I Before E, Except After C
The rule goes like this:
I before E, Except after C, unless it sounds like A, as in neighbor or weigh
There are many exceptions to this rule—maybe it’s better to think of it as a guideline—but it can be helpful with words like the ones below.
grammar
🔤 Grammar Tip: Between You and (I or Me?)
I vs. Me
One of my biggest grammar pet peeves is when people use “I” when they should use “me.” … My favorite is when people let you in on something by starting with “Between you and I…” Wrong, wrong, wrong.
Grammar hack: Use subjective form (I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they) if the person is the subject of the verb: She and I ate lunch. You and he left on time.
Use objective form (me, you, him, her, it, us, you, them) if the person comes after a preposition: Between you and me, it’s curtains for her and them.SOURCE
🔤 Grammar Tip: Here’s Where to Place the Apostrophe for Possession
Apostrophes: For singular ownership, generally add’s; for plural ownership, generally add s’.
Source
🔤Grammar Tip: Flipping a Positive Comment to a Negative
Three little letters — not — turn a positive comment (“I like your boots”) to a negative one (“I do not like your boots”). Apart from the fashion critique, what do you notice about the negative statement? The verb changes from like to do like. You need that extra part because “I not like” isn’t proper English. Negative verbs don’t always rely on a form of the verb do. Sometimes have, has, or had does the job. Sentences with a be verb can turn negative without any help at all. ~ Geraldine Woods
Source
Grammar Tip: There & Their Chase Their Subject
In sentences beginning with “there is” or “there are,” the subject follows the verb. Since “there” is not the subject, the verb agrees with what follows.
Source
There are many questions.
There is a question.
Grammar Tip: Dollars Is Or Dollars Are?
The word dollars is a special case. When talking about an amount of money, it requires a singular verb, but when referring to the dollars themselves, a plural verb is required.
Five dollars is a lot of money.
Dollars are often used instead of rubles in Russia.
Grammar Tip: Each Blog Reader Is Special
The words each, each one, either, neither, everyone, everybody, anybody, anyone, nobody, somebody, someone, and no one are singular and require a singular verb.
Each of these hot dogs is juicy.
Everybody knows Mr. Jones.
Either is correct.
Grammar Tip: Watch Out for the Trickster Phrase
Do not be misled by a phrase that comes between the subject and the verb. The verb agrees with the subject, not with a noun or pronoun in the phrase.
One of the boxes is open.
The people who listen to that music are few.
The team captain, as well as his players, is anxious.
The book, including all the chapters in the first section, is boring.
The woman with all the dogs walks down my street.
Grammar Tip: Don’t & Doesn’t. They Don’t Mix
Doesn’t is a contraction of does not and should be used only with a singular subject. Don’t is a contraction of do not and should be used only with a plural subject. The exception to this rule appears in the case of the first person and second person pronouns I and you. With these pronouns, the contraction don’t should be used. He doesn’t like it. They don’t like it.
Source
Grammar Tip: It’s Time to Agree
When a compound subject contains both a singular and a plural noun or pronoun joined by or or nor, the verb should agree with the part of the subject that is nearer the verb. The boy or his friends run every day. His friends or the boy runs every day.
Source
