Author: Karen Lunde
Karen Lunde
Karen Lunde is a former Quick & Dirty Tips editor and digital pioneer who's been spinning words into gold since before cat videos ruled the internet. She created one of the first online writing workshops, and she's published thousands of articles on the art of writing. These days, she leads personal narrative writing retreats and helps writers find their voice. Visit her at ChanterelleStoryStudio.com.
Today we’re answering an intriguing question from a listener named Michael, who asks, “Why do we drop the L in words like ‘almond’ and ‘chalk’?” This is one of those language mysteries that reveals how words evolve over time. You might not have noticed, but those of us who speak English treat the letter L in some interesting ways. Sometimes we say it, sometimes we don’t, and sometimes it depends entirely on where you grew up. So let’s start with a quick experiment. Listen to me say these words: “walk,” “talk,” and “half.” Did you notice that even though all…
This question comes from a listener. Linda said: I’d like to see tips that address correct pronoun usage in social media captions. For example, if I caption a photo on a social media platform, I might type in: Taylor Swift and me. Many people, however, would type in: Taylor Swift and I. I use “me” under the assumption that the unwritten words preceding the caption would be: [This is a photo of] Taylor Swift and me. Well, you’re right, Linda! Choosing between “me” and “I” in photo captions is trickier than it seems. As you noticed, a lot of people…