@HenryWFowler

Daily tweets on writing, in the spirit (and sometimes the words) of Fowler's Modern English Usage but chiefly for American writers. Alter ego of @MatthewJFranck

 U.S.A.
Joined April 2014
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E.g., “The sentence that I write here, which may or may not include both kinds of clauses, should conform to this rule." xitter.cf/HenryWFowler/status/79…
H.W. Fowler Style@HenryWFowler18 Nov 2016
When using relative pronouns in adjectival clauses, use "that" in restrictive clauses and "which" in non-restrictive ones.
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The pronoun “it” should appear in this expression, @PostOpinions—“suffice it to say,” which is a subjunctive way of saying “it suffices to say.” washingtonpost.com/opinions/…
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The parenthetical “like” clause, @nytimes, inadvertently suggests that 23 million people bought McNab dogs during the pandemic. nytimes.com/2026/10/15/style…
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Indeed, all those millions of people bought a McNab named JJ!
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One more comma at the end of this appositive, @nytimes. nytimes.com/2026/10/20/arts/…
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Also, look at these dates. He was 57, not 58. [corrected!]
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In a case from April now on the Supreme Court’s docket, Fifth Circuit judge Edith Jones gives a hint that she might be a Scotch aficionado, since bourbon is customarily spelled “whiskey.” ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pu…
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You mean the other one, @washingtonpost—“principle.” washingtonpost.com/national-…
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The better verb here would be “scour,” @washingtonpost. “Scrub” and “scour” are close in literal meaning, but as metaphors, to scrub is to obliterate evidence so it can’t be found and used, and to scour is to search for it, to use it. washingtonpost.com/national-…
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H.W. Fowler Style retweeted
H.W. Fowler Style@HenryWFowlerOct 14
As @Sefika57849961 pointed out, this lacks a “to” before “appear” and so might have been intended to be the subjunctive “that both he and Ms. Bowron appear.” It’s missing a word for one construction or the other.
H.W. Fowler Style@HenryWFowlerOct 14
This is one of the verb’s objects, @nytimes, and should be “him.” nytimes.com/2026/10/13/us/po…
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This makes no sense, @WSJ. Couched them how, in what way? wsj.com/politics/policy/the-…
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This increasingly common muddle of a standard English idiom is annoying (here in @WSJ). Say either “set foot”—that’s the idiom—or simply “step,” which everyone understands one does with one’s foot. wsj.com/lifestyle/travel/san…
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As @Sefika57849961 pointed out, this lacks a “to” before “appear” and so might have been intended to be the subjunctive “that both he and Ms. Bowron appear.” It’s missing a word for one construction or the other.
H.W. Fowler Style@HenryWFowlerOct 14
This is one of the verb’s objects, @nytimes, and should be “him.” nytimes.com/2026/10/13/us/po…
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This is the subject of “were,” @washingtonpost, and should be “who.” washingtonpost.com/politics/…
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This is one of the verb’s objects, @nytimes, and should be “him.” nytimes.com/2026/10/13/us/po…
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Make that “one less,”:@PostOpinions. washingtonpost.com/opinions/…
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The past participle is “strewn,” @nytimes. nytimes.com/2026/10/10/us/er…
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And this “whom” should be “who,” or you could delete “were” and leave it be.
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That feeling when my local bookseller, @labyrinth_books, sends a catalogue that misspells “stationery.”
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Allegations, accusations, charges are all leveled, @washingtonpost, not levied, which is the verb for penalties, taxes, even war. washingtonpost.com/politics/…
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And Trump v. Cook was not a case on the “emergency” docket, but a fully briefed case with oral argument in January. See supremecourt.gov/opinions/25…
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