I rather like
whom, in speech as in writing. Besides, there are contexts in which it is mandatory: if " To
who did you give the book?" doesn't cause you to raise an eyebrow, you've been overdoing the Botox.
The Oxford comma rouses mixed feelings in me. In many contexts it is wrong to the eye. However, I dislike leaving it out in writing when reading the sentence aloud calls for a small musical rest before the final
and.
If it seems to be called for to clarify
meaning, then I think of recasting the sentence.
Singular
they is an abomination. If you cannot follow the old rule, you should write
he or she throughout the paragraph. And it serves you right!
The lady who objects to
try and... really needs to get a grip of herself. Hendiadys is sturdy English idiom, as old as the language itself. The only possible objection is that it may give an impression of informality where formality is called for.
I applaud the gentleman who objects to
due to for
because of. I still believe that matches are cancelled
owing to rain and that rain is what the cancellations are
due to.
Prepositions at the end are all right, but I don't think they are
alright. Nothing's
alright.
My word! There's nothing like a linguistic peeve for working up a good rant...