Category Archives: Language & Terms

Question: What’s the difference between capital and capitol? Answer: I’ll answer this question with a little story. In many American elementary schools (schools for children ages six to twelve), it’s very common for students to memorize the names of the … Continue reading →

If you speak to an American, before long (very soon) you’ll probably hear him or her use the word “guy.” That’s because we use it all the time in conversation. When the noun is singular — “guy” — it’s used … Continue reading →

Here’s a recent headline from the Financial Times: A Captain Should be Pitch Perfect at a Multitude of Skills This headline is for an article that compares the game of cricket, popular in Great Britain and other countries, to the … Continue reading →

Pocket dialing — also called “pocket calling,” “butt dialing,” or “butt calling”  (with “butt” referring to the part of the body you sit on) — is when you accidentally make a phone call using your cell phone because you sit … Continue reading →

One of the difficulties in learning a second language is the fact that, in most languages, there are different words for the same concept or idea. People in the United States, for example, often use different words to describe the … Continue reading →

One of the most offensive (insulting) phrases that Americans still use today is, “Don’t be an Indian giver.” This refers to the idea that Indians (“Native American” is the term we use most often today) give gifts and then take them … Continue reading →

We all know the importance of punctuation. Periods (.), commas (,), quotation marks (” “), semicolons (;), colons (:), question marks (?), and other punctuation marks in the English language give clarity (being clear, not confusing) and meaning to a … Continue reading →

So I wanted to write something about the use of the word “so” to begin a sentence. Traditionally the word “so” in English has served (been used for) a couple of purposes. You can say “so” as a conjunction to … Continue reading →

People don’t like getting old. People like it even less when they’re called old. The term “elderly” is used to describe someone who is old, as in “elderly residents (people who live in a place)” or “elderly women.” We also … Continue reading →