grammar

1990’s or 1990s?

Which is correct?
The bandwidth demands of the average Internet user have increased dramatically since the _____.
a. 1990s
b. 1990’s
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Me, myself, I — which is correct?

Which is correct?
I requested copies of the marketing report for other team members and ____.
a. me
b. myself
c. I

Continued »

Between or among?

Which is correct?
They set up five mesh devices to create a high-bandwidth network _______ themselves without the need for a central access point.
a. between
b. among

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Please RSVP?

Which is correct?
We need to assign seating for the security seminar so _________ by next Friday.
a. RSVP
b. please RSVP

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Which is correct — oriented or orientated?

Which is correct?
The user found that the application worked well if she could get the phone view ________ with the package barcode.
a. orientated
b. oriented

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Purposely or purposefully?

Which is correct?
Although most information breaches aren’t committed _________, the effects can be just as serious as if there had been a security attack.
a. purposely
b. purposefully

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Any more or anymore?

Which is correct? So many products include tracking capabilities that soon it won’t be possible to get lost ________. a. any more b. anymore

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More misadventures with “myself”

On his Literal-Minded blog, Neal Whitman explains more about how reflexive pronouns are used correctly in an embarrassing episode from his past:

“Maddie, Ed, Deanna, and Jennifer are riding together,” said Chad. “Michelle will be riding with myself, and …”

With myself? I thought. Why was Chad talking in that pompous way? Why didn’t he just say with me? This kind of myself-abuse was one of my grammar peeves.

Syntacticians have a name for what Chad did, but it’s not a very well-chosen name. They call it a Principle A violation. If I had named it, I would have called Principle A the Reflexive Rule. It’s the rule that says that in Standard English (and other languages, too), reflexive pronouns are used when a grammatical object of a verb or preposition refers to someone already mentioned earlier in the same clause…

Whitman goes on to explain how he embarrassed himself (note correct use of reflexive pronoun) — not by using myself incorrectly but by correcting someone else who had (in, perhaps, less than ideal circumstances for a teachable moment). Oh, he was correct, grammatically. But were his motives suspect?

PDA’s or PDAs?

Which is correct?
Anything that promises to keep operating costs lower is likely to spur the market for smart phones and _____.
a. PDA’s
b. PDAs

Continued »

Me, myself or I?

Which is correct?
The CEO announced that “the final decision on cloud implementation is up to the CFO and ____.”
a. me
b. myself
c. I
Continued »