Have no fear. Grammar Girl is here!

Grammar Girl has the know-how when it comes to anything grammar-related. Writers of all ages and skill levels can learn from her “quick and dirty tips.” Thankfully, she clarifies the content related to commonly made errors that make writers avoid various sentence structures and ways of wording in order to dodge falling victim to grammar faux pas.

I’m going to use the three-pronged approach to talk about a few of Grammar Girl’s posts.

One grammar area that never fails to trip me up when I’m speaking and writing is “lay” and “lie.”

1. What did you learn?

I learned that lie doesn’t require a direct object, but lay does.

2. What surprised you?

Even though Eric Clapton didn’t use the appropriate version in his song “Lay Down Sally,” this mistake is beneficial to us when it comes to remembering which is which.

3. What do you want to know more about?

I want to know more about words that can be easily confused and mixed up, such as “dreamt” and “dreamed.”

Image Credit: “I like grammar. Too bad.” by Adam Rifkin

My dreams came true when I saw that Grammar Girl wrote a post about “dreamt” and “dreamed.” Imagine that.

1. What did you learn?

I learned that “dreamt” and “dreamed” are considered irregular verbs.

2. What surprised you?

I was surprised to read that some versions of irregular verbs were dropped as the English language became simpler over time.

3. What do you want to learn more about?

I still want to learn more about words that look and sound the same, but are used in different contexts.

Now on to “regardless” and”irregardless.”

1. What did you learn?

There are several types of dictionaries and not every dictionary contains the same words.

2. What surprised you?

Irregardless is not a word. Adding “ir” to “regardless” makes it a double negative. Regardless without the “ir” already means “without regard.” Who knew?

3. What do you want to learn more about?

I’m interested to see what Grammar Girl has to say about “used to” and “use to.”

What posts by Grammar Girl have you read and would recommend? What words tend to confuse you?



Filed under Southeastern University Coursework

2 responses to “Have no fear. Grammar Girl is here!

  1. That video was hilarious, and to be honest, made me even more confused. Yet most of the time English just doesn’t make sense. I don’t even know how I learned most of it correctly because there are so many exceptions. For example, the other day at children’s church a little girl drew me a picture of things God blesses us with. She decided to draw people and labeled them “pepull.” I thought this was the cutest mistake, but then I wondered, what if we actually pronounced things the way they are spelled. Can you imagine pronouncing people “pe-op-lee” instead of “pepull.” How did we ever get “pepull” out of people? I’m starting to confuse myself now. Anyways, great video and great post. I did actually learn something from it. The “lay” and “lie” section was very helpful 🙂

  2. Pingback: Blog Comments! « Sideline Chatter

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