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.
Ever been chided for doing something that you know isn’t wrong? Your brother-in-law insists that guacamole is made only with lemon—never lime—and that you’ve ruined it with your tiny green citrus. His mama taught him to make it with lemon, and he doesn’t care how much you cite Alton Brown. The same goes when you’re writing at work. Although modern grammarians and reference books firmly assert that all five of the “rules” I’m going to give you are actually baseless, they’ve been taught as hard and fast in many schools—especially to people old enough to be your boss. So read up.…
Holly Hutchings and I made this extra special, multiple-interview episode about the classic children’s cartoon “Schoolhouse Rock” five years ago, but we never released it on the podcast feed because of copyright concerns about the music. But when I heard last week it was the 50th anniversary of the show, I knew you had to hear it — especially since we have an interview with one of the creators, George Newall, who died back in October. So Holly stripped out the music and remastered the show. I’m delighted so many of you can now hear the story. In this Grammar…
Should you put a comma before Jr. or not? You see it both ways. Using a comma is an older style. Most modern style guides say it’s better to leave it out. In the United States, we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day on the third Monday in January—at least that’s the common name for the occasion. According to the US Government Printing Office Style Manual, the official name of the holiday is “Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.” Writers have to contend with that tricky “Jr.” on the end of the name either way. Should you put a comma…
The Brothers Grimm are known for their fairy tales. They also wrote a German dictionary and grammar books. Jacob Grimm described “Grimm’s Law,” which explains why related words have p- and f-sounds, such as fire and pyro. When I talk about the Grimm brothers, you probably think of “Grimm’s Fairy Tales” such as “Snow White,” “Rapunzel,” “Rumpelstiltskin,” “Sleeping Beauty,” and “Cinderella”; or maybe you think of the TV show “Grimm.” (As a complete aside, I recently read the original Cinderella, and it’s a lot darker than the Disney version.) German grammar The brothers’ names were Wilhelm and Jacob. Together, they…
Teddy Roosevelt refused to shoot a bear on a hunting trip. A Brooklyn, NY, company heard the story and made stuffed “Teddy’s bears.” A German company also made stuffed bears that were imported by another company as Teddy bears. Teddy bears became a craze. Teddy bears got their name from a story about Theodore Roosevelt and a failed bear-hunting trip. See the 1902 Washington Post cartoon that started a teddy bear craze. Have you ever wondered how teddy bears got their name? The story goes that in 1902, the US president, Teddy Roosevelt, went to the South to settle a border dispute…
Can you believe it’s already 2023? I feel like I hadn’t even gotten used to calling it 2022 yet. But another year is gone. Since a new year gets people thinking about the date, I’ll answer a few date-related questions. Pronouncing numbers Here’s a question from a long time ago from a listener named Michael to get us started. (It will seem as if he’s getting a little off track, but it will all make sense in a minute.) “Grammar Girl , I have some concerns regarding the correct grammar for wedding invitations and wedding announcements. My fiance and I…
It’s the time of year when I eat a lot more dessert than I usually do — the pies, the cookies, the cakes — and then take extra long walks trying to work it all off. And as a word person, it reminds me of two commonly confused words: “dessert” and “desert.” Ask any teacher or editor, and they’ll tell you they see these words misspelled a lot. The meanings and origins of ‘desert’ and ‘dessert’ Let’s get them right: A dessert is something you eat ― usually sweet and usually at the end of a meal. It comes from a…
Even award-winning authors have grammar preferences and peeves. When reading a great book by a great author, do you — like me — find yourself thinking, “You must have a word you always misspell too. What do people say that bugs you? What is your favorite word?” I was excited to hear what Daniel Stashower had to say about his grammar loves and challenges. Daniel is a New York Times bestselling author who recently released his historical true-crime story “American Demon.” If you’re looking for a thrilling tale of a sadistic killer hiding in plain sight, check out “American Demon.”…
A Twitter meme about the difference between sci-fi and fantasy is bringing me joy this week. For example, Amy Louise with the handle @Amylouioc wrote “Fantasy is when Irish words are randomly thrown into conversation and Sci-Fi is when all street signs are in Japanese”. Fantasy is when Irish words are randomly thrown into conversation and Sci-Fi is when all street signs are in Japanese hope that helps — Amy Louise (@Amylouioc) September 25, 2022 They’re super funny, but also on target and rooted in what we’ve talked about in the Grammar Girl podcastclick on the link before: Readers expect…
When adults are ambushed with the concept of grammar, for example, when they meet someone who goes by the name Grammar Girl, they often reach into the depths of their grade-school memories and come up with something along the lines of “Don’t split infinitives, right?” Indeed. Splitting infinitives is a grammar topic, but the “rule” you may have learned against splitting infinitives isn’t as hard-and-fast as you might imagine. Infinitives are the two-word forms of verbs such as to read, to write, and to illustrate. to read to write to illustrate What is a split infinitive? If you want to remember…