Book review: The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century by Steven Pinker

By Ana Trask If you want a comprehensive, in-depth guide that answers questions about grammar, usage, and style, turn to Steven Pinker’s The Sense of Style, which was just released in September (2014). There are different types of styles—plain, practical, classical, and postmodern—and they can overlap. Pinker is a proponent of classic prose, which steers … Continue reading Book review: The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century by Steven Pinker →

Wordplay: None of these people are right

Wordplay is a regular column by editor and language writer James Harbeck in which he tastes and plays with English words and usages. You have probably encountered, every now and then, people who will aver that none can take only a singular conjugation, never a plural: never none are, always none is. The argument they present … Continue reading Wordplay: None of these people are right →