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Q&A | February 27, 2014

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    The Enchanted

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Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing


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ISBN13: 9780805088311
ISBN10: 0805088318
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Chapter One

EVEN THOUGH MY SHOW is called "Grammar Girl," the secret is that its not usually grammar that confounds people&#8212;its usage. I get complaints from purists, but Usage Girl doesnt have the same ring to it as Grammar Girl, and my books and podcasts arent for purists anyway&#8212;theyre for people who actually need help. Usage is about choosing the right word or phrase. Its something teachers generally expect you to pick up on your own, and its the thing youre most likely to get skewered for if you screw up. (Life is so unfair!) I dont recall ever being taught the difference between affect and effect, for example; I was just expected to know.

Certain words are more difficult than others. I call them the dirty words, and were going to tackle them here.


A lot of people learned the rule that you put a before words that start with consonants and an before words that start with vowels, but its actually a bit more complicated than that.

The actual rule is that you use a before words that start with a consonant sound and an before words that start with a vowel sound.

Squiggly waited for an hour.

Aardvark was on a historic expedition.

An hour is correct because hour starts with a vowel sound. People seem to most commonly get tripped up by words that start with the letters h and u because sometimes these words start with vowel sounds and sometimes they start with consonant sounds. For example, it is a historic expedition because historic starts with an h sound, but it is an honorable fellow because honorable starts with an o sound.

Squiggly had a Utopian idea.

Aardvark reminded him its an unfair world.

The letters o and m can be tricky too. Usually you put an before words that start with o, but sometimes you use a. For example, you would use a if you were to say, "She has a one-track mind," because one track starts with a w sound.

Squiggly wants to work as a missionary.

Aardvark wants to get an MBA.

Other letters can also be pronounced either way. Just remember it is the sound that governs whether you use a or an, not the first letter of the word.

Pronunciation Wars

Since pronunciation is what guides the choice between a and an, people in different regions, where pronunciations are different, can come to different conclusions about which is the appropriate word.

Many pronunciation differences exist between British and American English. For example, the word for a certain kind of plant is pronounced "erb" in American English and "her-b" in British English.

Even within the United States there can be regional pronunciation differences. Although the majority of people pronounce the h in historic, some people on the East Coast pronounce historic as "istoric" and thus argue that an historic monument is the correct form.



A and an are called indefinite articles. The is called a definite article. The difference is that a and an dont say anything special about the word that follows. For example, think about the sentence "I need a horse." Youll take any horse&#8212;just a horse will do. But if you say, "I need the horse," then you want a specific horse. Thats why the is called a definite article&#8212;you want something definite. At least thats how I remember the name.

Tweedle Thee and Tweedle Thuh

I find it interesting that there are two indefinite articles to choose from (a and an) depending on the word that comes next, but there is only one definite article (the). But theres a special pronunciation rule about the that is similar to the rule about when to use a and an: The is pronounced "thuh" when it comes before a word that starts with a consonant sound, and its pronounced "thee" when it comes before a word that starts with a vowel sound. It can also be pronounced "thee" for emphasis, for example, if you wanted to say, "Twitter is the [pronounced "thee"] hot social networking tool." I actually have trouble remembering this rule and have to make special marks in my podcast scripts to remind myself to get the pronunciation right. I think I must have missed the day they covered this in school, and Ive never recovered.



The correct spelling is "a lot."

Alot is not a word.

A lot means "a large number."

Allot means "to parcel out."



If you dont know the difference between affect and effect, dont worry&#8212;youre not alone. These two words are consistently among the most searched for words in online dictionaries, and I get at least one e-mail message a week asking me to explain the difference. In fact, the confusion over affect and effect could be why impact has emerged to mean "affect" in business writing: people give up trying to figure out the difference between affect and effect and rewrite their sentences, unfortunately substituting an equally inappropriate word. (See "Impact," page 33.)

The difference between affect and effect is actually pretty straightforward: the majority of the time you use affect as a verb and effect as a noun.

Affect most commonly means something like "to influence" or "to change."

The arrows affected Aardvark.

The rain affected Squigglys plans.

Affect can also mean, roughly, "to act in a way that you dont feel," as in He affected an air of superiority.

Effect has a lot of subtle meanings as a noun, but to me the meaning "a result" seems to be at the core of most of the definitions.

The effect was eye-popping.

The sound effects were amazing.

The rain had no effect on Squigglys plans.

