FAQs about sentence and word structure

What does above reproach mean?

If something is above reproach, it means that there is no reason to criticize it, especially in terms of moral correctness (e.g., “A judge’s conduct must be above reproach,” “The journal stated that the peer-reviewed article is above reproach and will not be retracted”).

QuillBot’s Paraphraser will help you to find alternatives for “above reproach” that fit that context of your text.

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Is it her and I or she and I?

“Her and I” is not correct, but you can use “she and I” because they’re both nominative case pronouns that can be part of a compound subject (e.g., “She and I lived together during college”).

“Her” is not a nominative case pronoun but rather, an object pronoun. You can say “her and me” when you need the objective case (which includes the dative case and the accusative case). 

• Dative case: The teacher gave her and me extra credit.
• Accusative case: Mom took her and me out to dinner.

When you combine two pronouns with “and,” they need to be in the same case.

QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker can instantly find and fix errors—such as “her and I”—in your writing.

Read this FAQ: Is it her and I or she and I?

Is it him and I or him and me?

“Him and I” is incorrect, but you can use “him and me.” “Him” and “me” are both object pronouns, so they can be used together when you need the objective case (which includes the dative case and the accusative case). 

• Dative case: The neighbors play volleyball with him and me every Saturday.
• Accusative case: They asked him and me to water their garden during their vacation.

The subject pronoun “I,” which is one of the nominative case pronouns, cannot be combined with the object pronoun “him.” “I” can only be a subject or a predicate nominative.

The QuillBot Grammar Checker can instantly find and fix errors—such as “him and I”—in your writing.

Read this FAQ: Is it him and I or him and me?

Is it you and me or you and I?

It can be you and me or you and I depending on the sentence. “You and I” is correct for a sentence subject because it’s in the nominative case (e.g., “You and I should have lunch”). 

“You and me” is correct when you need the accusative case for a direct object or the dative case for an indirect object or object of a preposition (e.g., “The restaurant reserved a special table just for you and me”). 

Use the subject pronoun “I” for nominative case and the object pronoun “me” for the accusative/dative case (aka the objective case). 

Have you tried QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker for help with pronouns? It can show you which pronouns are correct in any piece of writing.

Read this FAQ: Is it you and me or you and I?

Is it this is she or this is her?

It can be “this is she” or “this is her” depending on the context. In formal contexts—such as answering the phone at work—use a nominative case pronoun for a predicate nominative after “is.”

• Caller: “Hi, I’m returning a call from Dr. Jones.”
• Sarah: “This is she.”

In everyday situations, though, “this is her” is perfectly fine (“My grandmother sent me this photograph, and this is her next to the tree”).

The QuillBot paraphrasing tool is an excellent resource when you’re exploring formal and informal ways to use pronouns.

Read this FAQ: Is it this is she or this is her?

Is it you’ll or y’all?

The choice of you’ll or y’all depends on the meaning of your sentence.

• You’ll is a contraction that means “you will” (e.g., “You’ll love the new restaurant”).
• Y’all is a contraction that means “you all” (e.g., “Y’all are welcome anytime“).

QuillBot’s Grammar Checker can help you avoid mistakes with “you’ll” and “y’all” in your writing.

Read this FAQ: Is it you’ll or y’all?

Is outside an adjective or adverb?

Outside can be an adjective or an adverb. It can also function as a preposition or a noun.

• The company is looking at only outside candidates to fill the role. [adjective]
• The children always play outside after school. [adverb]
• Please wait outside the building until 7 p.m. [preposition]
• They want us to paint the outside of the house. [noun]

A free QuillBot grammar check can help you use words like “outside” correctly.

Read this FAQ: Is outside an adjective or adverb?

Is since a coordinating conjunction?

No, since is not a coordinating conjunction, but it can be used as a conjunction and be classified as a subordinating conjunction (e.g., “I normally shop there since it’s a bit closer,” “You’ve loved these cookies since you were a child”).

QuillBot’s free Paraphraser will help you find alternative ways of formulating clauses beginning with the conjunction “since.”

Read this FAQ: Is since a coordinating conjunction?

Is it ever since or every since?

It is ever since, not every since (e.g., “We went to that restaurant on our first anniversary, and we’ve been going there every year ever since“).

Have you tried QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker? It will help you pick up typos like “every since” instead of “ever since” in your writing.

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Is it make sense or since?

It is make sense, not make since (e.g., “I don’t understand that sentence; it doesn’t make sense to me,” “Sure, I understand; that makes sense”).

The word since typically refers to the starting point of a time period that lasts up to the time of speaking (e.g., “I haven’t made peanut butter cookies since my kids were little”).

QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker will help you pick up typos like “since” instead of “sense” in your writing.

Read this FAQ: Is it make sense or since?