The Editor’s Manual
Free learning resource on English grammar, punctuation, usage, and style.
The greeting is “Happy New Year,” not “Happy New Years” or “Happy New Year’s.” It contains a singular noun (“year”) and requires no apostrophe.
Contractions are common in speech and informal writing but avoided in formal texts.
Both “who” and “that” can refer to people. “Who” is preferred in formal usage.
When “each” is part of the subject of a sentence, it is used with singular verbs, except when it follows a plural noun. “Each” may be used with a plural pronoun in an indefinite reference.
“That” introduces information that is essential to meaning and not enclosed in commas. “Which” introduces additional, optional details enclosed in commas. In British usage, it also introduces essential information.
Both “than I” and “than me” are grammatically correct, since “than” can be used as either a preposition or a conjunction. “Than I” is seen more often in formal usage.
“It’s me” and “This is him/her” are generally acceptable in everyday usage. The strictly correct alternatives, “It is I” and “This is he/she,” are confined to highly formal usage.
“I” is a subject pronoun, while “me” is an object pronoun. In formal styles, use “I” in a compound subject and “me” in a compound object. “Me” is generally preferred in comparisons and after the “be” verb.
Use “you and I” as the subject and “you and me” as the object in a sentence. Avoid hypercorrection. “You and me” is used more often after the “be” verb and in comparisons.
Avoid capitalizing corporate job titles when used descriptively or as common nouns. Capitalize them when used as part of a name or to address a person.