http://ltaylor.gather.com Recent Articles on Gather by Luke Taylor en-us Copyright Gather Inc 2009 Thu, 31 Dec 2009 00:50:29 GMT 2009-12-31T00:50:29Z en-us Copyright Gather Inc 2009 http://www.gather.com/images/header/logo_gather.gif http://www.gather.com/ http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977951770 Here's a quick but important message for our listeners and readers: Grammar Grater is taking a hiatus this winter, but we’ll be back in a couple of months. We’re exploring ways to serve you . . . Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:10:11 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977951770 Luke Taylor 2009-12-17T19:10:11Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977940898 [ Listen to 64K MP3 stream ] [ Download and listen to podcast ] [ Subscribe to podcast ] This week’s episode is inspired by a message from Vicki, a listener in Superior, Wisconsin. Vicki . . . Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:49:36 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977940898 Luke Taylor 2009-12-10T15:49:36Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977899371 [ Listen to 64K MP3 stream ] [ Download and listen to podcast ] [ Subscribe to podcast ]   This week, we’re looking at the use of literally as an intensifier. According to the . . . Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:52:55 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977899371 Luke Taylor 2009-11-13T14:52:55Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977892372 [ Listen to 64K MP3 stream ] [ Download and listen to podcast ] [ Subscribe to podcast ]   This week, we’re looking at a pair of useful words that Fowler’s Modern English . . . Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:28:26 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977892372 Luke Taylor 2009-11-09T15:28:26Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977865697 [ Listen to 64K MP3 stream ] [ Download and listen to podcast ] [ Subscribe to podcast ] This week on Grammar Grater, we're looking at a popular and versatile punctuation mark: the . . . Fri, 23 Oct 2009 02:34:15 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977865697 Luke Taylor 2009-10-23T02:34:15Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977861791 Gordon Jarvie, in the Bloomsbury Grammar Guide , writes that a pun is “a figure of speech that uses words in such a way as to convey — and make a play on — their double meaning.” . . . Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:26:08 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977861791 Luke Taylor 2009-10-20T16:26:08Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977855487 [ Listen to 64K MP3 stream ] [ Download and listen to podcast ] [ Subscribe to podcast ] This week on Grammar Grater, we’re looking a bit deeper into the difference between affect and . . . Thu, 15 Oct 2009 22:13:52 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977855487 Luke Taylor 2009-10-15T22:13:52Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977851431 We photographed this signpost in a small town in western Wisconsin. The error here is the word careful needs to appear in its adverbial form: carefully . The irony, of course, is that this appears . . . Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:36:50 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977851431 Luke Taylor 2009-10-13T15:36:50Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977845906 [ Listen Using RealAudio ] [ Download and Listen to mp3 ] [ Subscribe to podcast ] (Repeat episode) This week on Grammar Grater, we're taking a question from Leandro in New York, who is learning . . . Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:29:15 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977845906 Luke Taylor 2009-10-09T14:29:15Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977834386 [ Listen Using RealAudio ] [ Download and Listen to mp3 ] [ Subscribe to podcast ] (Repeat episode) This week’s topic on Grammar Grater addresses a couple of words that sound alike and come . . . Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:48:20 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977834386 Luke Taylor 2009-10-01T19:48:20Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977825159 [ Listen to 64K MP3 stream ] [ Download and listen to podcast ] [ Subscribe to podcast ] This week on Grammar Grater, we’re talking about a figure of speech called metonymy . According . . . Thu, 24 Sep 2009 20:57:41 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977825159 Luke Taylor 2009-09-24T20:57:41Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977816464 [ Listen to 64K MP3 stream ] [ Download and listen to podcast ] [ Subscribe to podcast ] This week on Grammar Grater, we’re talking about adverbs . According to the Gregg Reference Manual . . . Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:25:02 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977816464 Luke Taylor 2009-09-17T18:25:02Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977807530 [ Listen to 64K MP3 stream ] [ Download and listen to podcast ] [ Subscribe to podcast ] “I am a weaver and a spinner,” declares Judy Payne of St. Paul, Minn. “I do a lot of . . . Thu, 10 Sep 2009 19:42:47 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977807530 Luke Taylor 2009-09-10T19:42:47Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977798927 [ Listen to 64K MP3 stream ] [ Download and listen to podcast ] [ Subscribe to podcast ] This week, producer Brett Baldwin and I travelled to the Minnesota State Fair to talk about a literary . . . Thu, 03 Sep 2009 18:38:55 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977798927 Luke Taylor 2009-09-03T18:38:55Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977790454 [ Listen to 64K MP3 stream ] [ Download and listen to podcast ] [ Subscribe to podcast ]   This week on