Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing

What's the Opposite of Deja Vu? Commas Between Adjectives

Hinzugefügt: 5. August 2021

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...

The Best Stories from 15 Years of Grammar Girl

Hinzugefügt: 29. Juli 2021

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.
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What the Two Spellings of Stationary/ery Have to Do with Booksellers. Why Pronunciations Change.

Hinzugefügt: 22. Juli 2021

"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' or 'Fishes'? Why Do We Call Out 'Nothing' as 'Bupkis'?

Hinzugefügt: 15. Juli 2021

"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' Versus 'Whether.' Why We Say 'The Exception That Proves the Rule.'

Hinzugefügt: 8. Juli 2021

"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...

Trundle, Amble, Roam, and Shamble. How Some Preposition Use Has Changed Over Time.

Hinzugefügt: 2. Juli 2021

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"?
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Pedantic Nonsense Up with Which I Will Not Put! 'Discreet' or 'Discrete'?

Hinzugefügt: 25. Juni 2021

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Starting a Sentence with a Conjunction: Right or Wrong? Good 'Subpar' and Bad 'Subpar.'

Hinzugefügt: 17. Juni 2021

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'? Grumple.

Hinzugefügt: 10. Juni 2021

How Long Is a Good Sentence? 'Cord' or 'Chord'?
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What Made 'Friends' Funny. How Cicadas Got Their Name. Dog Replacer.

Hinzugefügt: 3. Juni 2021

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,...

Is 'Graduated College' Wrong? Five Wonderful Latin Phrases.

Hinzugefügt: 27. Mai 2021

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.
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'Bring,' 'Take,' and 'Carry.' 'The Queen's Gambit.' Sweepy Thing.

Hinzugefügt: 20. Mai 2021

We go through the simple rules for "bring" and "take," but then talk about the fun exceptions and dialect forms. Plus, how "The Queen's Gambit" can help us remember the difference between "gambit"...

Writing Dialogue. 'Associate Degree' or 'Associate's Degree'? Wiffy.

Hinzugefügt: 13. Mai 2021

Is that dialogue feeling off? We're here to help! Plus, how to write about degrees this graduation season.
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'Ketchup' or 'Catsup'? How to Punctuate Questions. Gmoing Gmoing.

Hinzugefügt: 6. Mai 2021

Have you seen the tomato sauce spelled two different ways? "Ketchup" is the better spelling, but the history of the word is pretty interesting. We also look at how to punctuate questions,...

What Does ‘Op-Ed’ Really Mean? The Perfect Paragraph Length. Items.

Hinzugefügt: 29. April 2021

"Op-ed" may not mean what you think it means. Then we discuss how long a paragraph should be.
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The Intrusive "Of." What Makes English Weird.

Hinzugefügt: 22. April 2021

We talk about the difference between "a prince of a fellow" and "not too good of a time," and then we look at two things that make English especially weird.
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How to Write Faster. The Origin of the Odd Letter W

Hinzugefügt: 15. April 2021

12 practical tips and tools that will help you write faster in the time you already have. Also, we explore why we call a letter that looks like two V's a "double U."
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'Borrow' and 'Lend.' When to Use 'Nor.' Boncho.

Hinzugefügt: 8. April 2021

We use a children's book and a Shakespeare play to talk about "borrow" and "lend," and then we help with the complexities of using "neither" and "nor."
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1) Squirrelly Animal Verbs. 2) 'People,' 'Peoples,' and 'Persons': Why It Matters.

Hinzugefügt: 1. April 2021

To hog, to ram, to bird dog. We run through a fun list of animal-inspired verbs. Plus, amazingly, it wasn't that long ago that usage experts recommended "persons" instead of "people." And what's...

A vast number of words have surprising origins. We talked about some today, including "scientist," "impressionist," "beatnik," and "paradigm."

Hinzugefügt: 25. März 2021

A vast number of words have surprising origins. We talked about some today with author Ralph Keyes, including "scientist," "impressionist," "beatnik," and "paradigm."
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