The English Language

As a language English
is very confusing!

Speech Marks and Full Stops/Periods

"Hi!" she shouted. NOT "Hi!" She shouted.

"It's a flying pig." she muttered. NOT "It's a flying pig." She muttered.

1) There is no such word as "alot."

2) One does not go to the store "everyday." It's "every day." "Everyday" is an adjective, meaning that something is used or fit for every day, common - "an everyday occurrence."

3) Don't put quotation marks around everyday words.

4) An apostrophe is never used with a personal pronoun; therefore you shouldn't write "The movie bored it's audience," but "its." It's true! (In that little sentence, the apostrophe takes the place of the missing letter "i"). Similarly, it's incorrect to write "Who's book is this?" Or "The fault was their's."

5) "Pick-up" and "check-out" are not verbs. You "pick up" a sailor or "check out" a library book. No hyphen. "Pickup" without the hyphen is a noun. It's the jolt you get from a bracing cup of Earl Grey. "Checkout" is the time at which a lodger must vacate a room, or a counter or area in a store where goods are checked out.

6) "Thank you" is not one word!