Quick and Dirty Grammar

Heidi here. So, I consider myself to be fairly grammar savvy. I’d say I was a card-carrying member of the Grammar Police, but recently I’ve decided it is not my job to make sure the rest of the world understands how to grammar correctly. (And yes, I did just use “grammar” as a verb.) Besides, unless I am absolutely positive I’ve not made any mistakes in my own writing, I have no business pointing fingers.

That being said, I still want to do everything in my power to be sure my own writing is as grammatically correct as humanly possible. In my effort to avoid drawing the unwanted--and often pernicious--attention of the most zealous of Grammar Police Officers, I’ve found a secret weapon that helps me to grammar with near-perfection.

I’m not sure a day goes by that I don’t make at least one visit to the Grammar Girl. Grammar Girl’s real name is Mignon Fogarty, and she is best known for her “Quick and Dirty Grammar Tips.” She calls her website, "Your friendly guide to the world of grammar, punctuation, usage, and fun developments in the English language." 

If you are unfamiliar with this amazing young woman, I will be your new best friend for introducing you to her, because if you are a writer, she will also be your new best friend.

Whether you get her books or you visit her website, you will find incredibly helpful tips or explanations for tricky grammatical issues such as “affect vs.effect”  or  “further vs. farther”  as well as punctuation helps (such as proper use of terminal punctuation and parenthesis). She also offers explanations on the correct use of phrases (“Deep-seeded or Deep-seated”) or when to use “i.e. or e.g.”  In addition to explaining the hows and whys of correct usage, she also includes clever little ways to remember her tips. Honestly, she's bailed me out of some pretty dicey grammar situations!

I could go on and on about how great she is. Or, I could send you her direction and let you discover her plethora of grammar information. Or, I could jumpstart your Grammar Girl education by offering you my Top 5 Favorite Grammar Girl Episodes!

                    5.) Split Infinitives 

                    4.) Ending a Sentence With a Preposition 

                    3.) Lay Versus Lie 

                    2.) Who Versus Whom (Part 1) 

                         WhoVersus Whom Advanced 

                    1.) The Top 10 Grammar Myths 

And hey, if grammar isn’t your thing, the Quick and Dirty Tips website also offers tips from The Money Girl, The Modern Manners Guy, The Get-it-done Guy, The Mighty Mommy, and The Tech Talker.

Your turn: Do you have a Grammar Pet Peeve? Do you have a Grammar Achilles Heel?