refers to two very different phenomena. First, it can refer to the way speakers use a language in their lives. There are different kinds of us-age, for example, everyday, informal usage; academic usage; formal us-age, etc. In everyday usage, for example, we may say or hear statements such as, “someone left their key on the table,†or “awesome, dude,†while the same meanings in more formal usage may be given as, “someone left his or her key on the table,†or “that is quite excellent, my friend.†More narrowly, “usage†refers to what many people consider “good grammarâ€: using lay and lie correctly, not saying ain’t, avoiding double negatives. In this latter sense, usage represents the linguistic equivalent of good manners.