So most of the time affect is a verb and effect is a noun. There are rare instances where the roles are switched, but this is "Quick and Dirty" grammar, not comprehensive grammar, and if you stick with the verb noun rule, youll be right about 95 percent of the time.

An Effective Memory Trick

For our purposes, affect is a verb and effect is a noun. Now we can get to the memory tricks. First, get this image in your mind: the raven flew down the avenue. Why? Because the letters a-v-e-n (in both raven and avenue) are the same first letters as "affect verb effect noun"!

Need another one? Because effect is usually a noun, that means you can usually put an article in front of it and the sentence will still make sense. Look at these examples:

The effect is eye-popping.

He kissed her for [the] effect.

In both of these cases effect is a noun and you can put the in front of it without making the sentence completely weird. The isnt necessary in the second example, but it doesnt ruin the sentence. On the other hand, look at these sentences where affect is a verb:

The eye-popping arrow [the] affects everyone that way.

The kiss [the] affected her.

You cant insert the direct article, the, before affect in those sentences, which means you want to use the verb (affect), not the noun (effect). I remember this rule by remembering that the ends with e and effect starts with e, so the two es butt up against each other.

The effect was eye-popping.

Exception Alert

Affect can be used as a noun when you are talking about psychology. It means the mood that someone appears to have. For example, a doctor may say, "The patient displayed a happy affect." Psychologists find the word useful because they can never really know what someone else is feeling. Technically, they can only know how someone appears to be feeling.




I often have to tell people their pet peeves arent actually hard-and-fast grammar rules. I have to tell people its OK to split infinitives, and in some cases its fine to end a sentence with a preposition.

I know its upsetting to find out your nearest and dearest beliefs are wrong because I have my own mistaken pet peeve: it bugs me no end when people use while to mean although, but however hard I looked, I couldnt convince myself I was right. The horror!

You see, I believe although means "in spite of the fact that," as in Although the tree was tall, Squiggly and Aardvark thought they could make it to the top. Although is whats called a concessive conjunction, meaning that it is used to express a concession. On the other hand, I believe that while should be reserved to mean "at the same time," as in While Squiggly gathered wood, Aardvark hid the maracas.

At .rst I was sure I was right because Eric Partridge said in his book Usage and Abusage that "while for although is a perverted use of the correct sense of while, which properly means ‘at the same time. "


But then I discovered that Fowlers Modern English Usage states it is normal and acceptable to use while to mean "although." Fowler even called Partridges comment "indefensible." Its a grammar rumble, people.

I decided to go over their heads and see what the Oxford English Dictionary has to say, and it backs up Fowler with an entry stating that while can mean "although." Two additional dictionaries concurred. I was thwarted, but Id given it a good shot.

One reason Im telling you this story is that I want you to know that I go to this much trouble to validate all of your pet peeves too, but sometimes it isnt possible.

My only small vindication is that there are sentences where it is confusing to use while to mean "although," and then it isnt allowed. For example, if you said, "While Squiggly is yellow, Aardvark is blue," people wouldnt know whether you were contrasting their colors or saying that Aardvark is only blue when Squiggly is yellow. In cases like that, you have to use although.

So, moving forward, I will continue to reserve while for times when I mean "at the same time"&#8212;old habits are hard to break&#8212;but I will now refrain from striking out while every chance I get. I wonder if the Modern Manners Guy will want me to send apology cards to all the writers I terrorized about this over the years. I hope not!

Next, I have two related bonus facts for you.

First, there isnt any difference between although and though when they are being used as described above. Though is a less formal version of although, but its in such common use that its OK to use it in formal writing too.

Second, while and whilst both mean the same thing. Although whilst is still used in British English, it is considered archaic in American English. Its just a language quirk that whilst survived in Britain but perished in America.




Assure, ensure, and insure have the same underlying meaning, but they each have a slightly different use.

Assure is the only one of the three words that means

"to reassure someone or to promise."

I assure you that the chocolate is fresh.

Ensure chiefly means "to make certain or to guarantee."

He must ensure that the effect is eye-popping.

Insure can be interchangeable with ensure in some

cases, but it is easiest to keep these words straight by

reserving insure for references to insurance.

I need to insure my car.

The definitions are different in British English: in Britain, assure can mean "to insure against a loss."



When backward and backwards are used to describe verbs, both words are correct and interchangeable.

The children moved backward/backwards.

Count backward/backwards from ten to one.

