Since grammar is the most popular topic here at ‘Patrick’s Place,’ I thought it would be interesting to find the most-read grammar posts of the past year.
Grammar is one of the key topics here, so I’m ending the year with a look back at the most-read grammar posts of 2019.
As a general rule, when I check my blog stats, the most-read posts of any time span tends to be on the topic of grammar. So this topic gets some special love as I look back at 2019.
Some of these posts are several years old, but people have searched those topics long enough that they still draw regular traffic!
So here’s the list of most-read grammar posts in ascending order.
10. ‘Uh oh or Ut oh? I’ve Never Understood the ‘Ut’ in ‘Ut Oh’‘
I’ve always written Uh oh, because it never occurred to me that there was a better way to transcribe the sound we make when we see something that could indicate a problem is arising. But then I’ve noticed this little variant, “Ut oh,” appearing from time to time. What is that little T is doing there?
9. ‘Creek or Crick? Sometimes, They’re the Same Thing!‘
While most people only pronounce crick the way it is spelled, some pronounce creek, the body of water, as “creek” or “crick.” While I’m familiar with that alternate pronunciation, I always thought it was a Southern thing. Though I’ve always pronounced creek as “creek,” I’ve heard plenty of people in the South pronounce it “crick.” But that’s not necessarily the case.
8. ‘Common Sense or Commonsense? One Word or Two?‘
The tagline here at Patrick’s Place is “Regular doses of common sense.” Or should it be commonsense?
7. ‘Hold Up! That Suspect is ‘Holed Up’‘
Holed up is a somewhat rare idiom that confuses people these days, mostly because of the popularity of the more common phrase, Hold up! which means to wait or calm down.
6. ‘Ending Sentences with ‘At’? Bad Idea!‘
“Where is he at?”
“Where are they at?”
Behind the at.
Yes, it’s an old grammar joke. But it’s true.
5. ‘Wifes or Wives? Let’s Examine Some Irregular Plurals‘
It’d seem perfectly logical that “wifes” would be the plural of wife. Most of the time, we simply add an s to the end of a noun when there are more than one of that particular noun. Most of the time, that simple little s works quite well. But this is not one of those times.
4. ‘Arctic vs Artic: A Big Difference Between the Two‘
Arctic is also one of the most frequently mispronounced words: people tend to drop the first C, pronouncing it artic. There’s no question that artic is easier to pronounce. But ease of pronunciation is no excuse to use the wrong word when you mean something entirely different.
3. ‘Beat or Beaten? Can This Mistake Be Stopped?‘
This post was inspired by a CNN online headline about whether anyone could defeat Donald Trump. We know the answer to that question, but the question about the headline (and the title) remains.
2. ‘Wheelbarrel or Wheelbarrow? Only One is Right‘
I was in line at a store when I heard two older women talking about gardening. I thought I heard something unusual and eventually realized one of the women was talking about using her “wheelbarrel” to carry some sort of plants she was placing around her yard.
1. ‘Splitting Image or Spitting Image? Don’t Be Fooled!‘
A slideshow posted on Time features actors who have portrayed famous people in biopics. If you were going to write the headline, would you have chosen the phrase “splitting image” or “spitting image?”
