Handy Grammar Guide

POSTED BY: PhoenixRose
UPDATED: Friday, September 5, 2025 03:59
VIEWED: 11567
PAGE 1 of 1

PHOENIXROSE

Friday, August 17, 2007 6:28 PM

The last thread I made for this got really long, so I thought I'd do a new one for faster loading. I’m hoping I got most of the meat from the last thread copied here; we had a lot of great discussion! Just in case, here's a link to it: http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=12&t=22762

This is meant to be a resource for fanfic writers. Like the fruity oaty bar, it is not mandatory. However, proper grammar certainly increases my personal enjoyment of a fic. It's just easier to read and get into the flow of it. I also have to say that if someone is completely incomprehensible, they might not find the response to be positive. When it comes to communication, there's no good reason not to better yourself.

All the spellings and definitions can be checked and expanded upon at www.dictionary.com
If you have any questions, please ask. The Grammar Geeks here will be happy to help you
Here we go:

You’re = you are. As in "You’re a writer." or "You’re a Firefly fan!"
Your = possessive term. As in "This is your story." or "That is your boxset of Firefly."
Yore = past, history. As in "Days of yore."

There = description of location. As in "It is over there." or "There it is."
They’re = they are. As in "They’re not here." or "They’re not yours."
Their = possessive term. As in "That is their house." or "This is their problem…"

Too = also, as well. As in "Me too!" Also used as a descriptive term of something excessive or emphatic. As in "This is too much." or "I will too do this!"
To = descriptive of direction "Went to the store." Also if it’s regarding anything "An answer to a letter."
Two = 2

Advice = the noun. As in "Anyone have any advice?." or "I need your advice."
Advise = the verb. "To advise". As in "I want you to advise me." or "I must advise you..."

New = recent, not old. "He bought a new set of Firefly because his old disks were worn out."
Knew = past tense of "know". As in "She knew there was trouble when she heard shots fired."

Quit = to stop, to desist. As in "He wants to quit smoking."
Quite = really, actually. As in "I am quite sure about this." Can also mean to a high degree, as in "It's quite good." Usage note Eloisa has informed me that 'quite' can be used a bit differently in the UK. Much the same way as those in the US sometimes use 'rather' it can be sarcastic in its tone so that it means "slightly", "mostly", "sort of" or "very" depending on tone and context.
Quiet = silent. As in "Please be quiet, I'm trying to think."

It’s = it is. As in "It’s a crying shame that Firefly was cancelled." Also used for it has, as in "It’s rained every day this week."
Its = possessive term. As in "The Alliance retracted its statements."

Lose = to suffer loss. As in "The Independents were sure the Alliance would lose the war."
Loose = not tight. As in "Her shoes were loose because they were a size too big."

Loss = the state of being deprived of or of being without something that one has had "The loss of a friend" "It's their loss" etc.
Lost = past tense of 'lose'. "They lost the game." Also 'to be lost' is an adjective: "You're lost in the woods."

Hon = short for honey. As in "See you later, hon."
Hun = a barbarous or destructive person; an invader. Attilla the Hun. Was also used as a disparaging term for Germans during the World Wars. I cannot stress enough: This is an insult. Please stop using it as a term of endearment or short for 'honey'.

Poor = meagerly supplied or endowed with resources or funds "A poor family applied for welfare. " "The

DESERTGIRL

Wednesday, September 19, 2007 4:24 AM

Hey PR - Thanks for continuing the thread, I hadn't realized it had gotten so long. I spent an hour rereading it all. There's a lot to remember.

So here my grammar question: I have a dialogue sentence with the tag stuck smack in the middle. What is the best what to punctuate it?

"blah blah blah. But," she paused to consider her words carefully, "The captain's tetchy, his deals goin' south."

I'm sure there is a correct way to do this, just not sure what it is.

Also - I have read all seven Harry Potter books out loud to my kids, I never noticed her colon thing either. Weird.

RIVERDANCER

Tuesday, March 31, 2009 7:10 AM

Embarking on a master's in English, this thread makes me grin.

I'm probably much too late to help Desertgirl, but the correct way to punctuate would be what's there, only I believe the continuation of the sentence in the second set of quotes would not be capitalized. It's kind of a messy structure, it's best to put that kind of pause between two complete sentences.

