks?: The use of single and double quotation marks when quoting differs between US and UK English. In US English, you must use double quotation marks. Single quotation marks are used for quotes within quotes.

In UK English, it’s most common to use single quotation marks, with double quotation marks for quotes within quotes, although the other way around is acceptable too.

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Prefer (verb)	Approval (noun)
Advocate	Adoration
Approve of	Appreciation
Endorse	Praise
Support	Respect

Preferred (verb)	Most-liked (adjective)
Advocated	Adored
Approved of	Appreciated
Endorsed	Praised
Supported	Preferred

In a truthful way	Absolutely	Properly
Candidly	Completely	Accurately
Honestly	Really	Correctly
Openly	Totally	Exactly
Truthfully	Undoubtedly	Precisely