Author: Mignon Fogarty

When I was researching the regionalism “needs washed,” Bill Bevington recommended that I look into “spendy,” which means “expensive” or “extravagant.”  The resulting map is above. Key A blue pin represents one person who had heard or used “spendy” in the region. A red pin represents one person who has never heard “spendy” in the region. A purple pin represents someone who has heard “spendy,” but only rarely or only from a transplant from another region.  (Go to the interactive map.) Not shown on the map: one person from the UK, one from Dublin, one from the Philippines, and four from…

Last week during the football game between LSU and Mississippi State, we kept hearing an ESPN announcer say the team needed to “bow up” (with “bow” pronounced like “beau” or the “bow” in “bow and arrow.”) I hadn’t heard the phrase before and thought it might mean something like “man up” or “get tough.” However, Jesse Sheidlower, editor-at-large at the Oxford English Dictionary, kindly told me on Twitter that the entry in the Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE) defines “bow up” as “to assert oneself, stand up to.” DARE also noted that the phrase is “Southern,” which got me wondering how Southern. I asked the…

“You” or “Your” with Gerunds Dottie asked which sentence is correct: We appreciate you contacting the office. We appreciate your contacting the office. Both are correct, but they have slightly different meanings. If you appreciate that someone contacted the office (the act of contacting), use “your.” It’s roughly equivalent to “We appreciate that you contacted the office.” If you appreciate the person who contacted the office, use “you.” Typically, you want the possessive pronoun: We appreciate your contacting the office. Read more about possessives and gerunds: Do I Hate You Singing or Your Singing? Business Smartphone Call Cell Phone Communication from…

So many of you asked whether a historic should have been an historic that I thought I’d better answer the question here, even though it was the topic of last week’s Grammar Girl podcast and there was a link to it in the newsletter. The choice between a and an is governed by the first sound of the next word. If it’s a consonant sound, choose a; if it’s a vowel sound, choose an. Although there are regional variations, the standard American pronunciation of historic starts with a consonant sound (just like the words hit and hipster), so the correct choice…

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…

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…