Grammar Grater, we’re looking at a trio of words that share a common root . . . Thu, 27 Aug 2009 21:45:37 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977790454 Luke Taylor 2009-08-27T21:45:37Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977781742 [ Listen to 64K MP3 stream ] [ Download and listen to podcast ] [ Subscribe to podcast ] This week on Grammar Grater, we’re going to examine three words that sound similar yet they have subtle . . . Thu, 20 Aug 2009 20:21:27 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977781742 Luke Taylor 2009-08-20T20:21:27Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977772596 [ Listen to 64K MP3 stream ] [ Download and listen to podcast ] [ Subscribe to podcast ] To inform the content of Grammar Grater, we consult a number of experts and seek answers from expert reference . . . Thu, 13 Aug 2009 19:18:36 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977772596 Luke Taylor 2009-08-13T19:18:36Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977756857 [ Listen to 64K MP3 stream ] [ Download and listen to podcast ] [ Subscribe to podcast ] This week, we feature some lighthearted summer fare by looking at expressions that include the word mustard . . . Thu, 30 Jul 2009 21:28:24 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977756857 Luke Taylor 2009-07-30T21:28:24Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977739482 [ Listen to 64K MP3 stream ] [ Download and listen to podcast ] [ Subscribe to podcast ] Fowler’s Modern English Usage asserts that, “Lying at the heart of the language is a tendency . . . Thu, 16 Jul 2009 20:58:49 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977739482 Luke Taylor 2009-07-16T20:58:49Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977733865 [ Listen to 64K MP3 stream ] [ Download and listen to podcast ] [ Subscribe to podcast ] This week on Grammar Grater, we're taking a moment to investigate a word that has existed for a very long . . . Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:15:41 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977733865 Luke Taylor 2009-07-10T14:15:41Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977727532 [ Listen to 64K MP3 stream ] [ Download and listen to podcast ] [ Subscribe to podcast ]   This week, we're taking a look at a pair of homophones . You may recall that homophones are . . . Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:03:02 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977727532 Luke Taylor 2009-07-02T19:03:02Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977714912 [ Listen to 64K MP3 stream ] [ Download and listen to podcast ] [ Subscribe to podcast ]   This week on Grammar Grater, we examine another pair of words that can cause confusion: amuse . . . Thu, 18 Jun 2009 19:49:36 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977714912 Luke Taylor 2009-06-18T19:49:36Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977708428 [ Listen to 64K MP3 stream ] [ Download and listen to podcast ] [ Subscribe to podcast ]   Last week, Mitzi Gramling, associate general counsel at American Public Media, joined us on the . . . Thu, 11 Jun 2009 20:31:32 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977708428 Luke Taylor 2009-06-11T20:31:32Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977702537 [ Listen to 64K MP3 stream ] [ Download and listen to podcast ] [ Subscribe to podcast ]   Perhaps this morning you put on a garment with a zip or zipper , put items into a bag that closed . . . Fri, 05 Jun 2009 18:29:48 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977702537 Luke Taylor 2009-06-05T18:29:48Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977694558 [ Listen to 64K MP3 stream ] [ Download and listen to podcast ] [ Subscribe to podcast ]   Recently, the Grammar Grater podcast had the privilege of visiting the American Copy Editors Society . . . Thu, 28 May 2009 20:32:34 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977694558 Luke Taylor 2009-05-28T20:32:34Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977688303 [ Listen to 64K MP3 stream ] [ Download and listen to podcast ] [ Subscribe to podcast ]   This week on Grammar Grater, we're looking at a tricky word that presents a confusing picture when . . . Thu, 21 May 2009 15:40:06 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977688303 Luke Taylor 2009-05-21T15:40:06Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977683362 Steve Kowit is a professor of language and literature at Southwestern College in Chula Vista, California. He's also an accomplished poet. When a friend asked him to help her remember the parts of . . . Fri, 15 May 2009 14:15:11 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977683362 Luke Taylor 2009-05-15T14:15:11Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977670433 [ Listen to 64K MP3 stream ] [ Download and listen to podcast ] [ Subscribe to podcast ]   This week's episode was inspired by a message we received from Mike, a listener in Tucson, Arizona. . . . Thu, 30 Apr 2009 19:54:45 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977670433 Luke Taylor 2009-04-30T19:54:45Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977664811 [ Listen to 64K MP3 stream ] [ Download and listen to podcast ] [ Subscribe to podcast ]   This week, we'll be looking at a number of words that frequently appear in news reporting and . . . Fri, 24 Apr 2009 13:54:53 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977664811 Luke Taylor 2009-04-24T13:54:53Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977657792 [ Listen to 64K MP3 stream ] [ Download and listen to podcast ] [ Subscribe to podcast ]   This week on Grammar Grater, we're going to look at a couple of words that can be easily confused: . . . Thu, 16 Apr 2009 16:47:02 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977657792 Luke Taylor 2009-04-16T16:47:02Z