6. Anyway or anyways?
Any way you look at it, the word to use is anyway. NO S.
5. Toward or towards?
Same as above. NO S (at least in the U.S.) Brits say towards, Americans use toward. I wish knew why.
4. Principal or principle
My fifth-grade teacher told me:
Use principal when referring to a person: remember the school principal is your pal. (A trick to help you remember something is known as a mnemonic device… pronounced nee-mon-ick.)
Also use principal when referring to something that is primary or most important: The principal purpose of this blog is to vent about grammar.
Follow this principle and you can’t go wrong.
3. Who versus that
Who is for people; that is for things.
I have a friend that ate my pizza.
AAAAGH!
I have a friend who ate my pizza.
My friend had a dog that ate my pizza.
2. Who or whom; who’s or whose?
Basically, who relates to he (or she or they) and whom relates to him (or her/them). Think of the “m” in whom and him.
Who asked for pepperoni on the pizza? He asked for pepperoni. (Him asked for pepperoni? Ugh.)
Whom did you invite over for pizza? I invited him. (I invited he? No way!)
Who’s and whose may sound the same, but they are two very different words:
Who’s is really who is. Who’s eating my pizza? (Who is eating?)
Whose shows possession: Whose piece of pizza is this? (It is hers.)
To be sure, try this: Who’s pizza is this? (Who is pizza is this? Nah.)
(If you really want to challenge yourself, listen to the old Abbott and Costello routine: Who’s on First?)
1. Is it alot or a lot?
Would you say, I would like alittle pepperoni on my pizza? No. So why say, I want alot of pepperoni on my pizza? A lot is NOT one word.
However… allot IS one word, but the meaning is quite different.
Should I allot a lot of time to this or not?