The Editor’s Manual
Free learning resource on English grammar, punctuation, usage, and style.
Capitalize military ranks like “general” and “captain” when used as titles before a name or to address a person. Lowercase them as common nouns.
“Either” is grammatically singular and used with singular verbs (like “is” and “has”) in formal usage. In informal usage, the word may be treated as either singular or plural.
Use there is or there’s when the noun that follows is singular (“There is a dog”) and there are when the noun is plural (“There are two dogs”). There’s is sometimes also used with a plural noun in speech and informal writing (“There’s a dog and a cat on the rug”).
It is perfectly acceptable and idiomatic to end a sentence with a preposition. Consider “What are you talking about?” and “This is what I was looking for.”
Capitalize forms of social address like “sir,” “madam,” and “miss” in a salutation and when used before a name or another title.
Use “who” for the subject and “whom” for the object in a sentence. In everyday communication, “who” can replace “whom.” To choose between “who” and “whom,” a simple trick is to form a question and frame its answer.
Split infinitives are grammatically fine in English. Splitting an infinitive can help clarify meaning and emphasize the right word (e.g., “I promise to always be there for you”).