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Grammar: ideas and frameworks explained

A collection of ideas, frameworks and techniques related to Grammar, explained clearly so they are easy to understand and share.

What is chiasmus? Illustration showing JFK's quote "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country" arranged as A-B-B-A symmetry of thoughts.ChiasmusMe or I illustration: explaining when to use me or I through an example with owners of a cottage lending a bike to Nicky and me, and Nicky and I then cycling to a beach down a winding road.Me or IRAS Syndrome illustration: Redundant Acronym Syndrome shown with a person using their PIN Number in an ATM MachineRAS SyndromeFortnightly: a person considers whether 'biweekly' really means "twice a week" or "every two weeks" and resolves to use fortnightly for "every two weeks" in the future.FortnightlyWhat does pleonasm mean? An unexpected surprise seeing a personal friend in a museum with exact replicas and free giftsPleonasmOrdering adjectives in English example - opinion, size, age, shape / colour, origin, material, purposeOrdering adjectivesCapitonym illustration: a large turkey and a map of the country Turkey shows how adding a capital changes the meaningCapitonymAcronym vs initialism illustration: comparing the acronym laser—pronounced as a word— and the initialism FBI—pronounced by saying the lettersAcronyms and initialismsMatrix of spelling and sound showing the place of homonyms, homographs, homophones, heteronyms, synonyms and antonymsHomonyms, homographs, homophones, heteronyms… The Oxford Comma illustration: in the acknowledgements at the beginning of a book, the oxford comma, used after the penultimate item in a list, clears up any confusion as to whether God is a parent of the author. The Oxford commaWhat is Muphry's Law example explained: a reviewer of a manuscript makes a spelling mistake in their reviewMuphry’s LawKnow your dashes, em dash, en dash and hyphen and when to use each with examplesKnow your dashes: the hyphen, en dash and em dashContranym explainedContranymQuotiquette: The etiquette of quotingLess and fewer illustration showing when to use each. Less is measured by mass eg less sugar and fewer is countable eg fewer sugar cubes. Nouns for less don't go plural eg less furniture vs fewer eg fewer chairsLess and FewerUse styling instead of colonsWhen to use Affect vs effect: one person affects another by pushing them into the water. The effect is a big splash.Affect. Effect

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