Answers to common questions about the English language.



I got a text message from my sister.



What's the difference between "house" and "home"?



What "house" and "home" mean

A "house" is a building.

Specifically, it's usually a single-family building. Apartment buildings aren't usually called "houses".

A "house" is still a house, whether there...

What does it mean for something to be "crazy"?

Crazy person


This is going to be a crazy article.


Crazy people


What's the difference between "beautiful", "pretty", "gorgeous", and "handsome"?

A beautiful model

The words "beautiful", "pretty", "gorgeous", and "handsome" all describe something which looks good. When several words have the same meaning, how can you choose which one to use?

The best way to learn similar words is to learn them in phrases. Learn the words that go along with them.

Who do we...

Does punctuation go inside or outside of quotation marks?

We use quotation marks in English in several situations:

  • when quoting exactly what someone said or wrote

    He said, "Don't bother cooking dinner for me."

  • when naming the title of an article, song, TV episode, etc.

    I sang a song I wrote called "Only Once".

  • when writing about a word or...

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