Language is something to be celebrated, and March 4 is the perfect day to do it. It's not only a date, it's an imperative: March forth on March 4 to speak well, write well, and help others do the same!
Celebrate National Grammar Day with us:
Fun With Grammar
Parts-of-Speech Poetry
The King of Ing [2010 WINNER of our National Grammar Day contest]
I love the King of Ing
He makes me want to sing
Add him to an action word
And it's a gerund... now a thing!
-- Nancy Wright
See more of our favorite language poems, or submit your own!
March Forth: The Grammar Song
We created a special song just for National Grammar Day. ("March Forth" for March fourth, get it?) Listen to a 30-second sample.
Buy the mp3, karaoke version, or sheet music.
Lyrics to "March Forth" (Related lesson plans coming soon.)
Songwriting Hall of Shame
If "Buy You a Drank" and "Imma Be" make you crazy, you'll love to hate our cringe-worthy playlist.
Grammar Noir
Baltimore writer and editor John McIntyre of the "You Don't Say" blog has composed a grammar noir series featuring many of our favorite language lovers.
Part I, 2010
Part II, 2010
Part III, 2010
Part IV, 2010
Last year's grammar noir
Funny Typos
Sometimes the spell-checker is not your friend.
Jeanette L. misspelled "inconvenience" in an e-mail, and spell-check helpfully "fixed" the word to make it "incontinence": I'm sorry for any incontinence this may have caused.
Snicker at other embarrassing typos, or add your own!
Send a National Grammar Day E-card
Click here to send a National Grammar Day greeting to your friends!
Ten Grammar Myths Exposed
Read the explanations before you write to express your outrage.
- A run-on sentence is a really long sentence.
- You shouldn't start a sentence with the word "however."
- "Irregardless" is not a word.
- There is only one way to write the possessive form of a word that ends in "s."
- Passive voice is always wrong.
- "I.e." and "e.g." mean the same thing.
- You use "a" before words that start with consonants and "an" before words that start with vowels.
- It's incorrect to answer the question "How are you?" with the statement "I'm good."
- You shouldn't split infinitives.
- You shouldn't end a sentence with a preposition.
Brief explanations with links to more detailed discussions
Free Downloadable PDFs for Classroom Fun and Learning
Do you teach? Thank you! If we ruled the world, we would pay you more, give you smaller classes, and insist that people put you on the pedestal of worship that you deserve.
Alas, we do not rule the world. The best we can do is offer some materials you can use in class.
Our Favorite Language-Themed Cartoons
Crazy Sarah Behind the Grammar, Mignon Fogarty
The End of Grammar and Spelling Is Near! Speed Bump, Dave Coverly
One Thing the Internet Can't Ignore Chuck & Beans, Brian
Effect an Effect XKCD
Fun and Games Yet Another Web Comic (YAWC), Lou Manglass
Words Can't Describe Toothpaste for Breakfast, Drew
Grandpa Killed the Internet Non Sequitur, Wiley Miller
Wear Your Good Grammar on Your Sleeve
Celebrate National Grammar Day with fun language-themed T-shirts.
Every day is National Grammar Day
Talk grammar to me, baby.
To infinitives and beyond!
Grammar in the World
Photos from the Grammar Girl Flickr group:
A Calendar for the Grammar Devotee
Click to open in a new window:
Other National Grammar Day Celebrations
Win a Book by Tweeting
On March 4, 2010 we're giving away a book every hour during the day. For a chance to win, write a tweet about National Grammar Day using the hashtage #grammarday and link to this page.
Win a Book by Sharing Your Peeves
Texas Tech is giving away a Grammar Girl book their Facebook page to the person with the best pet peeve on March 4, 2010.
A National Grammar Day Cartoon and Blog Post
The New York Times is celebrating with a National Grammar Day blog post and related cartoon.
Why the Heck Am I Observing National Grammar Day, Anyway?
Neal Whitman reflects on the meaning of the day on his Literal-Minded blog.
Wouldn't It Be Horrible If Your Business Cards Were Incorrect?
