Mignon Fogarty is the founder of Quick and Dirty Tips and the author of seven books on language, including the New York Times bestseller "Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing." She is an inductee in the Podcasting Hall of Fame, and the show is a five-time winner of Best Education Podcast in the Podcast Awards. She has appeared as a guest expert on the Oprah Winfrey Show and the Today Show. Her popular LinkedIn Learning courses help people write better to communicate better. Find her on Mastodon.
Cindy C. asked, “Which is correct.: much thanks or many thanks? I hear much thanks but it just doesn’t sound right.” According to the Merriam-Webster Online dictionary, “thanks” is plural, having come from the Middle English singular word “thank.” Therefore, “many thanks” is the right phrase because we use “many” with plural count nouns, and we use “much” with mass nouns. I send you many thanks. I have many books. He showed much gratitude. How much time will I need to read them all? Related Articles “Less” Versus “Fewer” When to Use Articles Before Nouns The Grammar Devotional Mignon Fogarty Get more…
Elizabeth L. asked, “What is the plural of ‘cul-de-sac’?” “Cul-de-sac” comes from French that literally means “bottom of the bag” or “bottom of the sack.” Some dictionaries list both “culs-de-sac” and “cul-de-sacs” as acceptable plurals, but when a dictionary lists only one, it is “culs-de-sac”—making “culs-de-sac” the safer choice. The Grammar Devotional Mignon Fogarty Get more tips like this in The Grammar Devotional: Print: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Powell’s E-book: Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, Apple iBook
Today’s topic is active voice versus passive voice. Here’s a question from Brian in Iowa. He writes, “It drives me crazy when people write in passive voice. How can I teach people how to tell the difference between passive and active voice and to stay away from passive voice?” Well, Brian is right, the first step is to help people understand the difference between active and passive voice, because many people believe they should avoid the passive voice, but fewer people can define it or recognize it. What Is Active Voice? I’ll start with active voice because it’s simpler. In…
I decided to write about comma splices because my friend Scott Sigler has a book coming out this week, Ancestor, published by Crown. Over three years ago, when he was publishing an earlier version of the book with a smaller publisher, he asked me to read it for him and be as brutal as possible with my comments. The biggest problem I found was comma splices. How to Use Commas Commas are tricky because there are so many different ways you can use them, but one of the most common ways to use commas is to separate two main clauses that…
Today I’ll explain the difference between dashes, commas, and parentheses. Stever Robbins, the host of the Get-It-Done Guy podcast, (now the Modern Mentor podcast), has been writing a book, and his birthday is today. He told me that his birthday wish would be for me to do a show to help him understand the difference between; dashes, commas, and; parentheses; because it keeps coming up in his writing. Well, Stever, it’s an odd thing to want for your birthday, but here it is. In general, you can think of parentheses, commas, and dashes as a continuum of marks. Parentheses are…
Last week when I was speaking at the Field’s End Writers Conference on Bainbridge Island, someone in the audience asked about dashes. When should she use a dash and how is it different from a colon ? Dashes and Drama The difference between a colon and a dash is pretty subtle: they can both serve to introduce a related element after the sentence, but a dash is a stronger and more informal mark than a colon. Think of a colon as part of the sentence that just ambles along. “Squiggly has two hobbies [and, now I’m going to tell you…
Today’s topic is why grammar matters. One thing people said they wanted to hear more about in my print book is why grammar matters. I didn’t think any of you would need convincing, but maybe you’re looking for arguments to defend yourself against the people who say it doesn’t matter. In any event, I’ve invited Martha Brockenbrough, author of the new book “Things That Make Us [Sic],” to make the case for good grammar. She’s also a grammar columnist for MSN’s Encarta and the founder of SPOGG—the Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar. Who couldn’t love an organization with…
Since this is my 100th episode, it seems like a fitting time to talk about how to use numbers in sentences. [Note: There are many exceptions to the rules about how to write numbers. These tips will point you in the right direction, but if you are serious about understanding all the rules, you need to buy a style guide such as The Chicago Manual of Style or The Associated Press Stylebook.] Whether to use a numeral or to spell out a number as a word is a matter of style. For general writing, most guides agree that you should…
To understand the difference between “which” and “that,” first you need to understand the difference between a restrictive element and a non-restrictive element, because the simple rule is to use “that” with a restrictive element and “which” with a non-restrictive element. OK, don’t worry; it’s easy. Restrictive Clauses and Nonrestrictive Clauses A restrictive element is just part of a sentence you can’t get rid of because it specifically restricts the noun. Here’s an example: Desserts that contain chocolate please Squiggly. The words “that contain” restrict the kinds of desserts we’re talking about. Without those words, the meaning of the sentence would…
Grammar Girl here. Today’s topic is whether it’s OK to start a sentence with the word hopefully. Paul from Long Island, NY, called the voice-mail line with this comment: I was wondering if maybe you could do a podcast devoted to the misuse of the word hopefully. It’s an adverb, but nobody uses it that way. I drive a lot of people crazy with that one; it’s a big pet peeve of mine. Maybe you could drive more people crazy with it than I do. I’m probably going to make everyone crazy with this topic, because I think it should…