Macmillan Holdings, LLC. Grammar Girl, Grammar Girl's, QDnow, and Quick and Dirty Tips are all trademarks of Macmillan Holdings, LLC. One is a powder; one is a solid. Tim grammar All these great comments on "cement" and all I have to say is ... did you realize that the advertisement at the beginning of the podcast was inserted in the middle of a sentence? http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/concrete-versus-cement.aspx?commentid=16416#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/concrete-versus-cement.aspx?commentid=16416#Comments Thu, 09 Apr 2009 04:50:13 GMT Scott Halvorson grammar My biggest pet peeve is the misuse of the word "less" when the word "fewer" is proper. "You will score less points if you play this card" or "you will collect less resources if yo don't own that building" are phrases I hear from a friend when playing games. He hasn't caught on the band wagon yet, although I have managed to convert another friend to use the right word. There are other pet peeves that deserve honorable mention: 1. the word "there's" followed by a plural noun: There's more cans of soda in the fridge. 2. confusion between "its" and "it's": My cat couldn't make up it's (it is) mind if i wanted to play with the ball or the piece of string. 3. using "an" in front of a word starting with an "h" sound: This year had an historic election. 4. the use of the ficticious "n - 2" comma rule: a loaf of bread, a container of milk and a stick of butter. It is the "n - 1" comma rule. "Three cheers for the red, white, and blue." I suppose GG has mentioned that this is more of a style issue, but it was a rule when I was young. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/concrete-versus-cement.aspx?commentid=15039#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/concrete-versus-cement.aspx?commentid=15039#Comments Fri, 05 Dec 2008 21:55:25 GMT Andy grammar My pet peeve is when people "melee" the same way they do "mealie"... Seriously. I mispronounce words all the time, particularly when I think they sound better that way, but mealie? That just sounds bad. xP http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/concrete-versus-cement.aspx?commentid=14922#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/concrete-versus-cement.aspx?commentid=14922#Comments Mon, 01 Dec 2008 23:46:50 GMT Aarpm Edwards grammar My biggest pet peeve this year is the misuse of the word "epic." It seems to be used to describe anything that might "blow someone away" or give a person a feeling of shock, speechlessness, or the like. The actual meaning is a poetic narrative usually deriving of a hero on a great and long journey. Homer's Iliad is an epic. JRR Token's "The Lord of the Rings" is a modern epic. I might even go so far as saying The Decemberists' song "The Mariner's revenge song is an epic. However, the latest guitar solo by Metalica or whatever heavy metal band is NOT epic. Nor is one's joke on 4chan or digg an epic failure. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/concrete-versus-cement.aspx?commentid=14890#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/concrete-versus-cement.aspx?commentid=14890#Comments Mon, 01 Dec 2008 00:29:59 GMT Cara Meyer grammar According to Merriam-Webster.com, "redistributionist" is a real word, but it still makes my skin crawl. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/concrete-versus-cement.aspx?commentid=14850#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/concrete-versus-cement.aspx?commentid=14850#Comments Thu, 27 Nov 2008 20:53:29 GMT Rick Demaray grammar Pet Peeve of the year. Orient vs Orientate. Orient:to set right by adjusting to facts or principles b: to acquaint with the existing situation or environment Otientate : to face or turn to the east. To put someone through an orientation has nothing to do with orientating them. AAgggghhhhh ! http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/concrete-versus-cement.aspx?commentid=14849#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/concrete-versus-cement.aspx?commentid=14849#Comments Thu, 27 Nov 2008 16:23:16 GMT Aaron grammar My pet peeve is improper subject-verb agreement with the contraction --'s. Usually this takes the form of "there's" plus a plural. For example, in Grammar Girl's episode titled "Wordiness and Idioms" at 1:50, our hostess says, "I'm sure there's other great examples that I'm not thinking of." http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/concrete-versus-cement.aspx?commentid=14835#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/concrete-versus-cement.aspx?commentid=14835#Comments Tue, 25 Nov 2008 20:09:13 GMT Heddy grammar Hi Grammar Girl, My big peeve is the misuse of the word 'less'. For example: "There are less adverts on TV than there used to be". I think it should be "There are fewer adverts on TV than there used to be". I was always taught that 'less' should only be used when the items you are referring to are not individually quantifiable. i.e. I have less time to do things. It's one thing that is guaranteed to get on my nerves. However, my husband jokes that 'less' is more commonly known now and is becoming acceptable due to the evolution of language. I think he's just saying that to get on the few nerves I have left! http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/concrete-versus-cement.aspx?commentid=14830#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/concrete-versus-cement.aspx?commentid=14830#Comments Tue, 25 Nov 2008 05:54:43 GMT Tang grammar Hello, Grammar Girl I'm not sure where can I ask you a question. I found an argument on a webboard about how to use "if not" so I would like to ask you a few questions. 1. From what I understand I can use "if not" in meaning if "maybe even" and "unless", is that correct? 2. Can "if not" use in other meaning? Which one is the most common usafe? 3. "He's a good man,if not an incredible one." - I believe if not in this case means maybe even, is that correct? 4. How can you tell which sentence is which case (maybe even or unless)? Are there rules on that? 5. Last but not least, How can you use comma in "if not" sentence - before or after "if not" or both? Thank you, Tang http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/concrete-versus-cement.aspx?commentid=14801#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/concrete-versus-cement.aspx?commentid=14801#Comments Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:15:43 GMT Brian Tristam Williams grammar Here's a great discussion of cement vs. concrete from a completely unrelated field! www.poynton.com/PDFs/YUV_and_luminance_harmful.pdf As for pet peeves: * using "it's" for "its" * using "your" for "you're" Urg http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/concrete-versus-cement.aspx?commentid=14796#Comments http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/concrete-versus-cement.aspx?commentid=14796#Comments Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:28:15 GMT Thu, 09 Apr 2009 04:50:13 GMT http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/concrete-versus-cement.aspx feedback@quickanddirtytips.com (Managing Editor) feedback@quickanddirtytips.com (Webmaster) en-us