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The Vine

The Tomato Nation advice column addresses your questions on etiquette, grammar, romance, and pet misbehavior. Ask The Readers about books or fashion today!

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Articles tagged with: Bryan Garner

The Vine: September 25, 2013
September 25, 2013 – 4:13 PM | 45 Comments
The Vine: September 25, 2013

I’m hoping you can settle a grammar discussion for me. What’s the accepted rule for pluralizing words that come from other languages?

The Vine: January 16, 2013
January 16, 2013 – 9:24 AM | 39 Comments
The Vine: January 16, 2013

I have a small child who loves the Berenstain Bears and we read them over and over. The phrase below seems incorrect, but I’m not a grammar expert so I’d like to get a definitive …

The Vine: September 12, 2012
September 12, 2012 – 2:11 PM | 11 Comments
The Vine: September 12, 2012

Microsoft Word’s spell-check feature continues in its quest to drive me bananas, and turning to Dr. Google for an answer confused me even more. So obviously I’ve turned to you.
“Assumably.” Is it a word? Microsoft …

The Vine: July 11, 2012
July 11, 2012 – 12:41 PM | 13 Comments
The Vine: July 11, 2012

I’m hoping you can clarify a language question — I can’t find anything about it in Garner, nor in Strunk and White. Google offered me some explanations, but they weren’t very helpful. And I don’t …

The Vine: April 4, 2012
April 4, 2012 – 12:22 PM | 25 Comments
The Vine: April 4, 2012

I have a friend who is fond of contracting “I have,” but not when saying “I have done x” — he likes to contract “I have [a job]” into “I’ve [a job],” and seeing it …

TN Read-Along #6: Consider the Lobster Discussion Thread
December 2, 2010 – 2:57 PM | 5 Comments
TN Read-Along #6: <I>Consider the Lobster</I> Discussion Thread

We covered quite a bit in the live chat last night — enjoy the Ralph Wiggum School of Segues “transitions” between topics! — but if you couldn’t make it, or have come to the comments …

The Vine: May 19, 2010
May 19, 2010 – 11:09 AM | 67 Comments
The Vine: May 19, 2010

Dear Sars,
It looks like I am going to be driving a moving van across the country this summer…with my cat. I have a vague recollection that you’ve done this before, maybe when you drove to …

Contest: This ain’t over, Detroit
October 7, 2009 – 1:15 AM | 25 Comments
Contest: This ain’t over, Detroit

Tomato Nation readers: This Ron Gardenhire high five is for you.   You killed it yesterday: $36,144 right now.   Not only that, but if you maintain a 6K-a-day pace, we’ve got a shot at …

Why We Need The Oxford Comma
February 12, 2009 – 10:24 AM | 82 Comments
Why We Need The Oxford Comma

[T]he comma separates items (including the last from the next-to-last) in a list of more than two — e.g.: “The Joneses, the Smiths, and the Nelsons.”   In this position, it’s called, variously, the serial …