“Try and” is commonly heard in everyday conversations, but it is inappropriate in formal writing.

(Source: theyuniversity)

“Irony” is one of the most misunderstood terms in English.

Basically, “irony” is the contrast between expectation and outcome.

Unfortunately, numerous people think that “irony” is the same thing as “funny,” “coincidence,” or “bad timing.” This misunderstanding is due, in part, to the influence of Alanis Morissette and “Ironic,” her hit song from 1996.

In the song, Morissette sings about several so-called “ironic” scenarios, none of which are ironic at all. It is, in fact, ironic that a song called “Ironic” has no valid examples of irony. 

There is nothing intrinsically ironic about rain falling on someone’s wedding day; it’s happened before, and it will happen again. It can happen to anyone, and when it does happen, we can dismiss it as bad luck, bad timing, and an unfortunate coincidence.

It is ironic because you went beyond the call of duty to pick a date on which it was virtually guaranteed that it wouldn’t rain … and it turned out to be the only day it rained that month. As we defined “irony” above, the outcome was the opposite of what was expected.

If this explanation is still unclear, tell us about it via DISQUS (accessible by clicking on this post’s comments) or Twitter.

(Source: theyuniversity, via theyuniversity)

Let’s tackle “easier” first. “Easier” is the comparative form of “easy,” which is an adjective. And as we all know, adjectives modify nouns. Therefore, “easier” should be used to describe nouns:

On the other hand, “easily” is an adverb, and adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. In the following sentences, “easily” modifies verbs:

So, to answer your question, something is done (verb) more easily (adverb), not easier (adjective).

“Disinterested” is an interesting word:

• The average person thinks that it means “not interested,” i.e., “uninterested.”
• But veterans of standardized tests and people with strong vocabularies insist that it doesn’t mean “not interested”; it actually means “unbiased” or “impartial.”
• However, the original definition of “disinterested” actually meant “not interested.”

WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?!?!?!?!?!

Therefore, if you were on trial for murder, you would want a disinterested judge, not an uninterested one.

An uninterested judge couldn’t care less why you were in the courthouse, what crime you were charged with, or what the punishment would be if you were found guilty.

In fact, he or she might be doing everything possible not to fall asleep.