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English Language & Usage
John Lawler's user avatar
John Lawler's user avatar
John Lawler's user avatar
John Lawler
  • Member for 12 years, 9 months
  • Last seen more than a month ago
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About

I'm a retired English grammarian. I enjoy answering questions.

  1. My Website at the University of Michigan
    http://www.umich.edu/~jlawler
  2. Complete Publications and Lectures
    http://www.umich.edu/~jlawler/LawlerPublications.html
  3. My alt.usage.english (English Grammar) pages
    http://www.umich.edu/~jlawler/aue
  4. Details and handouts from some recent talks
    http://www.umich.edu/~jlawler/NorWesCon.html
  5. A term paper about K-12 Language Science
    http://www.umich.edu/~jlawler/LanguageScience.pdf
  6. Two old coursepacks (each ~100 pp)
    http://www.umich.edu/~jlawler/210CourspackPart1.pdf
    http://www.umich.edu/~jlawler/210CourspackPart2.pdf
    from my Intro Ling class
    http://www.umich.edu/~jlawler/210.html)
  7. Scanned teaching materials
    http://www.umich.edu/~jlawler/wow/scans/
    from my Etymology class
    http://www.umich.edu/~jlawler/wow)
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View all questions and answers
answer
133
What's wrong with "I'll open you the door"?
Nov 7, 2012
answer
90
Why can't the word "can" be used in future tense (will can)?
Nov 29, 2018
answer
83
Why do we refer to computers and other machines as being up or down?
Jul 19, 2017
answer
79
What is the difference between an Emperor and a King?
Apr 2, 2012
answer
77
I <verb> and am <rest of sentence>
Dec 16, 2011
answer
71
Why is the subject omitted in sentences like "Thought you'd never ask"?
May 7, 2012
answer
68
Was "book" to "beek" as "foot" is to "feet"?
Aug 10, 2012
answer
67
Is 'Updation' a correct word?
May 18, 2012
answer
55
Is the mispronunciation of foreign words especially likely in English?
Feb 24, 2017
answer
55
"None of us is" vs "None of us are", Which is Correct?
Jul 18, 2018
Top Meta posts
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34
What the f*** just happened?
30
John Lawler's ELU answer links, by topic
26
What good reference works on English are available?
20
What good reference works on English are available?
17
Why are answers being posted in the comments on the question?
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60
Why did early Indo-European languages seem to be morphologically complex?
58
What's the difference between syntax and grammar?
33
Why is /h/ called voiceless vowel phonetically, and /h/ consonant phonologically?
25
How did Ancient Greek 'πυρ' become English 'fire?'
24
What is this feature of British English called?