Presently – English editing.
Presently has two meanings. The older, meaning ‘now’, dates from the 15th century and is the dominating meaning in American English, as in he is presently chair of the committee.…
Number – English editing.
The construction of the number of + plural noun should be used with a singular verb, as in the number of people affected remains small. This is because it is…
Noun – English editing.
A noun is a word that names a person, animal, or thing. Common nouns name persons, animals, or things of which there is not just one example, (bridge, girl, sugar,…
Nonplussed – English editing.
In standard use nonplussed means ‘surprised and confused’, as in she was nonplussed at his eagerness to help out. In North America, English a new use has developed in recent…
None – English editing
Some language purists maintain that none can take a singular verb, never a plural one:none of them is coming tonight rather than none of them are coming tonight. There is…
Onto – English editing.
The preposition onto meaning ‘to a position on the surface of’, as in they fell off their stools onto the rough stone floor , has been widely written as one…
Niggardly – English editing.
Niggardly has no historical connection with nigger, but because it sounds like it, and probably because it is at the same time a derogatory term, meaning ‘ungenerous with money, time,…
Nevertheless – English editing.
It is quite common to find nevertheless spelled ‘never the less’. Although this is how it was written many centuries ago, the standard modern spelling is as one word. For…