Calling from the Greek island of Crete, a retired English teacher named Beth asks about using of amount of instead of number of when it comes to such phrases as the amount of people or the amount of eggs. The traditional distinction is that amount...
Nikki in Northampton, Massachusetts, disagrees with her teenage daughter about the word beef, as in to have a beef, meaning “to have a problem with someone or something.” Nikki uses the word a before the word beef, but her daughter omits that...
The punk band Sacred Cash Cow in Carolina Beach, North Carolina, is planning a tribute to another local band that’s breaking up, so they called to ask how to pronounce homage. Usually, if you’re paying homage to something (using the verb), you...
An attorney in El Centro, California, is bothered by the phrase a large amount of people, because the word amount is usually applied to mass nouns, not count nouns. There are exceptions, however. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
Did your hairstylist recommend you use product? Is your company moving product this quarter? The term product is in vogue, mainly for the purpose of simplification. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Using Product” Hello, you have A...
Can the word training be pluralized, as in “How many trainings did you have last week”? Martha and Grant disagree about whether training can be a count noun. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Plural of Training” Ed McClure from the...
