15 Grammar Tips
to Make You Smarter, From the World's Coolest Word Nerd
Mignon Fogarty is the Grammar Girl. And she is awesome.
What's the
difference between emoticons
and emoji?
How do I
make product names (like the iPhone 7 or 6s) plural?
That's a sample of questions that Mignon
Fogarty, a.k.a. Grammar Girl, answers on a weekly basis.
Fogarty is the
founder and managing director of Quick and Dirty Tips, an advice blog that offers short, actionable advice from friendly and
informed authorities to "help you succeed at work and in life." (Grammar Girl is one of the columns on the site.) She's also the author of the New
York Times bestseller Grammar
Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing, and has appeared on nationally syndicated
television as an English-language expert.
I discovered Grammar Girl years ago when
googling a question, and was quickly enamored of Fogarty's ability to make
topics like punctuation, syntax, and sentence structure entertaining.
She presents a stark contrast to her
archenemy, "the evil Grammar Maven, who inspires terror in the untrained
and is neither friendly nor helpful."
So, if you're looking to increase your
grammar prowess, here are a few of Grammar Girl's top tips:
1. Who
or whom
"Like whom, the pronoun him ends with
the letter M. When you're trying to decide whether to use who or whom, ask
yourself if the hypothetical answer to the question would contain he or him. If
it's him, you use whom, and they both end with M."
2. Alright
vs. all right
"Alright" may be a common spelling,
but it's wrong.
"Nearly all usage guides condemn
'alright' (written as one word), but it occasionally shows up in the work of
respected writers and many average people think it's fine, or even the
preferred spelling," writes Fogarty.
Of course, Grammar Girl acknowledges that the
pressure to save space in status updates and text messages means
"alright" is likely to gain currency rather than fade--but if you
want your work to appear professional, stick with "all right."
3. One
or two spaces after a period
Until a few years ago, I was one of the
millions who use two spaces after a period--because that's what we were taught
in typing class.
But nowadays, it's wrong.
"The Chicago Manual of Style, the US
Government Printing Office Style Manual, and the AP Stylebook are just a few of
the style guides that recommend one space after a period," writes Fogarty.
Why? The complete explanation is complicated,
but basically it comes down to this: Certain typewriter fonts needed two spaces
after a sentence for good readability, but the transition to computers and
modern word processing has eliminated that need.
4. E.g.
vs. i.e.
Here's the
original question that introduced me to Grammar Girl, as I couldn't remember
the difference between these two Latin expressions. E.g. stands for exempli
gratia, or "for example." I.e. stands for id est and
roughly means "that is" or "in other words." (One trick is
to remember e.g. as "example given" and i.e. as "in
essence.")
Fogarty's examples make it all clear:
E.g. means "for example," so you
use it to introduce an example: I like card games, e.g., bridge and crazy
eights. Because I used e.g., you know that I have given you a list of examples
of card games that I like. It's not a finite list of all card games I like;
it's just a few examples.
On the other hand, i.e. means "in other
words," so you use it to introduce a further clarification: I like to play
cards, i.e., bridge and crazy eights. Because I used i.e., which introduces a
clarification, you know that these are the only card games that I enjoy.
5. Affect
and effect
"By far the most requested grammar
topic," writes Fogarty. "Most of the time 'affect' is a verb and
'effect' is a noun, but there are exceptions."
6. Compliment
vs. complement
As you may realize, a compliment is a kind or
flattering remark whereas a complement is a full crew or set (i.e., when
something complements something else, it means they go well together).
But how do you remember the difference?
Grammar Girl's quick and dirty trick:
"To remember the difference between the spellings of these words, be a
nice person and tell yourself: I like to give compliments. Put the emphasis on
the I when you say or think it. The I can remind you that the type of
flattering compliment is spelled with an i."
7. Systemic
or systematic
Fogarty breaks down these two words with
different meanings (although both relate to the word "system"):
Systemic describes something that happens or
exists throughout a whole system. (The new police chief had to address systemic
corruption.)
Systematic describes something that was
thorough and intentional, methodical, or implemented according to a plan.
(Ending systematic discrimination was his first goal.)"
8. Deep-seeded
or deep-seated
The correct phrase is deep-seated, although
the way we use the word seat has changed over the years, so the confusion is
understandable.
9. Done
vs. finished
"You may have been taught that you
shouldn't use done to mean 'finished,' but it's not that simple," writes
Fogarty. "The 'rule' against done has been widely taught in schools, but
no historical pattern or logic supports it, and most credible modern usage
guides either don't address it at all ... or simply note that done and finished
are interchangeable."
So after your
meal, you're both done and finished. And so is the turkey.
10. Further
vs. farther
"The quick and dirty tip is to use
'farther' for physical distance and 'further' for metaphorical, or figurative,
distance. It's easy to remember because 'farther' has the word 'far' in it, and
'far' obviously relates to physical distance." (Check out the link for
examples.)
11. Anyway
or anyways
Anyway is correct. Anyways, although
increasingly more common, is wrong in that "wouldn't want to use it in a
job application or a school essay" type of way.
12. Sightseeing
or siteseeing
It's sightseeing, but to find out why you've
got to go back into history.
13. On
accident or by accident
One of my favorite grammar pieces ever, this
one illustrates how quickly language can change--and raises some interesting
questions about what makes an expression "right" or
"wrong."
The short answer: Most usage guides cite
"on accident" as an error, but according to a research study, usage
of the two different versions is influenced by your age. "Whereas 'on
accident' is common in people under 40 or so, almost everyone who is older than
that today says 'by accident.'"
14. Is
'funnest' a word?
Steve
Jobs used it. So, yes.
15. Quotation
marks
Want a guide to using quotation marks in
combination with other punctuation? It's too complex to summarize here;
instead, check out Grammar Girl's explanation in the link.
By Justin
Bariso
http://www.inc.com/justin-bariso/15-grammar-tips-to-make-you-smarter-from-the-coolest-word-nerd-in-the-world.html?cid=nl029week47day22
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