Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing

Why do we say 'Take it with a grain of salt' and other food idioms? Is it 'affective' or 'effective'? FOLLOW ALONG ON THE WEBSITE: http://bit.ly/affective-effective http://bit.ly/food-idioms SPONSORS: http://magoosh.com Use the code "grammar" at checkout for 20% off. http://igloosoftware.com/grammargirl AMAZON AFFILIATE CODE http://quickanddirtytips.com/amazon 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

HOW TO PRONOUNCE "THE": Did you know there are two ways to pronounce "the," and the rule that governs which pronunciation you choose is kind of like how you choose between "a" and "an"? "AFFECT" VERSUS "EFFECT": I get asked whether to use "affect" or "effect" all the time, and it is by far the most requested grammar topic, so I have a few memory tricks to help you remember. SPONSOR http://audible.com/gg Recommended book: "Bluescreen" by Dan Wells AMAZON AFFILIATE CODE http://quickanddirtytips.com/amazon 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 HASHTAG Use #WhereIListen to tell me your listening story on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. WIRED ARTICLE about the vibrating direction belt: http://www.wired.com/2007/04/esp/

SIGHTSEEING: A listener asked, “Why is it sightseeing and not siteseeing? Aren't you seeing sites? Sightseeing sounds redundant.” Interesting question! ON ACCIDENT or BY ACCIDENT: A listener asked, "What is the deal with the term on accident? I've always used by accident, but I've noticed a lot of pretty smart people . . . I've noticed them using on accident. So, am I wrong?" Sometimes when I get questions like this I can't find an answer, but in this case, I hit pay dirt! I was lucky enough to find an entire research paper on the topic. SPONSOR http://weebly.com/grammar AMAZON AFFILIATE CODE http://quickanddirtytips.com/amazon 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 HASHTAG Use #WhereIListen to tell me your listening story on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

HEARTY OR HARDY? A listener named Cheryl left a comment on the Grammar Girl Facebook page asking me to write about the difference between hearty and hardy. She wrote, “I am a writer and get confused on the usage of the two adjectives. Love your podcast and appreciate your shows and tips!” HOW ENGLISH BECAME ENGLISH. Today, I have an excerpt from Simon Horobin’s new book, How English Became English. I especially liked the part about English in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Asia because I don’t know as much about these forms of English as I do about American and British English; so it brings a new perspective that I haven’t been able to share with you in the past. JURY-RIGGED. You’ve probably heard of something being jury-rigged. That means patched together in a temporary manner. But what does rigged mean? And how does a jury get involved? Turns out, one doesn’t. SPONSORS http://care.com/grammar http://igloosoftware.com/grammagirl AMAZON AFFILIATE CODE http://quickanddirtytips.com/amazon 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

HOW TO PRONOUNCE ADIRONDACK: Apparently, I’ve been mispronouncing "Adirondack" my whole life, and thanks to the listeners who let me know. WRITING FOR AUDIO: A listener named Tim wrote that he heard someone on NPR say that another person “often frequented” a venue, and Tom thought the phrase "often frequented" sounded redundant. IS FUNNEST A WORD? Researching the word “funnest” and its close relation “funner” turned out to be a lot less fun than I had hoped. The opinions are so varied that I became completely engrossed and frustrated and forgot to call my mother on her birthday. SPONSORS http://casper.com/gg (and the offer code gg) http://weebly.com/grammar AMAZON AFFILIATE CODE http://quickanddirtytips.com/amazon 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

BAND NAMES: When referring to a rock band, do I use the single form "is" or "are"? Does the band name dictate the usage? WOMAN OR FEMALE? The question of word choice is rising again—Is Hilary Clinton the first "female" presidential nominee from a major party or the first "woman" nominee? SPONSOR http://audible.com/gg PODCAST AWARDS: You can vote every day through June 12. http://podcastawards.com AMAZON AFFILIATE CODE http://quickanddirtytips.com/amazon 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

HOW TO MAKE RBI PLURAL: Baseball season has started, so it’s a good time to answer questions from listeners who have asked how to make an abbreviation such as "RBI" plural. PRINCIPAL OR PRINCIPLE? Today we’re going to recall that the principal is indeed your “pal,” but we’ll also see that a principal can be so much more. In this episode we’ll talk about the various ways to use “principle”—that’s “p-l-e”—and “principal”—that’s “p-a-l.” RUN OF THE MILL. Why we say "run of the mill" instead of "run of the mine" or "run of the kiln." SPONSORS http://amazon.com/kindleforkids http://weebly.com/grammar AMAZON AFFILIATE CODE http://quickanddirtytips.com/amazon 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

ARE YOU INTERURBAN? When you split your time between the East Coast and the West Coast, you can call yourself “bicoastal.” What about when you’re splitting your time between two cities, like a listener named Jeff, who splits his time between New York City and Boston? VONNEGUT'S FAMOUS SEMICOLON QUOTATION. I couldn’t imagine that any talented writer would so universally dismiss an entire punctuation mark. Not one to take things at face value, I went searching and quickly found that the Vonnegut quotation, so often offered with a giddy air of insider superiority, is taken out of context. Here are the details. OFF THE CUFF. Imagine you were wearing an old-time dress shirt. One with stiff, starched, white cuffs. Those cuffs were sometimes several inches long! You could write a lot of notes on something that long. SPONSORS http://amazon.com/kindleforkids http://weebly.com/grammar AMAZON AFFILIATE CODE http://quickanddirtytips.com/amazon 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

COMMENCEMENT: Last week a professor in my department asked me why we call a graduation ceremony “commencement” when the event marks the end of college. “To commence” means “to begin,” not end, so it seems like an odd name for the ceremony. DELETE 'IT': Want a timeless, painless tip that quickly helps you clarify your writing? Look for it. What William Cobbett said two centuries ago still rings true: “The word it is the greatest troubler that I know of in language. It is so small, and so convenient, that few are careful enough in using it." SPONSOR http://amazon.com/kindleforkids AMAZON AFFILIATE CODE http://quickanddirtytips.com/amazon 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

Celsius Versus Centigrade: Anders Celsius was a Swedish astronomer who invented a thermometer based on the boiling point and freezing point of water. We know a slightly improved version of his thermometer by the Celsius name and by the word "centigrade." This centigrade thermometer was named in honor of Celsius in 1948 at the ninth International Conference of Weights and Measures. 'Between' Versus 'Among': Many people believe "between" should be used for choices involving two items and "among" for choices that involve more than two items. That can get you to the right answer some of the time, but it's not that simple. The traditional rule you learned is actually a myth. SPONSOR http://amazon.com/kindleforkids AMAZON AFFILIATE CODE http://quickanddirtytips.com/amazon 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