Transcript Grammar Girls

Grammar Girl’s
Quick and Dirty Tips For Better Writing
By: Mignon Fogarty
Quick & Dirty
Overview
 A quick (and entertaining!) read:
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Catchy titles/subtitles
Interactive voice
Breaks subject matter down in a way that makes sense
Relates to the everyday grammarian
Gives the reader good and bad examples
Lists common errors
Offers interactive element (podcast)
Ties into how people communicate today (Internet Intervention)
Overall, it makes a traditionally “boring” study not so boring!
Grammar Girl’s
Dirty Words
- Common misuses of everyday words
and phrases
- Memory tricks to help remember
correct word choice
- Can you decide which is correct…?
BACKWARD/S
A. WVU is infamous for its backwards ways.
B. WVU is infamous for its backward ways.
B is correct. Backward is always used as an
adjective. However, they are
interchangeable when describing a verb.
Ex. They moved backwards.
They moved backward.
BAD vs. BADLY
Do these two sentences have
the same meaning?
A. I smell bad.
B. I smell badly.
No. In A, “bad” is an adjective. “Badly” is
an adverb describing “smell.”
Between vs. Among
Is this sentence correct?
- Larry had trouble deciding between
Bud Light, Coors Light, and Miller
Lite.
No. Between is used for 2 things.
Among is used for more than 2
things.
Between vs. Among
Example suggested by Grammar Girl
to help you remember:
Squiggly dreaded choosing
between the bees and the tweens.
Bring vs. Take
Choose the correct sentence
A.
B.
May I take you to the party?
May I bring you to the party?
A is correct. Grammar Girl Tip:
Ask people to bring things to the place you
are, and you take things to the place you are
going. The person asking is/will be at the
destination.
Different From/Than
Which sentence is preferred?
A. Jim is different from the rest.
B. Jim is different than the rest.
A is preferred. Grammar Girl Tip:
“Different” has two f’s and only one t,
so the best choice is the one that starts
with f.
Everyone vs.
Everybody
Which sentence is preferred?
A. Everyone in Chapel Hill was
shocked.
B. Everybody in Chapel Hill was
shocked.
Either is correct! Both words mean
the same thing.
Further or Farther?
A. How much further do we have to
swim?
B. How much farther do we have to
swim?
B is correct. Grammar Girl Tip:
Use farther with physical distance. Use
further with figurative distance.
Lay or Lie?
A. Lie down on the couch!
B. Lay down on the couch!
A is correct! Lay requires a direct
object and lie does not.
Grammar Girl Tips For
Lay/Lie:
- You lay something down. People
lie down by themselves.
- Both Eric Clapton’s “Lay Down
Sally” and Bob Dylan’s “Lay Lady
Lay” are wrong. They should be
“Lie Down Sally” and “Lie Lady Lie.”
Set vs. Sit
These follow the same rules as
lay/lie. Set requires an object, while
sit does not.
-Sit down!
-Set a coaster down!
A Few More Tips
-Don’t use the words deceptively or
inflammable, as they lead to confusion.
-I.E. = In other words
E.G. = For example
A Few More Tips
- Less vs. Fewer
The grocery store sign should say “10 items or fewer”
because items are individual. Less is for mass nouns.
- Graduated vs. Graduated From
- A school does the act of graduating:
- VT graduates thousands each year.
- Students are graduated from a school:
- Thousands graduate from VT each year.
Punch Up Your
Punctuation!
Ties words together
Provides your reader with “hints” to
help them read
Exercise:
How well do you know your
punctuation?
 T/F: You need to type two spaces after
a period?
 What’s wrong with this sentence?
Squiggly’s favorite Thanksgiving dishes
are: rolls and cranberry sauce.
 T/F: There is a difference between a
hyphen and a dash.
Name the grammatical error in
the following sentence:
Squiggly ran to the forest,
Aadrvark chased the peeves.
“…” is called what?
T/F: The following sentence is
correct.
Banana’s are $1.50.
Which sentence is correct?
a)We went to Bob Jones’ house.
b)We went to Bob Jones’s house.
T/F: You should put yourself last in
a list of people out of politeness.
BIG & TALL:
Capitalization
Here are a few quick & dirty
tips when it comes to
capitalization…
Proper Nouns:
Nicknames
Which sentence uses correct capitalization??
2.
1. Did you call Aunt Mathilda?
My Aunt Mathilda called after dinner.
# 1 is correct
Quick&Dirty Tip: Because “Aunt” is being used as part of
someone’s name, it is capitalized. Otherwise, it is usually
lowercased.
What’s Your Degree?
Which sentence uses correct capitalization??
1.
2.
I have an undergraduate degree in
English.
I have an undergraduate degree in
Biology.
# 1 is correct.
Quick&Dirty Tip: Because “English” is derived from a
proper noun (England) it is capitalized. Words such as
“biology” or “math” are not derived from proper nouns so
they are lowercased.
What’s Your Department?
Which sentence uses correct capitalization??
1.
The Department chairperson just won the
World of Warcraft pumpkin-carving contest.
2. The Department of Computer Gaming
issued an announcement.
# 2 is correct.
Quick&Dirty Tip: Because “Department” is part of the
exact name of a specific department, it is capitalized.
When it is used generically as a common noun, it is
lowercased.
Titles 101
Quick&Dirty Tip:
It is Recommended to Capitalize the First
Letter of Prepositions Over Three Letters
Long, and Every Noun, Verb, Pronoun,
Adjective, Adverb, and Subordinating
Conjunction.
Is this title correct?
“Grammar Girl’s: Quick and Dirty Tips For Better
Writing”
“For” should not be capitalized because it is a
preposition that is only three letters long.
Titles 102
Which sentence is correct?
1. Dallas, President of Seattle, came to
dinner.
2. We invited President Dallas to dinner.
# 2 is correct.
Quick&Dirty Tip: Because “President” is part of
Dallas’ official title, it is capitalized. In the first
sentence, “president” is being used as a
descriptor and should be lowercased.
God Bless Grammar
Fill in the blank with either “God” or “god”:
1. Christians believe ( God ) is omniscient.
2. Stories about the Greek ( god s) provide
great inspiration.
3. The ( god) Apollo is often shown playing the
lyre.
Answers: God, gods, & god
Quick&Dirty Tip: “God” is capitalized when it is
in reference to the name of one specific god.
When it refers to multiple gods or is used as a
descriptor, it is lowercased.
Which Way??
Which sentence uses correct
capitalization??
1.
2.
He moved from the South to the
Midwest.
Go South until you reach the mall,
then head West.
# 1 is correct.
Quick&Dirty Tip: When you describe a specific place like
“South Korea,” capitalize direction names. When you
describe a direction like “He’s from southern France,”
lowercase direction names.
Quick & Dirty Review
 Takes a not-so-friendly subject and makes it
one with a user-friendly text
 Thus, the focus in the classroom should be to
incorporate that same sort of feeling for our
students
 Would recommend this book to future English
teachers, English students, grammarians and
non-grammarians alike who are interested in
learning quick & dirty rules to help better their
grammar!