The Gordon Group reminds us why grammar (and design) matters.
The Role of Language in Red Cross Work
The Red Cross explains why language matters for their work. Check out their Language Banks.
Grammar's Top Five on Twitter
Emily Wenstrom recommends her five favorite language tweeters.
Love from the Grammar Monkeys
The Grammar Monkeys, from the Wichita Eagle, honor National Grammar Day, grammar geeks, and sentence diagramming.
What's Cool About Grammar? It's Free!
Mur Lafferty explains why we're lucky to have grammar as a tool of the trade.
See Who Else is Celebrating
The Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar
SPOGG is for people appalled by bad grammar in public spaces. The blog calls out goofs by celebrities, politicians, marketers, and more. The Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar is the founder of National Grammar Day.
The Afternoon Nap Society
The triumphs and tragedies of a first-semester English teacher as she struggles with grammatical rules and remedial level students. Who has the most to learn?
About Grammar and Composition
Richard Nordquist is your guide to all things grammatical on About.com. He's a professor and the author of several guides for writers.
Apostrophe Catastrophe
In 2007, Charmaine joined thousands of Texas Instruments employees in trying to convince the rest of the world that the company does more than make calculators, working as an editor in Communication Services. She went rogue in 2009.
Belletra
What happens when English becomes the language of the global business world? The polyglot Casey Butterfield, an editor, writes about the various things that can get lost in translation.
Bill Walsh: Blogslot
Bill Walsh is a copy editor at the Washington Post. He's also the author of Lapsing into a Comma and The Elephants of Style, two books every word-lover must own. His main site is called The Slot.
Blue Pencil Editing
Editor and freelance writer Lauren Holder Raab has a blog full of useful information and resources for editors—and people who need one.
Carol Zuegner
Carol is an associate professor of journalism at Creighton University, who is excited about the future of journalism, whatever form it might take.
Cheryl Norman: Grammar Cop
This arresting blog is for all law-abiding language lovers.
Common Errors on English Usage
Paul Brians covers all the annoying little words you've been confused about, and he doesn't like to be called "Brian."
Common Sense Journalism
Journalism instructor Doug Fisher has a wonderful blog for journalists and people interested in the media; he also offers up nuggets about style that serious writers will enjoy.
Conjugate Visits
June Casagrande, author of Grammar Snobs Are Great Big Meanies, blogs about "You know, like, grammar and stuff."
Copyediting.com
For communications officers of major corporations, editors of trade newsletters, freelancers for journal publishers, newspaper copy chiefs, managing editors at book publishers, writers for major magazines, and more.
DoWriteRight
Mike Clark shares his language thoughts, advice, and entreaties.
Editor Mark's Blog
On his active blog, Mark Allen shares his thoughts on journalism and copy editing, including grammar, usage and style.
The Editor's Desk
Andy Bechtel teaches writing and journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He's especially interested in the meaning of words, and how they can be most ethically used in news reporting.
Editrix
This hilarious blog is for "editors, editors at heart, and anyone else who thinks grammar is hot." We approve.
The English Blog
Jeffrey Hill is an English teacher in France. This is his blog, meant to assist students learning English as a second language.
English, Jack
Bret Reynolds's second thoughts on English and how she's taught.
Fritinancy
Nancy Friedman blogs about Names, brands, writing, and the quirks of the English language. "Fritinancy" is a delightful play on three things: her name, a word that means to chirp or creak, and the suggestion of frittering. Leave it to someone with "name developer" in her description to come up with something cool.
Gabrielle Edits
Gabrielle is a freelance editor, and her blog is full of useful information, advice and resources for writers, editors and freelancers.
GrammarBook.com
Jane Strauss's easily searchable site is filled with useful tutorials and quizzes.
Grammar Done Right!
Karen Reddick is the author of Grammar Done Right and this companion blog, which offers clear, common-sense grammar tips that are easy to understand.
John Sturtevant's "Say What? Start Making Sense"
Sturtevant, an expert on clear writing, runs The Writing Workshop, which offers training in effective business writing.
