Did you loath or loathe getting back into the swing of things after the holidays? If you're a longtime newsletter reader (and you have a sharp memory), you might recall that we covered this set of commonly confused words around this time last year. So which is it?
Inspired by some of our most popular newsletters, we're giving you the chance to test your skills using commonly confused words. Over the next few weeks, we'll feature one fill-in-the-blank question like the one you see above. We'll also share the previous week's correct answer. And as a bonus, we're covering a new set of commonly confused words this week: affect and effect. There are a few clever tricks people use to remember the difference between affect and effect. Some people find the reminder "a = action, e = end result" helpful. There's even an acronym: RAVEN, for "Remember that Affect is a Verb and Effect is a Noun." What tricks do you have up your sleeve? Hit reply and let us know. ❤ Team Stylebot
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Most of the time, subject-verb agreement comes naturally. We don't second-guess the verbs we use in a sentence such as, "I am going to the park, and she is going to meet me there." But every now and then, as with our "couple" example from a few weeks ago, it gets tricky. You showed in last week's quiz that you're clear on the rule that you need to use "either" with "or" and "neither" with "nor." (Neither "either...nor" nor "neither...or" is correct.) But the subject-verb agreement tripped you...
We're continuing our series on either and neither this week, and you did well on the first quiz: Even though you might hear people use "either side" here, remember "either" means one or the other. You might have a tree on each side, but once you're using the plural "trees," you're probably talking about both sides. All right, like we said last week, we were easing you in with that question. There are some trickier questions when it comes to "either" and "neither." Let's try this one... Which...
TGIF! If someone tells you they're not sad that the workweek is coming to a close, you'd (probably) respond with today's subject line: "Me neither." Or you might say, "Me either," but that phrase is less precise. What you really mean is, "I am not sad that the workweek is ending either," so you need the "n" to keep the negative context. That's our first lesson — or reminder — for the series we're kicking off today on either and neither. We'll ease you in with this quiz: There were trees on...