Today, March 4, is National Grammar Day.

Don’t worry. I’m not one of *those* people: you know, the self-appointed grammar police. I would no sooner correct someone’s spoken grammar than I would loudly “Shush!” someone in a library.

But I do wonder whether “whom” will be used five years from now.

And for how much longer should we write, “For each prospective student: give him or her his or her application before he or she leaves”? Is it acceptable just to say “… give them their application before they leave”? I don’t expect “… give them they’re application …” to become acceptable, though.

Until each of us can borrow Linguo, the grammar robot from The Simpsons, we can search Falvey’s catalog for resources. Also, Woe is I: The Grammarphobe’s Guide to Better English in Plain English by Patricia T. O’Conner (available through E-ZBorrow) provides reader-friendly answers to challenging or confusing grammar questions.

Article by Gerald Dierkes, senior copy-editor for the Communication and Service Promotion team and a liaison to the Department of Theater.