The s is more common in Britain than in the United States, so you should consider what the convention is in your country and use backwards in Britain and backward in the United States. This regional difference is one reason youre probably confused. If you read The New York Times and BBC websites in the same day, you could see the word used both ways.

The exception is that you never use the s when you use backward as an adjective (in other words, to describe a noun). It is always backward as an adjective.

They couldnt understand the peeves backward ways.

Aardvark wondered if the program had backward compatibility.

So if you are in the United States, you have it easier because you can just remember that its always backward, without the s, not backwards. We like shortcuts here, like drive-through restaurants, so you can remember that weve lopped off the s. But, if you are using British English, then you have to remember that its backwards as an adverb and backward as an adjective.

The story is similar for the words toward and towards: both are correct and interchangeable, and you can use either one because they mean the same thing. The s is more common in Britain than in the United States, so you should take into account what the convention is in your country and use towards in Britain and toward in the United States. Again, a memory trick can be to remember that Americans like shortcuts.


Interviewers often ask if people are afraid to write to me, and the answer, sadly, is yes. I get a lot of e-mail messages in which people (even my mother!) include blanket requests for forgiveness for any unidentified grammar errors. I feel bad about that&#8212;my goal isnt to make people self-conscious or afraid.

In addition, I get skewered when I make an error (or perceived error) myself. So when I was quoted in an article saying, "I feel bad about that," a lot of readers saw a chance to send me a gotcha e-mail message about using bad to modify feel. They maintained that I should have said, "I feel badly about that." Im not perfect, and I make lots of errors (especially in live interviews), but this isnt one of them.

The quick and dirty tip is that it is correct to say you feel bad when you are expressing an emotion. To say "I feel badly" could imply that theres something wrong with your sense of touch. Every time I hear people say, "I feel badly," I imagine them in a dark room having trouble feeling their way around with numb fingers.

I get that image because badly is an adverb, meaning that it modifies a verb (adverbs sometimes modify adjectives and other adverbs too). So when you say, "I feel badly," the adverb badly relates to the action verb feel. Since the action verb feel can mean "to touch things," feeling badly can mean youre having trouble touching things.

This is a problem with most of the verbs that describe senses such as taste and smell. Consider the different meanings of these two sentences:

I smell bad.

I smell badly.

When you say, "I smell badly," badly is an adverb that modifies the verb smell. Youre saying your sniffer isnt working, just as when you say you feel badly youre saying your fingers arent working. When you say, "I smell bad," bad is an adjective, which means it modifies a noun. Youre saying you stink, just as when you say, "I feel bad," youre saying you are regretful or sad or ill or wicked.

The reason people often think they should say they feel badly is that its only after linking verbs such as feel, smell, and am that you use an adjective such as bad. With most other verbs, its correct to use the adverb. For example, if you gave a horrible speech, you could say, "It went badly." If a child threw a .t in a shopping mall, it would be correct to say, "She behaved badly." The quick and dirty tip is to remember the following:

Adjectives follow linking verbs.

Adverbs modify action verbs.

See pages 31 and 144 for further discussion about linking verbs.



There is a difference between between and among: you use between when you are writing about two things and among when you are writing about more than two things. Thats a quick and dirty tip, and there are exceptions, but if you remember that between is for two things and among is for more than two things, then youll be right most of the time. Im expecting to hear a collective groan about the corny mnemonic that Im going to give you, but I do think it will help you remember when to use the word between. Heres the sentence: Squiggly dreaded choosing between the bees and the tweens. The idea is that Squiggly is choosing between two different groups&#8212;bees and tweens&#8212;and the correct word is between.

Heres a bonus: the difference between among and amongst is similar to the difference between while and whilst. Amongst is more common in British English and is considered old-fashioned or archaic in American English.

I know some of you will be wondering about the exception to that rule. Heres the deal: you can use the word between when you are talking about distinct, individual items even if there are more than two of them. For example, you would say, "She chose between Harvard, Brown, and Yale," because the colleges are individual items she is choosing between. On the other hand, if you were talking about the colleges collectively you would say, "She chose among the Ivy League schools."


I received a comment about bring versus take that I found especially interesting from a man named Farrel, who is from an unspecified country. His impression is that everyone in his home country knows the difference between bring and take, and its just Americans who dont seem to be able to get it right. I dont know if thats true, but Ill take his word for it and try to do my part to .x the problem.