I was wondering if there were any threads on commonly misspelled words, a bane of my online and fanfic-reading existence, and I stumbled upon this instead. It seems to have dried up a couple years ago, but maybe we can bring it back for some pointers in spelling as well as grammar?

CELLARDOOR

Tuesday, March 31, 2009 8:03 AM

Ha, I should pass this along to some of the college freshmen to whom I teach writing 101 and 102... I think many of them missed a lot of these tips.

RALLEM

Tuesday, March 31, 2009 11:29 AM

I remember back in the day when I went to school at Vermont Technical College, lots of the engineering students felt that writing was not one of their main concerns, so they failed to put a great deal of effort into that aspect of their education, and looked like a bunch of dumb asses. I myself was a Computer Engineering major, but I did not want to look like a dumb ass to any potential employer, so I put a great deal of effort in my writing classes, and I cajoled my fellow study partners to do so themselves. One trick I used to remember the difference of their, and there was to think of their as a person ((t)heir), and there as a place, ((t)here). I’m sure that to this day I still make a few mistakes, but not with their or there, and I generally catch most of my errors by proof reading my work, and then if time allows I put my work away and come back to it later on to reread with a fresh perspective.

http://www.swyzzlestyx.com/index.html

KWICKO

Tuesday, March 31, 2009 11:45 AM

This should be a Sticky.

The only downside is, those who need this thread most desperately, are least likely to invest the time reading it...

\m/

I'm something of a ne'er-do-well
even though that's something I could never do well...

The "On Fire" Economy -
The Dow closed at 10,587.60 on January 20, 2001, the day GW Bush took office. Eight years later, it closed below 8000 on the day he left office - a net loss of 25%. That's what conservatives call an economic "success".

RALLEM

Tuesday, March 31, 2009 2:09 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Kwicko:
This should be a Sticky.

The only downside is, those who need this thread most desperately, are least likely to invest the time reading it...

\m/

I'm something of a ne'er-do-well
even though that's something I could never do well...

The "On Fire" Economy -
The Dow closed at 10,587.60 on January 20, 2001, the day GW Bush took office. Eight years later, it closed below 8000 on the day he left office - a net loss of 25%. That's what conservatives call an economic "success".

You’re probably right about the people whom most need this thread not taking the time or effort to use it, but they are taking the time and effort to write fan fics, so they’re not a totally lost cause. Is it possible to make this thread so that the people who are its primary target would want to come here and use it?

http://www.swyzzlestyx.com/index.html

RIVERDANCER

Tuesday, March 31, 2009 6:46 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Kwicko:
This should be a Sticky.

Agreed! This forum doesn't seem to have those, though, so we just have to hope people will keep bumping it.

You should spell definitely D-E-F-I-N-I-T-E-L-Y. Anyone else have some spelling things that bug them?

PHOENIXROSE

Tuesday, March 31, 2009 6:52 PM

Awww, my thread!

Quote:
Originally posted by RiverDancer:
Anyone else have some spelling things that bug them?

^
Possibly my favorite little icon ever

People who can't spell should get Firefox. Spell-check in your browser. Simple. I love it.

[/sig]

RALLEM

Tuesday, March 31, 2009 7:40 PM

bump

http://www.swyzzlestyx.com/index.html

RIVERDANCER

Tuesday, March 31, 2009 7:43 PM

Please don't take offense, Rallem, but your signature is rather overwhelming. It makes me a little dizzy.

CHRISISALL

Tuesday, March 31, 2009 7:54 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Kwicko:

The only downside is, those who need this thread most desperately, are least likely to invest the time reading it...

Why is it that our self-identified Conservative friends here have the most need of this thread? Is it cause us Ivory-Tower Libs all graduated from Harvard & Berkley & s**t?

The laughing Chrisisall

RIVERDANCER

Thursday, April 9, 2009 6:45 PM

I haven't graduated... yet.

