Ferguson is a former city editor of The Knoxville News-Sentinel and a former Knoxville City Council member. He recently retired as chief deputy clerk of the United States District Court in Knoxville, Tennessee.
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Don Ferguson's Grammar Gremlins: 'Behalf of' usage is tricky
Published 4/20/2013 at 4:00 p.m. 0 comments
“In behalf of” or “on behalf of.” How do you decide which one to use? It’s not easy.
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Don Ferguson's Grammar Gremlins: Either can lead to mistake
Published 4/13/2013 at 2:00 p.m. 0 comments
The editor of a newsletter for writers used the following sentence in a memo to subscribers:
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Don Ferguson's Grammar Gremlins: Choice amounts to number
Published 4/6/2013 at 7:00 p.m. 0 comments
A government official being interviewed on national television referred to “the amount of people” participating in a health program.
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Don Ferguson's Grammar Gremlins: Texting killing the apostrophe
Published 3/30/2013 at 2:00 p.m. 0 comments
The apostrophe can be troublesome.
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Don Ferguson's Grammar Gremlins: 'Alright' is not all right
Published 3/23/2013 at 7:00 p.m. 0 comments
A reader asked if “alright” for “all right” is acceptable use.
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Don Ferguson's Grammar Gremlins: Don't look to use this ruralism
Published 3/17/2013 at 3:00 a.m. 0 comments
They are looking to be married before June.
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Don Ferguson's Grammar Gremlins:
Published 3/10/2013 at 3:00 a.m. 0 comments
“He did it to prevent the Republicans having a majority.”
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Don Ferguson's Grammar Gremlins: 'Of' isn't optional for link
Published 3/3/2013 at 3:00 a.m. 1 comment
In a recent news report, a quote attributed to the chief justice of the United States contained the phrase “a couple of hundred people.”
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Don Ferguson's Grammar Gremlins: What it is is a usage dilemma
Published 2/24/2013 at 3:00 a.m. 0 comments
When two identical words occur together in a sentence, what punctuation mark should you use, if any, to separate them?
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Grammar Gremlins: Making sense of 'since'
Published 2/17/2013 at 3:00 a.m. 0 comments
The word "since" can be used to mean "because" or to indicate time. As a result of this dual meaning, confusion can occur.
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Grammar Gremlins: 'As per usual' is barbaric
Published 2/10/2013 at 3:00 a.m. 1 comment
A reader asked about the use of "as per," a term he said he dislikes.
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Don Ferguson's Grammar Gremlins: Question mark questions
Published 2/3/2013 at 3:00 a.m. 0 comments
Where do you place the question mark when a short direct question falls within a sentence? Is it placed at the end of the question or at the end of the sentence?
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Don Ferguson's Grammar Gremlins: Counting on fewer and less
Published 1/27/2013 at 3:00 a.m. 3 comments
It seems that many people just will not use "fewer" where they should, choosing instead to use "less."
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Don Ferguson's Grammar Gremlins: Don't allude when you can refer to something
Published 1/20/2013 at 3:00 a.m. 2 comments
A television anchorwoman used the expression "alluded to" where "referred to" would have been more appropriate.
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Don Ferguson's Grammar Gremlins: Proximity dictates verb form
Published 1/13/2013 at 3:00 a.m. 0 comments
If a subject is made up of both singular and plural words connected by "or," do you use a singular or plural verb?
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