Whether you use bring or take depends on your point of reference for the action. The quick and dirty tip is that you ask people to bring things to the place you are, and you take things to the place you are going. For example, I would ask Aardvark to bring Squiggly to my party next week, and then Aardvark would call Squiggly and ask, "May I take you to Grammar Girls party?"

I am asking Aardvark to bring Squiggly because I am at the destination&#8212;from my perspective, Aardvark is bringing someone here. Aardvark is offering to take Squiggly because he is transporting Squiggly to a remote destination&#8212;from Aardvarks perspective, he is taking someone there.

Here are two examples that help me remember.

First, think of a restaurant where you order food to go. Its often informally called getting "takeout." When you get take-out food, youre moving the food from your location (the restaurant) to somewhere else (a destination). And its take-out food, not bring-out food. Youre taking the food to a destination.

Second, if Im sitting at home feeling lazy, wishing dinner would appear, I would say, "I wish someone would bring me dinner." I imagine Pat stopping at a restaurant and getting dinner to go. From my perspective, he is bringing me dinner because dinner is coming to my location.

I suspect that one reason people get confused about bring and take is that there are many exceptions to the basic rules. For example, idioms such as bring home the bacon and take a bath and phrasal verbs such as bring up, bring about, take down, and take after dont comply with the rule that bring means to cause something to go to the speaker and take means to cause something to go away from the speaker.

Nevertheless, when your point is that something is being moved from one location to another, the rule is that things are brought to the speaker and taken away from the speaker. You ask people to bring things to you, and you take things to other people. You ask people to bring you coffee, and you offer to take the dishes to the kitchen. You tell people to bring you good news, and you take your camera to the beach.

As an aside, the past tense of bring is brought, as in He brought me dinner In some regions people say brung or brang, but those words arent standard English.

Finally, an interesting note is that the words come and go follow rules that are similar to those for bring and take. Come is like bring: you ask people to come here&#8212;to come to where you are. And go is like take: you tell people to go away&#8212;to move away from your location. Aardvark and Squiggly will come to my party, and when Aardvark calls Squiggly, hell say, "Lets go to Grammar Girls party."




Some of the most difficult questions I get are from people who didnt grow up speaking English and who want to know why we use a particular preposition in a specific phrase. Why do we say Im in bed instead of Im on bed? Do people suffer from a disease or suffer with a disease? Are we in a restaurant or at a restaurant? Im a native English speaker, so my first thought is usually something like, "I dont know why; in bed just sounds right," and sometimes either option seems correct.

But theres one question I am able to answer&#8212;Why do some people say "on accident" and some people say "by accident"?&#8212;because I was lucky enough to find an entire research paper on the topic, published by Leslie Barratt, a professor of linguistics at Indiana State University.*

According to Barratts study, use of the two different versions appears to be distributed by age. Whereas on accident is common in people under thirty-five, almost no one over forty says on accident. Most older people say by accident. Its quite amazing: the study says that on is more prevalent under age ten, both on and by are common between the ages of ten and thirty-.five, and by is overwhelmingly preferred by those over thirty-.five. (Im over thirty-five, and I definitely prefer by accident.)

An interesting conclusion from the paper is that although there are some hypotheses, nobody really knows why younger people all over the United States started saying on accident instead of by accident. For example, theres the idea that on accident is parallel to on purpose, but nobody has proven that children all across the country started speaking differently from their parents because they were seeking parallelism. Although I have no proof, I suspect that it must have something to do with nationwide media since it is such a widespread age-related phenomenon. Barney & Friends hasnt been on TV long enough to be the culprit, and Sesame Street has been on TV too long to be the culprit. Really, all we can say is that its just one of those language things that happens sometimes.

Although on accident grates on the ears of many adults, Barratt found that there is no widespread stigma associated with saying on accident. So it seems to me that as the kids who say on accident grow up (some of whom are even unaware that by accident is an option, let alone the preferred phrase of grown-ups), on accident will become the main, accepted phrase. By that time, there wont be enough of us left who say by accident to correct them!


Legions of exasperated teachers have responded, "May I go to the bathroom!" when children raise their hands and ask, "Can I go to the bathroom?" Technically, can is used to ask if something is possible, and may is used to ask if something is permissible. So yes, those kids can go to the bathroom (we hope!); what they need is to know if they have their teachers permission to proceed&#8212;if they may go to the bathroom. Nevertheless, substituting can for may is done so commonly it can hardly be considered wrong. This is what I call a cover letter grammar topic&#8212;use may when you are in formal situations or want to be especially proper, but dont get too hung up about it in everyday life.


