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Grammar Girl Rocks
I have just discovered
“Grammar Girl” podcasts. The first two I heard were great.
First, she
explains lay and lie, words that I long ago decided to ignore because I was so uncertain about their usage. This is how she explains the present tense:
“lay requires a direct object and lie does not. So, you lie down on the sofa (no direct object), but you lay the book down on the table (the book is the direct object). . . . The way I remember is to think of the phrase "lay it on me." You're laying something (it, the direct object) on me. It's a catchy, dorky, 1970s kind of phrase, so I can remember it and remember that it is correct.”
Her best (and most painful) tip for remembering has to do with Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton. She says they were both wrong. (If you are young, you may not understand that, and will just have to listen to the podcast.)
All this sounds easy, but then, ”everything goes all haywire, because lay is the past tense of lie.” She gives a chart and more tips, but admits that even she has to look them up.
Her second podcast was even better –
how to correct other people's grammar without losing friends or sounding like a snob
Thanks, Grammar Girl!
