Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing

Researchers and companies are harnessing computers to identify the emotions behind our written words. While sentiment analysis is far from perfect, it manages to distill meaning from huge amounts...

In the world of great debates, there is one that has been long enduring and still keeps language prescriptivists awake at night: Is it "tom-ay-to" or "tom-ah-to"? Now, this may not seem as...

The author of "The Language of Leadership," Joel Schwartzberg, explains how you can make small tweaks to your language to make a big difference in your influence.
Subscribe to the newsletter for...

Based on the history of who was sailing the high seas, it's a good bet pirates sounded a lot more multicultural than Ol’ Long John Silver would have us believe. We also discuss when you need a...

Instead of grinding your teeth about "very unique," pat yourself on the back for recognizing a widespread case of lexical broadening. Plus, we talk about why some people capitalize "Delta variant"...

We naked apes have been making up sayings with the word "naked" for a long time. Plus, we talk about how to pronounce "short-lived" and when to capitalize "earth."
Subscribe to the newsletter for...

What does getting married have to do with honey and the moon? What is tricky about the word "where"?
Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.
Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing...

What does "Dutch courage" mean? And 10 other weird words for alcohol. Plus, the special thing you have to pay attention to when you start a sentence with "however."
Subscribe to the newsletter for...

As much as we'd like to believe that people are convinced by facts, years of cognitive research show that we are convinced by stories and emotions (and then we often find facts to support our...

You know about deja vu, but do you know about jemais vu, presque vu, deja lu, deja entendu, and deja reve? Plus, we help you figure out when to put commas between adjectives. It's tricky, but we...

We've gone through a lot of stories and tips in 15 years—more than a thousand. Today, I picked a few of my favorites for you.
To sign up for my Advanced AP Style webinar, go to...

"Stationary" and "stationery" have the same ultimate origin, but they evolved to have different meanings and one became tied to paper goods. Also, a recent survey in the UK highlighted...

"Fish" really does have two plurals. Usually you want "fish," but we talk about the odd examples when "fishes" is the right choice. Plus, "bupkis" can mean "nothing" or "something worthless," but...

"If" and "whether" are often interchangeable, but sometimes using one or the other will change the meaning of your sentence. And if you've ever wondered why we say, "the exception that proves the...

We look at the surprising origins of some of our favorite words for walking. Plus, how do you know when to write "The car almost ran me over" versus "The car almost ran over me"?
Subscribe to the...

Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.
Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.
Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.
Grammar Pop iOS game.
Peeve Wars card game.
Grammar Girl...

Many people have been taught that it's wrong to start a sentence with a conjunction, but nearly all major style guides say doing so is fine. Neal Whitman investigates why there seems to be such a...

How Long Is a Good Sentence? 'Cord' or 'Chord'?
Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.
Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.
Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.
Grammar...

You laughed and laughed while watching "Friends." One reason it was funny is that the writers took what you expect from a conversation and flipped it on its head. Plus, how cicadas got their name,...

I'm hearing "graduated college" much more often. Is it still wrong? Plus, five bona fide Latin phrases you can use to describe something wonderful.
Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates....