Introduction

People are often moved and challenged by nuggets gleaned on a daily basis—whether from a spiritual devotional, a horoscope, a tip-a-day calendar, or a regularly emailed newsletter. But there are few groups who need constant encouragement more than writers—it is, after all, a mostly solitary practice. The Grammar Daily, then, is here to help: it has daily reminders of our basic tenets (who versus whom, anyone?); inspiring profiles of writers and grammarians who have helped English become what it is today; and quizzes, word scrambles, and word searches to help solidify newly learned tips.

English is a messy language. Unlike French, we don’t have a council to decide how we should write or speak. We have only a multitude of competing college handbooks, dictionaries, and usage and style guides, such as The Chicago Manual of Style and the Associated Press Stylebook, which frequently disagree. Space is tight in this book, and I like to keep things simple, but wherever possible, I point out when something is a style rather than a rule. Too many people go around believing the way they learned to do things is the only way to do things, when really it’s just one of the acceptable choices.

These acceptable choices also change over time. People used thou alongside you in the 1800s, and as recently as the 1970s, people viewed the word parenting the way we view the word adulting today—as a trendy upstart that might just go away. Therefore, it’s not surprising that some of the styles in 2023, when this edition was revised, are different from the styles when it was first published in 2009. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to update the book and keep it current for a few more years.

As you will see, the book is organized by generic weeks so you can start any time. It’s meant to be read through, much like a page-a-day calendar, but we’ve also included an index so you can use the book as a reference guide and quickly find specific tips when you need them. Most of the time, punctuation is on Monday, Language Rock Stars are on Wednesday, quizzes and word scrambles are on Friday, and word search puzzles and cartoons are on Sunday, although I occasionally deviate from this pattern to keep related entries together.

It may seem like a trivial endeavor, a tip each day, but at the end of a year, the knowledge adds up. A year’s worth of new knowledge can infuse your writing with confidence. Here’s to better email messages, essays, marketing materials, articles, and novels.


Copyright © 2009 by Mignon Fogarty, Inc