KOK Edit
KOK Edit's Katharine O'Moore-Klopf, ELS, has been working hard to make the world safe for readers since 1984. She spends much of her time helping non-native speakers of English from all over the world tidy up their grammar and syntax so that their articles can be published in U.S. medical journals and textbooks.
Literal Minded
Linguistic commentary from a guy who takes things too literally
Loving Family, Loving Language
Here's proof that good grammar is a family-friendly pursuit.
Grammarblog: Smug is Good
This blog is fierce. It recommends stringing offender's (oops—offenders) by their gonads. It's all in good fun, though.
Grammar Monkeys
The copy desk at the Wichita Eagle wants to prevent you from slipping on the various banana peels of language.
Grammar Police
Patricia Harrelson and Keiti Pierce are the grammar police, and while they won't actually arrest you, you will find their blog to be an arresting blend of humor and education. Just don't send them...emails. That word is a pet peeve over at the cop shop.
JProf
Aspiring journalists can get news and tips for better writing and editing at this site, managed by journalism professor and author James Glen Stovall.
Michael's English Usage
Michael's stated purpose is to draw attention to the absolutely terrible misuse of the English language in general, and specifically, by the writers and news readers of his local media outlets.
Mighty Red Pen
This blog, developed by a professional writer and editor, is a treasure trove of amusing errors.
My Point Exactly
Lisa Pampuch, a journalist in Santa Clara County, writes about current events, language, and other interesting things on her blog.
Mrs. Write, Word Therapist
A professional writer and editor keeps this blog, where she expresses her love of grammar, punctuation, and correct word use.
National Association of Independent Writers and Editors
National Grammar Day is smack in the middle of Words Matter Week, which features teleseminars, book giveaways, and discussions about the way words affect us.
Newsroom 101
Learn how journalists write at Newsroom 101, which has more than 1,650 free exercises in Associated Press Style, which governs most newspapers.
One Step Forward
A writer and budding novelist blogs about grammar.
Pam Nelson's Triangle Grammar Guide
Pam Nelson will celebrate her birthday on National Grammar Day, so we are pleased to feature her online grammar class, which she gives at the Web site of the News & Observer, a North Carolina newspaper.
The People's Dictionary
Add your own words to the People's Dictionary at WordMama.com.
The Sentence Sleuth
Bonnie Trenga, a frequent Grammar Girl guest-writer, hunts down hairy sentences on her own blog.
Sharon Eliza Nichols: Thank You Ma'am
The 246,000 members of her Facebook Group (I Judge You When You Use Poor Grammar) can't be wrong.
The Syntax Sisters
United by blood and a love of grammar, this pair of sisters blogs about language and grammar using examples of real-world errors.
Talk Wordy to Me
Brian White says, "Reading. Writing. Editing. It's all about the words. "
Ted's Word
For word geeks and journalism junkies, this blog by journalism professor Ted Pease offers a delightful word of the day culled from the pages of newspapers and magazines.
The Truth About Grammar
Two intrepid word lovers have declared war on errors.
A Walk in the Words
Laura Payne maintains this active linguistic tour for people who love having fun with words and language.
A Way with Words
This public radio show, featuring Martha Barnette and Grant Barrett, is a treat for people who love language--and have a grammar pet peeve or two.
Wordnik
Founded by Erin McKean, Wordnik's goal is "to show you as much information as possible, as fast as we can find it, for every word in English, and to give you a place where you can make your own opinions about words known."
Words at Work
Pam Robinson examines language issues with language and the media.
Writing Forward
Writing Forward is a fun, supportive blog where writers can gather to get creative writing tips and ideas. Featured topics include fiction and poetry writing, grammar, and literary news. The site also features writing exercises and prompts to provide writers with new challenges and inspiration.
You Don't Say
John McIntyre, whom James Wolcott calls "the Dave Brubeck of the art and craft of copy editing," writes on language, editing, journalism, and other manifestations of human frailty.
