Author: Mignon Fogarty
Mignon Fogarty
Mignon Fogarty is the founder of Quick and Dirty Tips and the author of seven books on language, including the New York Times bestseller "Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing." She is an inductee in the Podcasting Hall of Fame, and the show is a five-time winner of Best Education Podcast in the Podcast Awards. She has appeared as a guest expert on the Oprah Winfrey Show and the Today Show. Her popular LinkedIn Learning courses help people write better to communicate better. Find her on Mastodon.
A listener named Manasi says she has been avoiding the words “purposely” and “purposefully” because she isn’t sure of the difference between them. I know that problem! I used to avoid words like that before I became Grammar Girl, but it’s better to learn how to use them, so let’s break it down because the difference can be subtle. First, both “purposely” and “purposefully” come from an Old French word that meant “intention,” and they’re both adverbs, which means they’re usually describing how you do something: how you do the action of the verb. ‘Purposely’ “Purposely” is the word you…
Today’s topic is how to use colons. One of my favorite old grammar books, titled “Punctuate It Right,” has a wonderful name for the colon: the author calls it the mark of expectation or addition. That’s because the colon signals that what comes next is directly related to the previous sentence. Often, it’s almost a definition of what came before. Use Colons After Complete Sentences Style guides differ significantly, however, when it comes to colons, so the most important thing is to know what style guide you should be following and what rules it recommends. The two main rules that differ are whether…
Lately, people have been asking a lot of questions about pronouns and what order to put them in relative to nouns and other pronouns, so that’s our topic for today. Here’s an example of a question (changed slightly to protect the writer). We were scheduling a meeting at work, and everyone wanted to have it on Monday, but I couldn’t make it, and I knew another co-worker would be out of town, so I said, “That won’t work for Maria and me,” but then I immediately wondered whether I should have said, “me and Maria.” Which is it? And does…
A question I get a lot is how to spell “flyer” (or is that “flier”?), as in “I want to use my frequent flyer miles” and “We’re handing out flyers in the cafeteria today.” In the past, style guides and dictionaries didn’t always agree about how it should be spelled, so it’s no surprise that people are confused. The good news is that today, you’re safe using “flyer” for almost everything, maybe because the airline industry uses that spelling, and it’s hard to fight marketing. Today, you’re safe using the “flyer” spelling for almost everything. Here’s some background in case…
It’s not uncommon to see people misuse the word “penultimate” to describe something as better than the best, even more ultimate than ultimate, but it actually means “the next to last.” 'Penultimate' comes from a Latin word that means 'almost ultimate.' “Penultimate” comes from a Latin word that means “almost ultimate,” so the next to last book in a series, the next to last day of a vacation, and the next to last game in a player’s career are all penultimate items or events. “Penultimate” is not the best of the bunch or the last of something; it is…
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 it’s actually more complicated than that. For example, here’s Matthew with a question: I’ve been wondering if it is actually “a hour” or “an hour.” “An hour” sounds more correct, but “a hour” reads more correct to me. I’m just curious what it should be. The rule is that you use “a” before words that start with a consonant sound and “an” before words that start with a vowel sound. Should You Use ‘A’ or ‘An’? So to answer Matt’s question, “an hour” is correct, because “hour” starts with a vowel sound. People seem to ask most often…
Jackie H. asked, “Is it correct to say ‘In regards to…’ or ‘In regard to…’? I have used ‘regards’ for many years, and now my boss has informed me that it is incorrect to say ‘regards.’ Yet, I see and hear it all the time.” The correct phrase is “in regard to.” You may be confused because “as regards” is another way to introduce a topic. Many people believe both phrases are unnecessary business jargon. Better options, depending on the particular sentence, include “concerning,” “regarding,” “about,” “in,” and “with.” For example, this sentence is correct: This letter is in regard to your…
How to use the word “myself” is one of the top 10 or 20 questions I get. Here’s an example: Hi, Grammar Girl. This is Chuck Tomasi, your interim Grammar Guy from ChuckChat.com, home of podcasts too numerous to mention. I hear and see examples of the misuse of the word “myself” all the time. For example, an e-mail went out from HR like this, “Please contact Squiggly, Aardvark, or myself with questions.” Could you please help listeners know when the word “myself” is appropriate and when to use a more appropriate word? Thanks! Excellent, Chuck! Let’s dissect what’s wrong…
When you’re thinking about singulars and plurals, you often consider whether you have one or many of something, but the word “none” is tricky because it’s nothing—it’s not one or many of something. The truth is that ”none” can be singular or plural, but many people believe it can be only singular. First, let’s talk about the singular. The word ‘none’ can be singular or plural. ‘None’ Is Singular When “none” means roughly “not one” or “no single one,” it’s followed by a singular verb. It also takes a singular verb when it’s followed by a mass noun, like…
Today’s topic is semicolons. I get a lot of questions about semicolons, so it’s time to clear up some confusion. Semicolons Separate Clauses Semicolons separate things. Most commonly, they separate two main clauses that are closely related to each other but could stand on their own as sentences if you wanted them to. Here’s an example: I have a big test tomorrow; I can’t go out tonight. The two clauses in that sentence are separated by a semicolon and could be sentences on their own if you put a period between them instead: I have a big test tomorrow.…