RALLEM

Thursday, April 9, 2009 8:25 PM

I am going to try going back to school to get a Bachelors degree in Movie Making. The part that most interests me right now is script writing, but I have to admit that some camera work, editing, and special effects are exciting too. I have to set things up with the Vocational Rehabilitation at the V.A.

http://www.swyzzlestyx.com/index.html

ANOTHERSKY

Monday, April 20, 2009 7:29 AM

"NOT MANDATORY" Ha ha!

Therefore this pat on the back shall blue your mind, in a manner of speakin'. :D

--
Another Sky
(just another ivory-tower conservative...we think too ya know. Everybody's makin' a fuss--no need to get your knickers in a twist.)

RIVERDANCER

Thursday, June 18, 2009 6:24 AM

Felt the urge to give this a bump.

RIVERDANCER

Thursday, June 18, 2009 7:06 PM

Urge to bump this up again...

BYTEMITE

Thursday, June 18, 2009 7:20 PM

I think some slight clarification is needed on effect/affect.

According to dictionary.com...

Quote:
Affect and effect, each both noun and verb, share the sense of “influence,” and because of their similarity in pronunciation are sometimes confused in writing. As a verb affect means “to act on” or “to move” (His words affected the crowd so deeply that many wept); affect can also mean “to pretend” or “to assume” (new students affecting a nonchalance they didn't feel). The verb effect means “to bring about, accomplish”: Her administration effected radical changes. The noun effect means “result, consequence”: the serious effects of the oil spill. The noun affect pronounced with the stress on the first syllable is a technical term in psychology and psychiatry.

I note that "effects" are also possessions that someone can carry on their person.

PHOENIXROSE

Thursday, June 18, 2009 7:28 PM

Thanks, Bytemite, those two gave us some tangled issues in the last thread, and we thought we'd gotten it solved. Guess we missed a couple things!

[/sig]

ECGORDON

Thursday, June 18, 2009 7:51 PM

This doesn't apply to fanfic, since I never read any of it, and it's not really about grammar either, but rather about spelling. I'm not sure why most people aren't concerned that they do not know how to spell correctly, but when I see something wrong it bugs the hell out of me.

One word in particular I have seen misspelled several times lately in various posts.

People, nothing can PEAK your interest. Your interest may peak when you finally experience the event in question, but until then your interest has been PIQUED.

PHOENIXROSE

Friday, June 19, 2009 6:26 AM

I heartily agree, and I see it in half the fanfics I've read as well as in posts. I also see things about 'fits of peak' which make me cringe just as much, if not more. That's why the entry for pique, peak, and peek in my main post has pique in bold. Everyone seems to have heard it, but clearly many people don't understand it's a completely separate word.
(This would actually be a usage issue rather than a spelling or grammar issue. Now I think of it, maybe this should be called "Handy Usage Guide")

[/sig]

PHOENIXROSE

Thursday, September 24, 2009 8:56 PM

Importance of Usage

I have a spelling checker,

It came with my PC,

It plainly marks four my revue

Mistakes I cannot sea.

I've run this poem threw it,

I'm sure your please too no,

Its letter perfect in it's weigh,

My checker tolled me sew.

KWICKO

Thursday, September 24, 2009 9:08 PM

That is just shiny, PR. It makes my brain hurt to read it, though.

PHOENIXROSE

Thursday, September 24, 2009 11:35 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Kwicko:
It makes my brain hurt to read it

Haha, exactly!

[/sig]

MEATPUPPET42

Wednesday, September 30, 2009 7:08 PM

The original post was very much gooder.

Thats why i don't kiss them on the mouth.

THG

Friday, September 5, 2025 3:30 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by ecgordon:
This doesn't apply to fanfic, since I never read any of it, and it's not really about grammar either, but rather about spelling. I'm not sure why most people aren't concerned that they do not know how to spell correctly, but when I see something wrong it bugs the hell out of me.

One word in particular I have seen misspelled several times lately in various posts.

People, nothing can PEAK your interest. Your interest may peak when you finally experience the event in question, but until then your interest has been PIQUED.

We miss you here. It was a better place to be when you were here.

T

6IXSTRINGJACK

Friday, September 5, 2025 3:59 AM

Theodore longing for the days of 8 months ago... the world that no longer exists.

Awwwwwwwwww....

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"I don't find this stuff amusing anymore." ~Paul Simon