Published on
September 27, 2024
by
Nicole Routh, M.Ed
Revised on
July 21, 2025
It’s nice to meet you is the most common way to show respect and kindness to a person you just met. The expression creates a positive tone for the rest of your conversation. This short sentence can also have a big impact on the relationship moving forward.
Whether you’re meeting someone face-to-face, online, professionally, or socially, “It’s nice to meet you” is one of many ways to make a good first impression. There are several other expressions that have the same or slightly different meanings like “It’s great to meet you” or “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Nice to meet you exampleJob Interviewer: Thank you for meeting with me today. I’m the branch manager, Max. I’m excited to get to know you a little better.
Job Interviewee: It’s so nice to meet you, Max. My name is Aditi, and I’m excited to learn more about the position.
Job Interviewer: The pleasure is all mine. Your resume is impressive! Tell me about your background in the banking industry.
Published on
September 25, 2024
by
Nicole Routh, M.Ed
Revised on
November 24, 2025
Interrogative pronouns (“what,” “which,” “who,” “whom,” and “whose”) are pronouns that refer to the missing piece of information in a question.
Interrogative pronouns are often question starters, but they can also go in the middle or at the end of a question. Some questions even have two or more interrogative pronouns.
Like all pronouns, interrogative pronouns have antecedents—the nouns that they represent. Unlike other pronouns, the antecedent for an interrogative pronoun isn’t known until someone answers the question.
Each interrogative pronoun asks about a specific type of antecedent, which can be a thing, animal, or person.
Interrogative pronouns examples
Pronoun
Asks about…
Question
Answer
What
A thing or animal from a large or unlimited number of options
What is your favorite Rolling Stones song?
“No Expectations” is my favorite Rolling Stones song.
Published on
September 23, 2024
by
Nicole Routh, M.Ed
Revised on
November 24, 2025
An object pronoun (“me,” “us,” “her,” “him,” “them,” “you,” “whom,” or “it”) represents another noun and functions as a direct object, indirect object, or object of a preposition.
Whereas subject pronouns (“I,” “we,” “she,” “he,” “who”) perform the action in a sentence or clause, object pronouns receive the verb or the direct object.
Object pronouns can be first person, second person, or third person. They can also be plural or singular.
Us is always plural.
Me, her, him, and it are always singular.
Them, you, and whom can be singular or plural.
Third-person, singular object pronouns sometimes show gender: “her” (feminine), “him” (masculine), and “them” (nonbinary). In addition, “them” is a singular object pronoun for a hypothetical person whose gender is irrelevant to the context or is unknown.
Object pronoun examples
Pronoun
Person
Number
Examples
Me
First
Singular
Clark taught me how to crochet.
Us
First
Plural
The instructor gives us homework on Fridays.
You
Second
Singular
Since you’re my best friend, I’ll let you borrow my favorite sweater.
Plural
Because you’re such great neighbors, I’m making you dinner.
Her
Third
Singular
Jelena won the writing contest, so the college gave her a scholarship.
Him
Third
Singular
Jinx was hiding again, but I found him under the bed.
Them
Third
Singular
We haven’t seen Shay in ages, and I hope we see them this weekend. (Shay is a person whose pronouns are “they”/”them”)
Every time a patient makes an appointment, the office sends them an email confirmation.
(In this context, gender is irrelevant, so “them” is correct)
Plural
If you have any extra coats, please donate them to charity.
Whom
Third
Singular
Taylor Swift, whom I’ve never seen in concert, had dinner at my favorite restaurant.
Plural
Taylor’s biggest fans, whom she absolutely adores, trade friendship bracelets at concerts.
It
Third
Singular
The old dresser looked dingy, so I painted it blue.
Published on
September 23, 2024
by
Nicole Routh, M.Ed
Revised on
December 18, 2025
Paraphrasing involves rewording information from an outside source that you’re using as evidence in your own writing. Most academic writing includes paraphrases from multiple sources to show your readers that you researched your topic thoroughly.
Paraphrasing also helps you avoid overusing quotations so that the majority of your sentences reflect your own writing voice.
However, paraphrasing incorrectly can lead to plagiarism. To paraphrase correctly, you must state the information in your own words and give credit to the source with an in-text citation.
Paraphrase vs quotation example
APA style quotation
APA style paraphrase
Haidt (2024) explained, “Experience, not information, is the key to emotional development. It is in unsupervised, child-led play where children best learn to tolerate bruises, handle their emotions, read other children’s emotions, take turns, resolve conflicts, and play fair” (p. 53).
Haidt (2024) argued that unsupervised free play is crucial for emotional development because it helps children learn how to bear minor discomforts, regulate their emotions, empathize with others, and resolve conflicts.
Published on
September 17, 2024
by
Nicole Routh, M.Ed
Revised on
December 31, 2025
When someone says “thank you” for a gift, favor, or gesture, the most common response is you’re welcome. It’s a polite way to acknowledge the person for thanking you and to show that you enjoyed doing something nice for them.
You can make the phrase “you’re welcome” longer by modifying “welcome” with an adverb like “most,” “very,” or “quite” (e.g., “You’re very welcome, and the pleasure was all mine”).
