quickanddirtytips.com

2 weeks ago | quickanddirtytips.com | Mignon Fogarty

Have you ever wondered why we have two past tense forms of the verb “to light”? Should you say, “Squiggly lit the candles,” or “Squiggly lighted the candles”? Maybe you’ve even wondered whether one is wrong. “Lighted” sounds kind of weird in that sentence, right? “Squiggly lighted the candles?”‘Light’ has two past tense forms: ‘lit’ and ‘lighted’Well, both words are correct. “Light” is one of those rare English words that has two acceptable past-tense forms.

4 weeks ago | quickanddirtytips.com | Mignon Fogarty

Today, we’ll talk about words you should never use and words you should always avoid — or something like that. As many of you know, before I was Grammar Girl, I was a science and technology writer. Even as an undergrad, my instructors said I was especially good at that kind of writing. And my secret was that I hedged everything I wrote.

2 months ago | quickanddirtytips.com | Laura Adams

No matter how frugal or good you are at sticking to a budget, no one is immune from impulse spending from time to time. But the more you give in, the more harmful impulse purchases can be to your finances. Spending more than you can afford or buying things you don’t need can become a bad habit that’s difficult to stop. Overspending is a common barrier to achieving essential financial goals, like investing at least 10% of your gross income for retirement and building a healthy emergency fund.

2 months ago | quickanddirtytips.com | Mignon Fogarty

One of my favorite parts of the Grammarpalooza bonus interviews that supporters get is the guests’  book recommendations. Ghostwriting expert Dan Gerstein provided us with three particularly good recommendations that unfortunately, didn’t make it into the podcast — a rare event that I’ve tried to rectify by posting them here.

2 months ago | quickanddirtytips.com | Rachel Cooke

The power of persuasion – lessons from a family petLet me share a story about how my kids taught me the art of persuasion—using their longing for a dog. Initially, I was a firm “no.” But their compelling presentation about teamwork, responsibility, and physical activity, complete with thorough research on local vets and dog walkers, won me over. Their strategic approach to positioning their idea was a masterclass in persuasion.