Macmillan Holdings, LLC. Grammar Girl, Grammar Girl's, QDnow, and Quick and Dirty Tips are all trademarks of Macmillan Holdings, LLC. In under five minutes, you'll get a fun and friendly dose of writing advice. Grammar Girl covers everything from punctuation and grammar to style and voice. QDnow.com. feedback@quickanddirtytips.com grammar Why hyphens (or lack of them) mean your true blue friend is a Smurf and you should not fear free dentistry. We have lots of examples that will help you finally understand hyphen rules. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/how-to-use-hyphens.aspx http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/how-to-use-hyphens.aspx Thu, 23 May 2013 04:28:00 GMT feedback@quickanddirtytips.com grammar O Grafton, Mrs. Grafton, I can’t believe my eyes This memo from HR tells us we must “incentivize” ... http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/poem-incentivize.aspx http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/poem-incentivize.aspx Mon, 20 May 2013 08:10:00 GMT feedback@quickanddirtytips.com grammar Find out why John E. McIntyre says in his new book, The Old Editor Says, that reading other people’s raw copy is like looking at your grandmother naked. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/mcintyre-you-dont-say.aspx http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/mcintyre-you-dont-say.aspx Wed, 15 May 2013 20:16:00 GMT feedback@quickanddirtytips.com grammar Think texting is all about making things shorter? Think again! Texters have created a new English conjunction—”slash”—and they spell it out instead of using the punctuation mark. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/how-texting-is-changing-english.aspx http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/how-texting-is-changing-english.aspx Sat, 11 May 2013 01:02:00 GMT feedback@quickanddirtytips.com grammar We loved National Poetry Month so much that we're making language poems a regular feature. This week, a curmudgeon asks a wise guru for advice. See what happens next. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/poem-the-curmudgeon.aspx http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/poem-the-curmudgeon.aspx Tue, 07 May 2013 16:17:00 GMT feedback@quickanddirtytips.com grammar What’s the Tie-In to the Harry Potter Wizengamot? http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/moot-versus-mute.aspx http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/moot-versus-mute.aspx Thu, 02 May 2013 21:26:00 GMT feedback@quickanddirtytips.com grammar April is National Poetry Month. That's why Grammar Girl is featuring poems about grammar, writing, and language. Want to submit your poem for consideration? Click to find out how. This week: Life, marked by punctuation. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/poem-punctuation.aspx http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/poem-punctuation.aspx Mon, 29 Apr 2013 16:23:00 GMT feedback@quickanddirtytips.com grammar Last week was a tough one in the US. Although we shouldn’t forget the crimes, some readers asked me to address language issues that came up in the news coverage. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/language-of-crime.aspx http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/language-of-crime.aspx Fri, 26 Apr 2013 03:12:00 GMT feedback@quickanddirtytips.com grammar Today's topics are style guides and how to deal with book titles. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/chicago-style.aspx http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/chicago-style.aspx Thu, 18 Apr 2013 08:57:00 GMT feedback@quickanddirtytips.com grammar Verb tense is already complicated. Throw some flashbacks in your book and it gets even worse. Here are some examples to help you manage flashbacks and verb tense in fiction. http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/book-flashback.aspx http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/book-flashback.aspx Wed, 10 Apr 2013 20:49:00 GMT Thu, 23 May 2013 04:28:00 GMT http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com feedback@quickanddirtytips.com (Managing Editor) feedback@quickanddirtytips.com (Webmaster) en-us