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One of the following sentences is very informal. One is informal. One is formal. Can you guess which is which?

1. You had better get this right!
2. You should get this right!
3. You better get this right!

Here’s how they play out on the scale from very informal to formal:

• VERY INFORMAL: You better get this right!
• INFORMAL: You had better get this right!
• FORMAL: You should get this right!

Being the astute reader and writer that you are, I’m sure you noticed that the two informal versions of the statement have something the formal version lacks: a threatening tone. If someone were to say to me, “You better get this right,” or even, “You had better get this right,” I wouldn’t be surprised if he were to have my shirt collar twisted up in his fists as he says it. Nor would I be shocked if his next words were something along the lines of, “Or I’ll rip your head off your body and use it for a hockey puck.”

It would be a far kinder, gentler soul who would say, “You should get this right.” That’s the kind of person I’d rather be dealing with.

In other words, two things are going on here: (1) the level of formality, and (2) the level of civility.

All this goes to show, once again, that English is a language with many subtle undertones.

It’s quiz time again. Which of the following sentences are correct?

1. We are already to go.
2. We are all ready to go.
3. He already arrived.
4. He all ready arrived.

Sentences 2 and 3 are correct. Sentences 1 and 4 are as flawed as wooden nickels. But why?

RULE: “Already” is an adverb meaning that something has already happened, has happened in the past or before a particular time.

“All ready” means that everyone or everything is ready.

The “already/all ready” issue is a common bugaboo for writers. But like so many other grammatical annoyances, you can easily make friends with it by being aware of the simple rules surrounding it and exercising a modicum of care.

This is not a treatise on the power of positive thinking. We’re going to discuss a more nuts-and-bolts subject: double negatives.

We all know that certain double negatives will make you sound like a congenital idiot: For example:

• We don’t have no biscuits. (Should be: We don’t have any biscuits.)
• I haven’t seen no haystacks around here. (Should be: I haven’t seen any haystacks around here.)
• She didn’t bake no cake for my birthday. (Should be: She didn’t bake a cake for my birthday, the miserable troglodyte.)

Not all double negatives are outlaws, however. Some sentences may contain two or more negative words, but that doesn’t make them incorrect. Here’s an example (negatives italicized):

• I don’t like working so hard and getting nowhere.

Other sentences can have two or more negatives and be technically correct, but could be improved by getting rid of one or more of the negatives, as in …

• At no stop on our road trip did we find no restrooms.
• BETTER: We found restrooms at every stop on our road trip.

Here’s another:

• Did you not find a stop on your road trip with no restrooms?
• BETTER: Did you find a stop on your road trip with no restrooms?

This is murky territory, to be sure, but you have to remember we’re dealing with the English language. So when dealing with double negatives, try to have a positive attitude about it.

PS. Check out my e-manuals. I think you’ll like them.