1. What’s the difference between affect and effect?
In most cases, affect is a verb and effect is a noun. You can remember the saying "affect verb, effect noun," which starts with the letters a-v-e-n, by thinking of the words raven and avenue. Another way to remember is that affect is an action, and both of those words start with an a.

2. How can I tell a subject from an object?
A subject takes the action in a sentence and an object is the recipient of the action. The subject almost always comes before the verb. In the sentence "I love you," I is the subject doing the loving, and you is the object receiving the love. Imagine someone is saying that sentence to you, and you can remember the difference because you is the object of the sentence and you are the object of his or her affection.

3. What’s the difference between lay and lie?
In the present tense, people lie down or lay something down (lay needs an object). You can remember that the Eric Clapton song "Lay Down Sally" is wrong. To say "lay down Sally" would imply that someone should grab Sally and lay her down. If he wanted Sally to rest in his arms on her own, the correct line would be "lie down Sally."

4. What’s the difference between who and whom?
Whom refers to the object in a sentence, and who refers to the subject in a sentence. It’s correct to ask "Whom does Sarah love?" (whom is the object of Sarah’s love) and "Who loves Sarah?" (who is the subject of the sentence, the one doing the loving). If you can hypothetically answer the question with "him," the correct choice is whom (and both him and whom end with m). It can also help to remember that the Rolling Stones’ song "Who Do You Love?" is wrong.

5. Can I split infinitives?
Although some people don’t like it, it is acceptable to split infinitives. A "full infinitive" is a verb form that has two or more words, such as to go, and splitting an infinitive means placing another word between those two words. The most famous split infinitive is "to boldly go where no one has gone before."

6. How do I make a singular word that ends with s possessive?
You can make words such as Kansas possessive two different ways: both "Kansas’ attractions" and "Kansas’s attractions" are acceptable. It’s a style choice, so it’s important to find out what the person you are writing for prefers.

7. Is it okay to end a sentence with a preposition?
You shouldn’t end a sentence with a preposition when you could leave the preposition off and the sentence would mean the same thing. For example, "Where are you at?" is wrong. On the other hand, it’s not necessary to contort a sentence or sound antiquated simply to avoid ending with a preposition. For example, "What did you step on?" is fine.

8. Should I used a comma before the final and in a list?
Does "red, white, and blue" need the final comma? The comma before the final and in a list is called a serial comma or an Oxford comma. If the meaning would be clear without the comma, deciding whether to use it is a style choice. Some publications require the comma in all cases and others only require it when it eliminates confusion.

9. How do I use a semicolon?
Semicolons separate things. Most commonly, they separate two main clauses that are closely related to each other but could stand on their own as sentences if you wanted them to. The semicolon draws attention to the relatedness of the two parts: "I have a big test tomorrow; I can’t go out tonight." (If you want to use a comma to join two clauses like that, you have to include a coordinating conjunctions such as or, but, or and: "I have a big test tomorrow, so I can’t go out tonight.")

10. What is a dangling participle?
A present participle is a word such as running: a verb with -ing on the end. When a participle doesn’t refer to the subject of a sentence, it is said to be dangling. An example is "Running through the woods, roots jutted out of the trail." The participle running is dangling because the only noun it can attach to is roots, and the roots are doing any running. Instead, running seems to be meant for someone who isn’t mentioned in the sentence. When a friend doesn’t show up for a meeting, you may say, "Don’t leave me hanging." It’s the same with participles; they don’t like to be left dangling when their noun doesn’t show up in the sentence.