Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing

This week, I help people learn how to use the word "myself" (and talk about some interesting dialects) and investigate about why we say we "get the skinny" on something. FOLLOW GRAMMAR GIRL Twitter: http://twitter.com/grammargirl Facebook: http://facebook.com/grammargirl Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/realgrammargirl Instagram: http://instagram.com/thegrammargirl LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl SPONSOR http://ancestry.com/grammar UPCOMING CONFERENCE https://www.soundeducation.fm/ GRAMMAR POP iOS GAME Optimized for iPad: http://bit.ly/GrammarPopiPad For iPad and iPhone: http://bit.ly/GrammarPop GRAMMAR GIRL BOOKS http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-girl-book-page GRAMMAR GIRL IS PART OF THE QUICK AND DIRTY TIPS PODCAST NETWORK.

This week, we look at an interesting kind of sentence that's written in the "middle voice." FOLLOW GRAMMAR GIRL Twitter: http://twitter.com/grammargirl Facebook: http://facebook.com/grammargirl Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/realgrammargirl Instagram: http://instagram.com/thegrammargirl LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl SPONSORS http://campaignmonitor.com/grammar GRAMMAR POP iOS GAME Optimized for iPad: http://bit.ly/GrammarPopiPad For iPad and iPhone: http://bit.ly/GrammarPop GRAMMAR GIRL BOOKS http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-girl-book-page GRAMMAR GIRL IS PART OF THE QUICK AND DIRTY TIPS PODCAST NETWORK.

Go beyond formulaic essay rules and create paragraphs that will hook your readers. Also, we figure out why people say they didn't just fall off the turnip truck. FOLLOW GRAMMAR GIRL Twitter: http://twitter.com/grammargirl Facebook: http://facebook.com/grammargirl Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/realgrammargirl Instagram: http://instagram.com/thegrammargirl LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl SPONSORS http://campaignmonitor.com/grammar GRAMMAR POP iOS GAME Optimized for iPad: http://bit.ly/GrammarPopiPad For iPad and iPhone: http://bit.ly/GrammarPop GRAMMAR GIRL BOOKS http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-girl-book-page

Some people say only "none is" is right, but we tackle "none are." Plus, we have an extra fun segment about pirate-speak for Talk Like a Pirate Day. FOLLOW GRAMMAR GIRL Twitter: http://twitter.com/grammargirl Facebook: http://facebook.com/grammargirl Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/realgrammargirl Instagram: http://instagram.com/thegrammargirl LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl SPONSORS http://blinkist.com/grammar http://stitcherpremium.com/grammar (offer code GRAMMAR) GRAMMAR POP iOS GAME Optimized for iPad: http://bit.ly/GrammarPopiPad For iPad and iPhone: http://bit.ly/GrammarPop GRAMMAR GIRL BOOKS http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-girl-book-page

Last week, I talked about "MacGyvering" things, so this week, I explain what I meant. Plus, I talk about one of the most contentious punctuation marks: the semicolon. FOLLOW GRAMMAR GIRL Twitter: http://twitter.com/grammargirl Facebook: http://facebook.com/grammargirl Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/realgrammargirl Instagram: http://instagram.com/thegrammargirl LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl SPONSORS http://stitcherpremium.com/grammar (offer code GRAMMAR) http://bit.ly/grammarwebinar GRAMMAR POP iOS GAME Optimized for iPad: http://bit.ly/GrammarPopiPad For iPad and iPhone: http://bit.ly/GrammarPop GRAMMAR GIRL BOOKS http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-girl-book-page

This week, I have more evidence that "quick and dirty" is from the Pacific Northwest, why we say "to boot," whether the correct name is "duct tape" or "duck tape," whether it's really wrong to say "Can I go to the bathroom," and an excerpt from an interview with June Casagrande about pronouns. FOLLOW GRAMMAR GIRL Twitter: http://twitter.com/grammargirl Facebook: http://facebook.com/grammargirl Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/realgrammargirl Instagram: http://instagram.com/thegrammargirl LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl SPONSORS http://TakeCareOf.com (offer code GRAMMAR) http://stitcherpremium.com/grammar (offer code GRAMMAR) http://bit.ly/grammarwebinar GRAMMAR POP iOS GAME Optimized for iPad: http://bit.ly/GrammarPopiPad For iPad and iPhone: http://bit.ly/GrammarPop GRAMMAR GIRL BOOKS http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-girl-book-page

For everyone who has wondered why we're called the "Quick and Dirty Tips" podcast network, I have the origin story. Plus, we'll talk about how annoyed you should get when people use "momentarily" to mean "in a moment" and why you should favor shorter subjects and backload your sentences. FOLLOW GRAMMAR GIRL Twitter: http://twitter.com/grammargirl Facebook: http://facebook.com/grammargirl Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/realgrammargirl Instagram: http://instagram.com/thegrammargirl LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl SPONSORS http://blinkist.com/grammar (offer code GRAMMAR) http://stitcherpremium.com/grammar (offer code GRAMMAR) http://bit.ly/grammarwebinar GRAMMAR POP iOS GAME Optimized for iPad: http://bit.ly/GrammarPopiPad For iPad and iPhone: http://bit.ly/GrammarPop GRAMMAR GIRL BOOKS http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-girl-book-page

Did you know that "wrack" is a word for seaweed? I didn't! Also, getting rid of adverbs usually improves your writing, but not always. FOLLOW GRAMMAR GIRL Twitter: http://twitter.com/grammargirl Facebook: http://facebook.com/grammargirl Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/realgrammargirl Instagram: http://instagram.com/thegrammargirl LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl SPONSORS http://stitcherpremium.com/grammar (offer code GRAMMAR) http://bit.ly/grammarwebinar GRAMMAR POP iOS GAME Optimized for iPad: http://bit.ly/GrammarPopiPad For iPad and iPhone: http://bit.ly/GrammarPop GRAMMAR GIRL BOOKS http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-girl-book-page

Hear one of my favorite segments from a recent Stitcher Premium bonus episode. These are normally available for only Stitcher Premium subscribers, but we want you to see what you're missing! Subscribe to Grammar Girl at Stitcher Premium and use the code GRAMMAR for a free month to get ad-free episodes and bonus episodes as well as premium content from other podcasts such as Freakonomics and Tell Me Something I Don't Know. Read the transcript at https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/fascinating-words-for-colors-and-the-battle-of-magenta Check out all the Quick and Dirty Tips shows: www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts FOLLOW GRAMMAR GIRL Twitter: http://twitter.com/grammargirl Facebook: http://facebook.com/grammargirl Snapchat: http://snapchat.com/add/thatgrammargirl Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/realgrammargirl Instagram: http://instagram.com/thegrammargirl LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl

Is That Comment Facetious, Sarcastic, or Sardonic? Cleft Sentences. FOLLOW GRAMMAR GIRL Twitter: http://twitter.com/grammargirl Facebook: http://facebook.com/grammargirl Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/realgrammargirl Instagram: http://instagram.com/thegrammargirl LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl SPONSORS http://stitcherpremium.com/grammar (offer code GRAMMAR) http://bombas.com/grammar (offer code GRAMMAR) http://bit.ly/grammarwebinar GRAMMAR POP iOS GAME Optimized for iPad: http://bit.ly/GrammarPopiPad For iPad and iPhone: http://bit.ly/GrammarPop GRAMMAR GIRL BOOKS http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-girl-book-page