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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: grammar

The Vine: June 3, 2015
June 3, 2015 – 3:07 PM | 13 Comments
The Vine: June 3, 2015

I’ve been working as a freelance writer for about a decade now.

The Vine: May 8, 2013
May 8, 2013 – 9:17 AM | 20 Comments
The Vine: May 8, 2013

Perusing the FAQ about the site, I noticed that you offer proofreading services. I’ve been looking to make a move from my current career to something involving more writing and editing, so I wondered if …

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: November 7, 2012
November 7, 2012 – 10:46 AM | 30 Comments
The Vine: November 7, 2012

I need reassurance.
My son’s name is Atticus, and when I write about his belongings, I put an apostrophe plus an S. “Atticus’s books.” “Atticus’s toys.” “Atticus’s room.” But a few people have corrected me and …

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: May 16, 2012
May 16, 2012 – 9:37 AM | 8 Comments
The Vine: May 16, 2012

My husband and I have a casual friend who is a musician in Eastern Europe. We are not very close and don’t keep in touch regularly; we met several years ago at a folk-dancing event …

The Vine: April 13, 2012
April 13, 2012 – 10:33 AM | 36 Comments
The Vine: April 13, 2012

I find myself in great need of some wisdom from you and The Vine readers. 
First of all, my partner and I have been disagreeing on the question of “stuff” vs “stuffs” when referring to “stuff” …

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 …

The Vine: January 25, 2012
January 25, 2012 – 8:43 AM | 10 Comments
The Vine: January 25, 2012

If I am describing how something relates to another thing, I generally use “in relation to” or “in respect of.” However, I keep seeing the phrase “with respect to” used in the same way. My …