When the noun capitol ends with an -ol, it is referring to state capitol buildings or the Capitol building in Washington, D.C. You can remember that the rotunda of the Capitol building is round like the letter o.

The other kind of capital, with an -al at the end, refers to uppercase letters, wealth, or a city that is the seat of government for its region or is important in some way. Dont get confused by the fact that capital with an -al is used for a capital city and capitol with an -ol is used for a states capitol building. Just remember that capitol with an -ol refers only to buildings, and .x in your mind that image of the round, o-like rotunda of the U.S. Capitol building. (See page 138 for rules about capitalizing



Imagine the voice of a movie trailer announcer: "Two words. One pronunciation. In a world where choosing the right word can mean life or death, Squiggly must make a decision: i or e."

OK. You can stop imagining the corny voice now. Fortunately for Squiggly, I have a great memory trick for remembering the difference between compliment and complement. A compliment (with an i) is a word of praise, so just remember the sentence

I like to give compliments.

Complement (with an e) means that something pairs well with something else. You can remember the meaning by thinking things that complement each other often complete each other, and complement and complete both have es in them.

Things that complement each other often complete each other.



If you write that a crossword puzzle is deceptively easy, does that mean it is easy or hard? The answer is that using the word deceptively can lead to confusion, and the best approach is to rewrite the sentence.

Theres a similar story for the word inflammable. Some people think it means "easy to burn" and other people think it means "resistant to burning." Its best to avoid it altogether.



Different from is preferred to different than. I remember this by remembering that different has two fs and only one t, so the best choice between than and from is the one that starts with an f.

Squiggly knew he was different from the other snails.



Misusing i.e. and e.g. is one of the top five mistakes I used to see when editing technical documents. People are so mixed up (and so certain in their confusion) that I would get back drafts from clients where they had actually crossed out the right abbreviation and replaced it with

the wrong one. I had to just laugh.

I.e. and e.g. are both abbreviations for Latin terms. I.e. stands for id est and means "that is." E.g. stands for exempli gratia, which means roughly "for example." "Great. Latin," youre probably thinking. "How am I supposed to remember that?"

But by now, Im sure you know that Im not going to ask you to remember Latin. Im going to give you a memory trick! So heres how I remember the difference. Forget about i.e. standing for "that is." From now on, to you, i.e., which starts with i, means "in other words," and e.g., which starts with e, means "for example."

Starts with i_in other words

Starts with e_example

A few listeners have also written in to say they remember the difference between i.e. and e.g. by imagining that i.e. means "in essence," and noting that e.g. sounds like "egg," as in "egg-sample," and those are good memory tricks too.

So now that you have a few tricks for remembering what the abbreviations mean, lets think about how to use them in a sentence.

E.g. means "for example," so you use it to introduce an example:

Aardvark likes card games, e.g., bridge and crazy eights.

Squiggly visited Ivy League colleges, e.g., Harvard and Yale.

Because I used e.g., you know I have provided a list of examples of card games that Aardvark likes and colleges Squiggly visited. Its not a definitive list of all card games Aardvark likes or colleges Squiggly visited; its just a few examples.

On the other hand, i.e. means "in other words," so you use it to introduce a further clarification:

Aardvark likes to play cards, i.e., bridge and crazy Eight.

Squiggly visited Ivy League colleges, i.e., Harvard and Yale.

Because I used i.e., which introduces a clarification, you know that these are the only two card games Aardvark enjoys and the only two colleges Squiggly visited.

Here are two more examples:

Squiggly loves watching old cartoons (e.g., DuckTales and Tugboat Mickey). The words following e.g. are examples, so you know that they are just some of the old cartoons Squiggly enjoys.

Squiggly loves watching Donald Ducks nephews (i.e., Huey, Dewey, and Louie). The words following i.e. provide clarification: they tell you the names of Donald Ducks three nephews.

An important point is that if Ive failed, and youre still confused about when to use each abbreviation, you can always just write out the words "for example" or "in other words." Theres no rule that says you have to use the abbreviations.

Here are a few other things about i.e. and e.g. Dont italicize them; even though they are abbreviations for Latin words, theyve been used for so long that theyre considered a standard part of the English language. (I.e. and e.g. are italicized in this section because I use italics to highlight words that are being discussed as words instead of being used for their meaning.) Also, remember that they are abbreviations, and there is always a period after each letter.

