Grammar 101

Today while listening to my classmates give their speeches I noticed a few... slips of essential grammar rules. Just thought I'd give a little refresher course on the basics.

We'll get the easy ones out of the way first and work our way down (or up? depending on your views on grammar) to the tougher ones.

Reoccuring and irregardless are not words. Don't use them. It's recurring and regardless.

Please avoid filler words such as actually, typically, basically, ultimately, and literally. These are all used way too much and it drives me nuts.

Feel free to use the word 'myriad' (even though it's totally a buzz word) but please use it correctly. Its literal meaning is 10,000 of something and since it is an adjective, when you say "there are a myriad of stars" it is not correct. Say "there are myriad stars out tonight." and everyone (read:me) will think you're super clever.

Although I'm not a fan of it, subconscious and unconscious are interchangeable when talking about brain stuff. I prefer subconscious but can no longer judge people when they say unconscious. The dictionary says so.

Use the word 'fewer' when referring to a specific number of something. As in, "I've had fewer beers tonight than usual." Use the word 'less' when referring to volume. As in, "I usually drink less wine, but it's a Thursday, so what the hell." Fewer dirty clothes, less laundry. You get the point.

'Further' is used when discussing time. 'Farther' is used when discussing distance.

'Good' is an adjective and used to modify nouns. "This pizza is good." 'Well' is an adverb and used to modify verbs. "Class is going well."

Here's where it starts to get fun.

The difference between colons and semicolons is surprisingly easy to understand. Use a semicolon when separating one sentence into different, but still related clauses. Use a colon before a list, but make sure it's after a complete sentence. "NJ has two favorite food groups: beer and bacon."

Adverbs are your friends, please use them well and wisely. Tell your friend to "drive safely," not to "drive safe."

The easiest way to decide whether 'whom' or 'who' is appropriate is to answer your own question. If the answer is him, her, or them then whom is the correct pronoun. If the answer is he, she, or they then who is the correct pronoun. I could talk about the difference between the subject and the object of a clause, but I don't want to.

And now the universal favorite!

When do we use affect and when do we use effect? First, it's good to know that affect is a verb and means something along the lines of 'to influence.' As in, "the wind affects my hair and makes it all frizzy." Effect is a noun and is closer in meaning to 'a result.' As in, "the de-frizz conditioner I use seems to have no effect on my hair."

In some cases affect becomes a noun, when discussing psychology in the form of an expressed emotion. And effect becomes a verb when used to express accomplishment.

But we won't get into that.