454 GG Splitting Infinitives
Capitalizing Theories. Splitting Infinitives. Samuel Johnson.
Episodes
Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing
Five-time winner of Best Education Podcast in the Podcast Awards. Grammar Girl provides short, friendly tips to improve your writing and feed your love of the English language. Whether English is your first language or your second language, these grammar, punctuation, style, and business tips will make you a better and more successful writer. Grammar Girl is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast.
Episodes
453 GG Less Versus Fewer
Follow along on the website: Capitalizing Time Periods http://j.mp/1z4W6bX Less Versus Fewer http://j.mp/1yP50d4 Bee's Knees http://j.mp/1DiC0dw ---- Try my iOS game, Grammar Pop http://j.mp/1H5YiSj
452 GG Why People Misuse Prepositions
Follow along on the website: Compliment Versus Complement http://j.mp/184vjlA Saving Our Prepositions http://j.mp/1yOHBdJ How 8 Fonts Got Their Names http://j.mp/1xZXLdg Try my iOS game, Grammar Pop http://j.mp/1H5YiSj
451 GG Impossible Participals
Follow along on the website. Commas Before "Jr." http://j.mp/1BYaNOx Impossible Participles http://j.mp/1u2BXCZ Onomatopoeia http://j.mp/1AXQQZa Try my iOS game, Grammar Pop http://j.mp/1H5YiSj
450 GG Is Sign Language Universal?
Tons of fascinating tidbits about sign language from interpreter David Peach Follow along online: http://j.mp/1EQ3dsJ Find David online: http://twitter.com/dpeach http://learnsigns.com Sponsor: http://AudiblePodcast.com/GG Try my iOS game, Grammar Pop: http://j.mp/1H5YiSj
449 GG Double Possessives
Follow along on the website: Transitive Versus Intransitive Verbs http://j.mp/1AUkNaZ Double Possessives http://j.mp/1x8OVy2 Try my iOS game, Grammar Pop http://j.mp/1H5YiSj
448 GG How Our Brains Process Hyperbole
Follow along on the website: Champ Versus Chomp http://j.mp/1Cp9TsZ Hyperbole http://j.mp/1HkXt6c Adulting http://j.mp/1sNOALZ
446 GG Why Don't People Say "Thou" Anymore
Read along on the website: What Does "Xmas" Really Mean? http://bit.ly/1xkSUsL Why Don't People Say "Thou" Anymore? http://bit.ly/1sv4joy Who Says "Kitty-Corner" and Who Says "Catty-Corner" http://bit.ly/1yTXXkt Grammar Girl books make a great gift! http://bit.ly/1xkT3fC
445 GG Why Do People Say "Like" All the Time?
Read along on the website" Is "Boughten" a Word? http://j.mp/1tUEecu Did Valley Girls Invent "Like"? http://j.mp/12CCHlG Is German Chocolate Cake from Germany? http://j.mp/1w4pyyW Learn More About my December 12 Writing Webcast http://bitly.com/ggwebcast
444 GG Between You and Me
Read along on the website: Lightning versus Lightening http://bit.ly/121kVb0 Between You and Me http://bit.ly/1AnHpif How Teddy Bears Got Their Name http://bit.ly/1AnH8fc Sign up for my December 12 corporate webcast. http://bitly.com/ggwebcast
442 GG Make Me a Sandwich
Based on Versus Based off. Make Me a Sandwich: A Joke About Verbs. How to Pronounce Zero
441 GG Mic or Mike? Simple or Simplistic? Uppercase and Lowercase
Mic or Mike? Simple or Simplistic? Uppercase and Lowercase. Visit the website: http://bit.ly/1qEiW2m
440 GG How to Plan a Novel
For NaNoWriMo: How to format a character's thoughts, how to plan a novel, and the surprising newness of the novel format. Visit the website: http://bit.ly/13DNlJ8
439 GG Texting, Coffins, and Death
Today, with Halloween in mind, I have a Quick and Dirty tip about the difference between a casket and a coffin; and an excerpt from David Crystal’s new book, Words in Time and Place, that goes through the many words we have for death and dying. Finally, I saw something shocking in a formal document a few weeks ago, so I have a tidbit about text messaging and language. Read the transcript: http://bit.ly/1sXJDC5