Also, I always put a comma after i.e. and e.g. Ive noticed that my spell checker always freaks out and wants me to remove the comma, but five out of six style guides recommend using the comma.

Finally, I tend to reserve i.e. and e.g. to introduce parenthetical statements, but its also perfectly fine to use i.e. and e.g. in other ways. You can put a comma before them, or if you use them to introduce a main clause that follows another main clause, you can put a semicolon before them. You can even put an em dash before i.e. and e.g. if you are using them to introduce something dramatic. Theyre just abbreviations for words, so you can use them in any way youd use the words in essence or for example.



Each and every mean the same thing and are considered singular nouns, so they take singular verbs. (Note the singular verbs in the following examples.) If you want to get technical, you can use each to emphasize the individual items or people:

Each car is handled with care.

and every to emphasize the larger group:

Every car should use hybrid technology.

People often say "each and every" for emphasis, but it is redundant.



Everyone and everybody mean the same thing: every person. You can use them interchangeably and they are considered singular.

Everyone loves Squiggly.

Everybody is coming over after the parade.



The quick and dirty tip here is that you use farther to talk about physical distance and further to talk about metaphorical or figurative distance. Its easy to remember because farther has the word far in it, and far obviously relates to physical distance.

For example, you might say, "Squiggly and Aardvark walked to a town far, far away. After many miles, Squiggly grew tired. ‘How much farther? he asked in despair."

Did you see that? Squiggly used farther because he was asking about physical distance.

If Aardvark were frustrated with Squiggly, he might say, "Squiggly, Im tired of your complaining; further, Im tired of carrying your maracas." In this case, Aardvark used further because he isnt talking about physical distance, hes talking about metaphorical distance: further along the list of irritations.

Sometimes the quick and dirty tip breaks down because its hard to decide whether youre talking about physical distance or not. For example, take a look at this sentence: Im further along in my book than you are in yours. You could think of it as a physical distance through the pages and use farther or as a figurative distance through the story and use further.

The good news is that in these ambiguous cases it doesnt matter which word you choose. Its fine to use further and farther interchangeably when the distinction isnt clear. People have been using them interchangeably for hundreds of years!

Just remember that farther has a tie to physical distance and cant be used to mean "moreover" or "in addition." When I mean "in addition," I always use furthermore instead of further. Because furthermore and farther are more different from each other than further and farther, I never get confused.

Aardvarks feet hurt. Furthermore, Squigglys

complaining was driving him batty.

He reminded Squiggly they didnt have much farther to go.

An interesting side note is that in Britain people use the word farther much less than people do in the United States. At least one source speculates that this is because with British pronunciation, farther sounds too much like father.



Regardless of your political beliefs, I believe everyone can agree that this has been an amazing year for women in politics. First, Nancy Pelosi became the first female Speaker of the House, and then Hillary Clinton became the first woman to have a good chance of becoming president of the United States.

Because of these events, writers have spilled a lot of ink on stories about female advances, which means I have received a lot of messages asking about correct use of female and woman.

Before I answer the usage question, I want to address a related issue, which is that some people may argue that its sexist to point out these womens sex. They say that such language implies that its unexpected that the Speaker would be a woman, in the way that saying someone is a male nurse or a female doctor wrongly implies that men arent usually nurses or that women arent usually doctors. But, given that Nancy Pelosi is, for example, actually the first woman to ever be Speaker of the House, I dont believe its sexist to point out that she is a woman because that fact is an exciting and unique part of the story.

So then, what is the best way to talk about Nancy Pelosi being a woman? The word woman is primarily a noun, but it is also less commonly used as an adjective (which means in some cases it can be used to modify nouns).

A quick and dirty tip for testing the validity of using woman as an adjective in a particular sentence is to substitute the word man to see if it makes sense. For example, it sounds ridiculous to say someone is "the first man Speaker of the House." Of course, you would say "male Speaker of the House." So, even though its not strictly wrong to use woman as an adjective, its better to use the primary adjective, female, and say that Nancy Pelosi is the first female Speaker of the House.



Less and fewer are easy to mix up. They mean the same thing&#8212;the opposite of more&#8212;but you use them in different circumstances. The quick and dirty tip is that you use less with mass nouns and fewer with count nouns.

Count Nouns Versus Mass Nouns

Im worried that Ive scared you off, but its easy to remember the difference between mass nouns and count nouns.

A count noun is just something you can count. Im looking at my desk and I see books, pens, and M&Ms. I can count all those things, so they are count nouns and the right word to use is fewer. I should eat fewer M&Ms.