“You’re welcome” is perfectly acceptable, but there are many other ways to acknowledge someone’s thank you message. Some synonyms for “you’re welcome” are formal, and other versions are casual.
You’re welcome examplesWhen Mom thanked me for watching her cats while she was out of town, I replied, “You’re welcome, Mom! You know I don’t mind helping.”
You are most welcome for the favor, and I will help you again anytime.
I told Grace how grateful I was for the surprise party, and she said, “You’re so welcome.”
NoteIn the expression “you’re welcome,” “you’re” is a contraction for “you are” and should not be confused with the possessive pronoun “your.”
“Your welcome,” Diana said after I thanked her for the flowers.
“You’re welcome,” Diana said after I thanked her for the flowers.
Published on
September 16, 2024
by
Nicole Routh, M.Ed
Revised on
November 24, 2025
A subject pronoun (“I,” “we,” “she,” “he,” “they,” “you,” “who,” or “it”) performs the action in a sentence or clause. It’s different from an object pronoun (“me,” “us,” “him,” “her,” “them,” “whom”), which receives the action in a sentence.
Subject pronouns can be first person, second person, or third person. They can also be plural or singular.
We is always plural.
I, she, he, and it are always singular.
They, you, and who can be singular or plural.
Third-person, singular subject pronouns sometimes show gender: “she” (feminine), “he” (masculine), and “singular they” (nonbinary). In addition, “they” is the right subject pronoun for a hypothetical person whose gender is irrelevant to the context or is unknown.
Subject pronouns examples
Pronoun
Person
Number
Examples
I
First
Singular
I watched a fascinating movie about pinball last night.
We
First
Plural
When my friends and I visited New Orleans, we got matching tattoos.
You
Second
Singular
You tell the best jokes, Dusty.
Plural
You have been a fantastic audience, and I hope everyone enjoyed the show.
She
Third
Singular
Michelle Yeoh deserved the Oscar because she gave the best performance.
He
Third
Singular
After he invented record players, Edison invented movies.
They
Third
Singular
Korey loathes cilantro because they think it tastes like soap. (Korey is a person whose pronouns are “they”/”them”)
If a student has questions about the assignment, they should meet with the instructor. (In this context, gender is irrelevant, so “they” is correct)
Plural
The archeologists published several articles after they discovered the artifacts.
Who
Third
Singular
The candidate who won the election wants to increase teacher salaries.
Plural
Viewers who like The Office will enjoy Abbott Elementary.
It
Third
Singular
The owl dropped a feather as it flew across the meadow.
Published on
September 10, 2024
by
Nicole Routh, M.Ed
Revised on
August 25, 2025
A sincere thank you message is a great way to show gratitude for a gift or a person’s time and effort. Thank you messages show how much the gift or effort meant to you. Whether the person you’re thanking is a friend, family member, or colleague, the thank you message will strengthen your relationship and make a favorable impression.
Thank you message exampleThank you for the care package, Grandma! It’s so heartwarming to know that you’re thinking of me during finals week. The cookies and tea made my week so much better. I look forward to seeing you during winter break. Love you to the moon and back!TipTry QuillBot’s extensive suite of AI tools to find inspiration and creative wording for all your thank you messages and notes.
Imply is a verb that means “to suggest without directly stating.”
Infer is a verb that means “to make a conclusion based on evidence rather than direct statements.”
“Imply” and “infer” are not interchangeable. Rather, they’re two different steps in a communication process. First, a speaker or writer implies an idea (without directly stating it). Then, the person listening or reading infers the idea from the evidence (rather than a direct statement).
Imply vs infer
Imply in a sentence examples
Infer in a sentence examples
The author describes Damon’s drawings to imply that he’s a gifted artist.
Through the descriptions of Damon’s beautiful drawings, readers can infer that he’s a gifted artist.
The instructor implied that we’ll have a quiz on Friday.
When the instructor told me to review my notes carefully, I inferred that we might have a quiz.
“Than” and “then” are commonly confused words, but they have distinct meanings and uses.
“Then” refers to time, and “than” refers to comparison. If you’re unsure, try substituting the word with “at that time” (for “then”) or “in comparison to” (for “than”) to see if the sentence still makes sense.
Then vs than examples
Then in a sentence
Than in a sentence
The Beatles released “Hey Jude” in 1968, and it was a huge hit back then.
Lake George is much cleaner than Lake Michigan.
If you have a deadline tomorrow, then you shouldn’t go to the party tonight.
The Barbie Movie was more interesting to me thanMean Girls.
Choosing between farther or further can be challenging because they’re both adverbs or adjectives that mean “at a greater distance.” For example, “further from home” and “farther from home” are both correct. The difference between further and farther is that “further” has three additional meanings:
To train for the triathlon, Alana rode her bike a little further each day.
Joaquin’s apartment is farther from campus than Dan’s apartment.
More
Further
After further research, Conner learned that cardinals mate for life.
Additionally
Further
Kansas City has the world’s first women’s professional soccer stadium. Further, its NFL team won the Super Bowl.
To advance
Further
This inspiring documentary will further your knowledge about rainforests.
The tips and examples below will improve your understanding of when to use further and farther. And when you’re writing with further or farther, the QuillBot Grammar Checker will help you avoid errors.