438 GG Why Do People Say Punctuation Out Loud?
"Vaccine" Versus "Vaccination." Syelle Graves explains why people say things such as "We never leave any soldier behind. Period," and more generally, the relationship between speech and writing. A doozy of an eighteenth-century grammar rule: Don't use "who" to refer to children. Read the transcript: http://bit.ly/1Fc7Lrk
437 GG What’s the difference between England, Great Britain, and the UK?
I know all you European listeners think it’s ridiculous that Americans don’t know the difference between England and Britain, but a British friend told me that many of you don’t know the difference between Britain and the United Kingdom, and that this would be a good topic for a podcast even though people should already know. Read the transcript: http://bit.ly/1D7rupV
436 GG Why People Have Always Been Confused About Apostrophes
An interview with Ammon Shea about the confusing history of apostrophes. Hanged Versus Hung. The story of the Victorian Great Exhibition, where Adolphe Sax displayed his invention: the saxophone.
435 GG We Might Could Harvest the Corn
Yes, you can start a sentence with "because." Here's how to do it. What are helping verbs (also called auxiliary verbs), and why do people in some regions say things such as "might could" and "might should"? English writers didn't always use a dot over the letter "i." We'll talk about when and why they started. Visit the website: http://bit.ly/1phbhWH
434 GG Ya Shank: The Made-Up Swear Words of 'The Maze Runner'
Insults, swear words, and world-building for young adults: In an interview with James Dashner, I got the inside scoop on the language of "The Maze Runner." Read the transcript: http://bit.ly/1poctaV
433 GG Why People Mix Up the Pronouns "Me" and "I"
I can tell you which pronouns to use, but it takes a linguist to explain WHY people get confused. Here, Gretchen McCulloch reveals the fascinating reason that people struggle with sentences such as "Billy and me went to the store." Read the transcript: http://bit.ly/1vrTG2g
431 GG Words That Aren't Words
In this podcast, you get a Quick and Dirty Tip about where to put periods and commas relative to quotation marks, an excerpt from Ammon Shea's book "Bad English," and a tidbit about a 1921 poem called "Alphabet of Errors." Read the transcript: http://bit.ly/1v0iNsF
430 GG The Plural of Money. This Is Your Brain on Writing. Egregious
In this week's podcast, Grammar Girl discusses the plural of money, how to use "egregious," and talks with Ellen Hendriksen from The Savvy Psychologist podcast about the findings from an experiment done by German researchers in Germany who studied people’s brains while they were actively writing. Read the transcript: http://bit.ly/1AUhYp5
429 GG How to Use the Conjunction “Nor”
How do you use the conjunction "nor" and why is it so special it deserves a podcast of its own? Neil Whitman explains. Visit the website to read the full transcript: http://bit.ly/1oOCyOR
428 GG Crash Blossoms
Why the Associated Press accidentally made people think another Malaysian airplane had crashed, and what it tells us about language. Visit the website to read the full transcript: http://bit.ly/1rs4BXJ
427 GG 7 French Food-Related Words That Became English
When the Normans took over England in 1066, they brought their food and their language. We talk about seven interesting French words that made it into English, and guest Clever Cookstr shares some of her favorite related recipes. Read the full transcript: http://bit.ly/1octDLT
426 GG A Language Lover's Trip to England
During a short but delightful trip to England, I saw the Rosetta Stone, the White Tower at the Tower of London, ancient alphabet tiles and wax seals, a stained glass window honoring William Caxton, and many more wonders. Hear about them all. Read the transcript on the website: http://bit.ly/1o02vuz
425 GG Why Weird Al's Word Crimes Video Made Me Want to Quit
Why Weird Al's Word Crimes Video Made Me Want to Quit. Visit the website to watch the video and comment: http://bit.ly/1qArtIJ
424GG There's Something Weird About "For," "Yet," and "So"
FANBOYS are a myth and there's something weird about "for," "yet," and "so."
423 GG Is the Semicolon in TL;DR Ironic?
"TL;DR" means "too long; didn't read," but the semicolon is usually associated with long or complex sentences. What is it doing in this abbreviation? Note: This piece originally appeared as a Grammar Girl blog post January 22, 2014 and was rereleased as an audio podcast on July 3, 2014. Visit the website to read the full transcript and leave a comment: http://bit.ly/1g1PtiA
422GG Manipulating Words to Make Things Funny
Why sentences like this are funny: A woman gives birth in the UK every 48 seconds. She must be exhausted.