English
Get flash to fully experience Pearltrees
I know many of you were taught that you shouldn’t end a sentence with a preposition, but it’s a myth. In fact, I consider it one of the top ten grammar myths because many people believe it’s true, but because nearly all grammarians disagree, at least in some cases (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8). A preposition is a word that creates a relationship between other words. It's been said that prepositions often deal with space and time (1), which always makes me think of Star Trek . For example, the prepositions “above,” “by,” and “over” all say something about a position in space; the prepositions “before,” “after,” and “since” all say something about time.
Grammar Girl : Ending a Sentence With a Preposition :: Quick and Dirty Tips ™
Grammar Girl : Lay Versus Lie :: Quick and Dirty Tips ™
If you exclude the meaning "to tell an untruth" and just focus on the setting/reclining meaning of lay and lie, then the important distinction is that lay requires a direct object and lie does not. So you lie down on the sofa (no direct object), but you lay the book down on the table (the book is the direct object). The way I remember is to think of the phrase lay it on me . You're laying something (it, the direct object) on me. It's a catchy, dorky, 1970s kind of phrase, so I can remember it and remember that it is correct. What's that I hear, music in the background?Grammar Girl : Who Versus Whom :: Quick and Dirty Tips ™
I just wondered if possibly in one of your episodes you could go through the use of who versus whom . I think that's a common misunderstanding with many people who write. So here we go. The words who and whom are both pronouns .
by Mignon Fogarty This is an expanded show based on the original episode covering when to use affect with an a and when to use effect with an e . 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 mnemonics and a cartoon to help you remember.
Grammar Girl : Affect Versus Effect :: Quick and Dirty Tips ™
Grammar