by Mignon Fogarty This week in the United States we celebrate Veterans Day, a holiday to remember the end of World War I in 1918, but the name of the holiday brings up a common question: Do we need an apostrophe in the word Veterans? The short answer...
by Mignon Fogarty Friends and family often ask me to review their rsums before they send them to potential employers, and the most common error I see is that people fail to use parallel construction in lists of accomplishments or responsibilities. Th...
by Mignon Fogarty Political ads and analysis are reaching a fever pitch, so it seems like a good time to talk about the phrase straw man. What does it mean when two people are debating and one accuses the other of putting forth a straw man argument?...
By Mignon Fogarty Today were going to learn about the old writing adage Show, dont tell. The podcast edition of this article was sponsored by Smarties: the gluten-free, dairy-free, tamper-evident, low-calorie candies for Halloween. Buy Smarties this...
In today's show, we cover whether you should say you talked to someone or talked with someone. The podcast edition of this article was sponsored by Smarties: the gluten-free, dairy-free, tamper-evident, low-calorie candies for Halloween. Buy Smarties...
The podcast edition of this article was sponsored by Audible. Get a free audiobook to keep when you sign up for a free 14-day trial at AudiblePodcast.com/gg. Ammar-gray Irl-gay ere-hay. Whoops! Sorry, I slipped into Pig Latin for a moment there. Toda...
In a recent episode, you learned that adverbs do not always end in -ly, so perhaps you now think differently about adverbs. Wait a minute, though. Should we have said, Think different, as Apple does in its advertising slogan? Lets explore verbs and a...
by Mignon Fogarty Today's topic is how to use colons. The podcast edition of this article was sponsored by GoToMeeting. With this meeting service, you can hold your meetings over the Internet and give presentations, product demos, and training sessio...
Today were going to see if we are allowed to drive slow instead of slowly. May we jump high or sit up straight? What about the advertising slogan Eat fresh? Yes, today is adverb day, with a sprinkling of adjectives. The podcast edition of this articl...
Today's topic is capitalizing tricky nouns like Ground Zero, Internet, and Earth. The podcast edition of this article is sponsored by SleepPhones--pajamas for your ears. Get $5 off your order with the code grammar at http://www.sleepphones.com/gg . P...
Todays topic is whether its OK to switch verb tenses in conditional sentences. It all started with a grammar question about was and were. On the Grammar Girl Facebook page, Veronica wanted to know whether she should write If the test was readminister...
by Mignon Fogarty Today we turn to run-on sentences. I bet a lot of you think that run-on sentences are just really long sentences that go on and on like the Energizer bunny. But actually, run-on sentences are sentences that lack punctuation; they ca...
by Mignon Fogarty You may have heard there's a rule that you shouldn't split infinitives, but I'm here to tell you it's not a real rule, and the idea itself is based on a shaky foundation. The podcast edition of this article was sponsored by GoToMeet...
Todays episode is about swearing. The podcast edition of this article was sponsored by GoToAssist Express. You can instantly connect with customers to solve their technical issues. TryGo to Assist Express for free for 30 days. VisitGoToAssist.com/tec...
The word until appears to be ambiguous, especially when you pair it with a deadline. If a teacher tells you that you have until April 26 to turn in your essay, does that mean you can turn it in on April 26, or must you hand it over no later than Apri...