pronouns

Cataphora: When the Pronoun Comes First

Usually, we introduce a person by name before using a pronoun, but cataphora flips the script ("Before he left, John…

5 days ago

Hypercorrection: The Tragedy of “Whom Shall Go”

Hypercorrection is the linguistic tragedy of trying so hard to be right that you end up wrong. From the awkwardness…

5 days ago

Wit and Git: The Lost Dual Pronouns of Old English

Old English possessed a grammatical rarity called the "dual number", using specific pronouns—*wit* (we two) and *git* (you two)—to refer…

6 days ago

The Capital “I”: Ego or Typography?

English is the only major language that capitalizes the first-person singular pronoun "I", a quirk that many assume stems from…

1 week ago

Logophoricity: The Grammar of Point of View

How do we know who "he" is in the sentence "John said he was tired"? While English leaves it ambiguous,…

3 months ago

The Wolof Pronoun System

In many languages, pronouns are simple stand-ins like 'I' or 'they'. But in Wolof, a major language of West Africa,…

3 months ago

The ‘We’ of Two vs. The ‘We’ of All

Most languages count one and many, but what about a number for precisely two? Discover the "grammatical dual", a lost…

3 months ago

The Telltale “I”: Unlocking the Mind

Ever notice how a simple shift from "You make me angry" to "I feel angry when..." can change a whole…

6 months ago

The Politics of Dictionaries

Ever wonder who decides when a word like 'rizz' is official? This post delves into the surprisingly political world of…

6 months ago

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