Lists of Bests: NateHowe's "If you claim to be fluent in English, you should understand and apply these things:"

The difference between there, their, and they're.

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The difference between two, to, and too.

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How to use a semicolon.

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The difference between angel and angle.

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The difference between sea, see, and the letter C.

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Penultimate means second to last, not better than ultimate.

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"I before E, except after C" is an incomplete doctrine.

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Antidisestablishmentarianism isn't the longest word in the English language, so stop trying to use it.

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Cite your sources, or it's plagiarism.

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If you are not from Australia, you probably can't do a believable Australian accent.

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Inflammable means the same thing as flammable. The antonym is nonflammable.

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If you are wondering if street slang makes you sound cool when you use it, it doesn't. If you never wondered, you might be OK.

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Saying "um" or "like" to fill time is worse than a few seconds of silence.

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There is no such word as "alot."

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The difference between it's and its.

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It's asterisk, not asterick.

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Only say "literally" if you mean it literally.

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You stand on a podium. You speak from behind a lectern.

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The double "is" is abominable, i.e. "The fact is is that you sound ignorant."

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The meaning and proper use of "beg the question."

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The difference between your and you're.

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Irregardless is not a word.

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Good is an adjective. Well is an adverb. Use them as such.

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The difference between lay and lie.

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The phrase "different than" does not exist. It's "different from."

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A scene may be heart-rending, but it is not heart-rendering unless you are in a slaughterhouse or similar animal processing operation.

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Alliteration is the repetition of a consonant sound, not a vowel sound; thus, the phrase "avoid alliteration, always" is not funny. "Avoid assonance, always" is funny.

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"Prolly" is not a word. Use "probably," with two Bs.

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Excessive use of exclamation points is annoying! Just one is enough, even for the most exciting sentences!!!

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You share an anecdote when telling a story, an antidote when saving a victim of poisoning.

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Being in the dictionary does not make a word appropriate for widespread use. The newer dictionaries are now including words such as "bootylicious."

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"Like" is not a suitable filler between thoughts.

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