Is food healthy or healthful?

It could be both! Here's the skinny.

If something is healthy, that means it's in good condition. For example, if you eat right and exercise, you're probably healthy.

On the other hand, if food is good for you, it's healthful! This is one that people get wrong all the time. They call food healthy when they actually mean that it's good for you—it's healthful!

There's a subtlety, however, that folks probably don't usually consider. Food can be both healthful and healthy! How's that, you ask? Well, spinach is good for you; it's healthful. However, if the farmer did a good job fertilizing his plants and keeping the bugs away, he probably also grows some fine specimens! His spinach is healthy! So, his spinach is both healthful and healthy!

If only you had went to English class!

While posting the last entry, this popped into my head. I hear this so much, it makes my head spin. I hear supposedly-intelligent people say this all the time! Did you grow up in the sticks? So deep in the sticks that there was no school for you to attend?

• I should have went...
• They could have went...
• We might have went...

Ugh!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Went" is past tense.

• I went to bed at 10 last night.
• We went to the movies last weekend.
• They went to Europe on vacation.

The grammar for which you're groping is perfect tense:

• I should have gone...
• They could have gone...
• We might have gone...

Don't sound like an idiot! Use the correct tense! If you grew up speaking English, there's no excuse for this one!

You should of paid attention in English 101!

Indeed! You should have!

I consider this among the most embarrassing things a native-born English speaker can say. Okay. Every example of bad English I post on this site is embarrassing!

This is simple perfect tense (as opposed to past):

• I should have gone.
• You should have paid me what you owed me.
• We could have met.
• They would have survived if they had been prepared.

It's really pretty basic. Please don't make that mistake again!