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Printed from https://shop.writing.com/main/newsletters/action/archives/id/13400-Fun-Facts-on-English-Grammar.html
For Authors: October 15, 2025 Issue [#13400]




 This week: Fun Facts on English Grammar
  Edited by: Lilli Munster 🦇 ☕ Author IconMail Icon
                             More Newsletters By This Editor  Open in new Window.

Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

“I was a little excited but mostly blorft. "Blorft" is an adjective I just made up that means 'Completely overwhelmed but proceeding as if everything is fine and reacting to the stress with the torpor of a possum.' I have been blorft every day for the past seven years.”
― Tina Fey, Bossypants

“And all dared to brave unknown terrors, to do mighty deeds, to boldly split infinitives that no man had split before--and thus was the Empire forged.”
― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

“Frankly, I wonder who Frank was, and why he has an adverb all to himself.”
― Jodi Picoult, House Rules



Letter from the editor

It’s interesting to note that though ‘they’ is commonly used to refer to more than one person or thing. To many of us, ‘they’ in the singular form is grammatically incorrect. However, the use of ‘they’ to refer to a singular person or object is perfectly acceptable grammatically. In fact, ‘they’ has been used to refer to singular objects for over 600 years. When ‘they’ is used in this form, it is referred to as ‘singular they’.

Using the singular ‘they’ and its inflected forms like ‘them’ and ‘their’ typically occurs in the following instances:

*Bulletp* When an individual person of an unknown gender is being referred to. This usage is referred to as “epicene they”. Grammar experts have debated a lot about how to refer to such people in sentences. Using the singular ‘they’ helps in solving the problem.

For example: I don’t know who hit my dog, but ‘they’ are in for a tough time when I find out!

*Bulletb* When an indeterminate number of objects or people is being referred to. When ‘they’ is referred to in this form, it is also referred to as ‘generic they’. In such cases, it is unknown whether ‘they’ is being used in the singular or in the plural form.

For example: Anyone who thinks ‘they’ have travel sickness, please take necessary precautions.

So remember, ‘they’ stand corrected if they check you for using singular ‘they!’

*Exclaimv* Other Fast Facts:

*Bulleto* The longest word in the English language that is commonly used and does not contain any letter that is repeated is “uncopyrightable.”

*Bulletg* “Queueing” is the only word in the English language with five consecutive vowels appearing in it.

*Bulletr* You can find nine smaller words in the word THEREIN without changing the order of the letters.

Click here for the nine words ▼


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Word from Writing.Com

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Ask & Answer

Comments received from my last For Authors newsletter, "Grammar Issues" Open in new Window.:

Annette Author Icon wrote:
Your #12 example, lay vs lie, was the first time an explanation made sense to me.

*Heartp* Yay!!! Thank you for sharing!


booksandbooks Author Icon wrote:
Thank you for this newsletter about using grammar. Although we of the older age, learnt grammar, I had forgotten some of it. Great reminders.

*Heartp* Thank you for your kind remarks. It's difficult to remember it all, so I welcome reminders too.

Aiva Raine Author Icon wrote:
Thanks for giving us these quick tips. Very handy.

*Heartp* My pleasure! I'm happy to know they are useful.

JAck-o'-lantern Smith Author Icon wrote:
Thank you for the "Adjectives before nouns, but in order" explanation. I have been doing so by instinct, but that is difficult to explain to non-native English speakers.

I also notice when the grocery store lanes incorrectly use less instead of fewer.

*Heartp* Because of the grocery store, I find myself reading signs and correcting them in my mind, lol.

S🤦‍♂️ Author Icon wrote:
I think I've covered 90% of this in my Writing Blog! Hopefully more people will read your newsletter and take notice. it's amazing how simple it really is when you get down to it.

Having said that, I like to split my infinitives for effect... sometimes...

Cool newsletter.

*Heartp* Thank you for your kind words!

Detective Author Icon wrote:
I enjoyed the "could have vs could of" and "lay vs lie". The "lay vs lie" in particular because it falls into the "things everybody knows but doesn't know that they know".

*Heartp* Thanks for your comments! You're so right - we know things that we didn't know we knew sometimes.

*Bullet* *Bullet* *Bullet* Don't Be Shy! Write Into This Newsletter! *Bullet* *Bullet* *Bullet*

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