Mass nouns are just things that you cant count individually. Again, on my desk I see tape and clutter. Those things cant be counted individually, so the right word to use is less. If I had less clutter, my desk would be cleaner. Another clue is that you dont make mass nouns plural: I would never say I have clutters on my desk or that I need more tapes to hold my book covers together.

Sometimes it isnt obvious if something is a mass noun or a count noun because some words can be used in different ways. For example, coffee can refer to either a mass of liquid or a cup of liquid. If youre responsible for filling the coffee decanter at a wedding, and youre getting carried away, your boss may ask you to make less coffee. But if youre a waiter serving cups of coffee to the tables, and the crowd is waning, your boss may tell you to take out fewer coffees next time. She means cups of coffee, but its common to hear that shortened to just coffee as in Bring me a coffee, please. Remember that I said mass nouns (such as coffee) cant be made plural? In this example, Ive made a mass noun plural (coffees), but in the process I transformed it into a count noun. So the rule still holds.

Furniture is another tricky word; it isnt immediately obvious whether it is a mass noun or a count noun. If I think of a furniture store, I think of lots of individual pieces of furniture, but furniture is a collective name for a mass of stuff. You could say, "Look at all those chairs," but you would never say, "Look at all those furnitures." Furniture is a mass noun, and chair is a count noun. Therefore, youd say, "We need less furniture in this dance hall. Can we have fewer chairs?"


There are exceptions to these rules; for example, even though we count hours, dollars, and miles, it is customary to use the word less to describe time, money, and distance (perhaps because these things can be divided into infinitely small units). For example, you could say, "That wedding reception lasted less than two hours. I hope they paid the band less than four hundred dollars." So keep in mind that time, money, and distance are different, but if you stick with the quick and dirty tip that less is for mass nouns and fewer is for count nouns, youll be right most of the time.

Excerpted from Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing by Mignon Fogarty

Copyright @ 2008 by Mignon Fogarty, Inc

Published in 2008 by Publisher H.B. Fenn and Compnay Ltd


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andsuzanne, January 31, 2010 (view all comments by andsuzanne)
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Product Details

Fogarty, Mignon
Holt Paperbacks
Writing Skills
Composition & Creative Writing - General
English language
Report writing
Grammar & Punctuation
English language -- Grammar.
Reference-Grammar and Style
Edition Description:
Trade Paperback
Quick & Dirty Tips
Publication Date:
Electronic book text in proprietary or open standard format
Grade Level:
5 CDS/6 Hrs
8.26 x 5.6 x 0.65 in

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"Synopsis" by ,
Are you stumped by split infinitives? Do you avoid the words “lay”  and “lie” altogether? Grammar Girl is here to help!
"Synopsis" by ,
Mignon Fogarty, a.k.a. Grammar Girl, is determined to wipe out bad grammar&#8212;but shes also determined to make the process as painless as possible. One year ago, she created a weekly podcast to tackle some of the most common mistakes people make while communicating. More than seven million episodes have now been downloaded, and Mignon has dispensed grammar tips on Oprah and appeared on the pages of the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and USA Today.

With the trademark wit, warmth, and approachability that the

podcasts are known for, Grammar Girls Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing covers the grammar rules and word choice guidelines that can confound even the best writers. From “between vs. among” and “although vs. while” to comma splices and misplaced modifiers, Mignon offers memory tricks and clear explanations that will help readers recall and apply those troublesome grammar rules. Chock full of tips on style, business writing, and effective e-mailing, Grammar Girls latest audiobook should be heard by every communicator.

"Synopsis" by ,

Online sensation Grammar Girl makes grammar fun and easy in this New York Times bestseller

Are you stumped by split infinitives? Terrified of using “who” when a “whom” is called for? Do you avoid the words “affect” and “effect” altogether?

Grammar Girl is here to help!

Mignon Fogarty, a.k.a. Grammar Girl, is determined to wipe out bad grammarbut shes also determined to make the process as painless as possible. A couple of years ago, she created a weekly podcast to tackle some of the most common mistakes people make while communicating. The podcasts have now been downloaded more than twenty million times, and Mignon has dispensed grammar tips on Oprah and appeared on the pages of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and USA Today.

