People frequently ask: “What is the best dictionary for the average person or family?”  That’s an easy question to answer: Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary.  At least, that’s my opinion.  It is a scholarly, easy-to-understand, and very complete tool for defining the meaning of words and checking for correct spelling.  But it is much more than that.  Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary is a resource for a wide range of grammatical topics.  It helps you understand the correct ways to use words to form more complex units of speech than individual words themselves, that is, to form phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs, and so forth. Read more…