Quotes from Susan Thurman

1. The phrase the only one of those uses a singular verb; however, the phrase one of those uses a plural verb. (Is your head spinning?) Maybe these examples will help: The only one of those people I feel comfortable with is [not are] Gail Prince.

I before e, Except after c, Or when sounded as a, As in neighbor or weigh.

Wow. This book must be really good, mustn't it?

let's think about why you need a grammar book at all.

The most damaging mistakes a writer can make are probably misspelling or misusing words

You probably remember this spelling rule from your elementary school: I before e, Except after c, Or when sounded as a, As in neighbor or weigh. That's certainly a helpful rule—most of the time. It works for words such as beige, ceiling, conceive, feign, field, inveigh, obeisance, priest, receive, shield, sleigh, and weight.

among, between: Think division. If only two people are dividing something, use between; if more than two people are involved, use among. Here's a mnemonic: between for two and among for a group.

aggravate, annoy: If you mean pester or irritate, you want annoy. Aggravate means exaggerate or make worse. Steven was annoyed when his boss aggravated the situation by talking to the press.