Written with the wit, warmth, and accessibility that the podcasts are known for, Grammar Girls Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing covers the grammar rules and word-choice guidelines that can confound even the best writers. From “between vs. among” and “although vs. while” to comma splices and misplaced modifiers, Mignon offers memory tricks and clear explanations that will help readers recall and apply those troublesome grammar rules. Chock-full of tips on style, business writing, and effective e-mailing, Grammar Girls print debut deserves a spot on every communicators desk.


In 2007, Mignon Fogarty, perhaps better known as Grammar Girl, created a weekly podcast to tackle some of the most common mistakes people make while communicating. Her concise lessons aim to teach, or refresh, grammar knowledge as simply as possible. The podcasts have now been downloaded more than seven million times, and Fogarty has dispensed grammar tips on Oprah and appeared on the pages of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and USA Today.

Written with the wit, warmth, and accessibility for which the podcasts are known, Grammar Girls Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing covers the grammar rules and word-choice guidelines that can confound even the best writers. Her tips include stylistic choices, business writing, and effective e-mailing.  From “between vs. among” and “although vs. while” to comma splices and misplaced modifiers, Fogarty offers memory tricks and clear explanations that will help readers recall and apply those troublesome grammar rules.

Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing is also available on CD as an unabridged audiobook, read by the author.  Please email for more information.

Mignon Fogarty, perhaps better known as Grammar Girl, has compiled her concise lessons aimed to teach, or refresh, grammar knowledge as simply as possible. Written with the wit, warmth, and accessibility for which her weekly online podcasts are known, Grammar Girls Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing covers the grammar rules and word-choice guidelines that can confound even the best writers. Her tips include stylistic choices, business writing, and effective e-mailing. 

“I teach English at a small high school in Orfordville, Wisconsin.  I am very impressed with the quality and ease of information on grammar at your site.”Geri Acker

"This semester, my students are teaching grammar to one another. Rules: be correct, be creative, be interactive. We've already kicked off the journey by agreeing to use sample sentences starring Aardvark and Squiggly. (If you haven't met these characters yet, I suggest you start listening to the Grammar Girl podcast with the rest of the country.) The inclusion of mullets and eye patches into our sentences may send us right off the fun scale. I know we're in college; rest assured we've reserved plenty of time for seriousnessshould the need arise. Truth be told, however, it's all about the retention triggered by vivid images and good times. Can't wait to see what Aardvark and Squiggly are up to this afternoon."Hillary Clemens, Brigham Young University, Idaho

“My mom is a language arts teacher at a lockdown facility for middle school and high school girls who have committed felonies.  These are some really disturbed young ladies who have had really awful lives.  One of my mom's goals is to break them out of their habits of speaking 'street' all the time, and especially to never write in slang.  Her point is not to belittle colloquial speech but to impress upon these girls that there's a time and place for everything and if they want to succeed, they will need to learn to express themselves in an educated manner . . . For her birthday I gave mom your book and she loves it!  It's now part of her curriculum. She says these girls are amazed that someone can become a celebrity via good grammar and if she says, 'Grammar Girl says . . . " they sit up and listen.  She says your ideas for remembering grammar rules are terrific for these girls.”Karen Roth, Scottsdale, Arizona

“Your book is great. It reminds me of when I first read Strunk and White. I will use it in my classroom.”Fourth Grade Teacher, Las Vegas Public School System

“I am a special education teacher and this year I have a cluster of kids in a self contained language arts class. It is my goal to make them decent writers. Most don't know a noun from ketchup so using your memory tricks will help!”Samantha Jenses, Phoenix Public School System (Middle School)

“I went into my high school senior son's English class for a conference. What's on the wall? The Grammar Girl article, laminated, from the Atlanta Journal Constitution.”Barbara Nixon, Atlanta, Georgia

"While Grammar Girls Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing is true to its title, offering advice for writers for every step of the process, from generating topic ideas to effective proofreading tips, this is not merely a reference book for writers. Most of the information applies equally to our daily conversation, concisely clarifying routine language-related issues and tackling those little bits of linguistic friction that rub us the wrong way, or perhaps should rub us the wrong way. Language is an interactive art, and Fogartys strength is her simple engagement: Her explanations sound like the urgings of a kind coworker who wants you to stop sabotaging your career by using 'then' when you mean 'than', the gentle guidance of a friend who understands the intricacies of where the comma goes in relation to quotation marks and parentheses. Her tone is easy and informative, which will be a relief to anyone who associates 'proper English' with condescending know-it-alls who think that knowledge of 'whom' separates the learned from the layperson. Best of all, she writes with enthusiasm, sometimes sounding like she

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