The wonders of the 'a-' prefix in English. 'Personal' versus 'personnel.'

The wonders of the 'a-' prefix in English. 'Personal' versus 'personnel.'

942. We’re diving deep into the chameleon-like nature of the "a-" prefix, tracing its journey from Latin, where it often started out as "ad-," to its function as a preposition in French, and its transformative role in Greek that gifts English words like "atypical" and "asymmetrical." You'll be wowed by the versatility of the seemingly humble "a-" prefix as we unveil its covert presence in words like "atom" and its power in creating modern English words like "asexual."

Then, we explore the difference between the words "personal" and "personnel" and give you a tip for getting the spelling right every time.

The "a-" prefix segment was by Kirk Hazen, a data scientist at CVS Health and a linguist at West Virginia University. He is the author of Introduction to Language (Wiley) and can be found on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirk-hazen-phd/

| Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/personnel/transcript

| Preorder "The Grammar Daily"

| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.

| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.

| Peeve Wars card game.

| Grammar Girl books.

| HOST: Mignon Fogarty

| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475) or https://sayhi.chat/grammargirl

| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.

  • Audio Engineer: Nathan Semes
  • Director of Podcasts: Adam Cecil
  • Advertising Operations Specialist: Morgan Christianson
  • Marketing Associate: Davina Tomlin
  • Digital Operations Specialist: Holly Hutchings

| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.

| Grammar Girl Social Media Links: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episoder(1013)

'Bring,' 'Take,' and 'Carry.' 'The Queen's Gambit.' Sweepy Thing.

'Bring,' 'Take,' and 'Carry.' 'The Queen's Gambit.' Sweepy Thing.

We go through the simple rules for "bring" and "take," but then talk about the fun exceptions and dialect forms. Plus, how "The Queen's Gambit" can help us remember the difference between "gambit" and...

20 Mai 202115min

Writing Dialogue. 'Associate Degree' or 'Associate's Degree'? Wiffy.

Writing Dialogue. 'Associate Degree' or 'Associate's Degree'? Wiffy.

Is that dialogue feeling off? We're here to help! Plus, how to write about degrees this graduation season.Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates. Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.Joi...

13 Mai 202113min

'Ketchup' or 'Catsup'? How to Punctuate Questions. Gmoing Gmoing.

'Ketchup' or 'Catsup'? How to Punctuate Questions. Gmoing Gmoing.

Have you seen the tomato sauce spelled two different ways? "Ketchup" is the better spelling, but the history of the word is pretty interesting. We also look at how to punctuate questions, especially t...

6 Mai 202113min

What Does ‘Op-Ed’ Really Mean? The Perfect Paragraph Length. Items.

What Does ‘Op-Ed’ Really Mean? The Perfect Paragraph Length. Items.

"Op-ed" may not mean what you think it means. Then we discuss how long a paragraph should be.Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates. Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course.Join the convers...

29 Apr 202111min

The Intrusive "Of." What Makes English Weird.

The Intrusive "Of." What Makes English Weird.

We talk about the difference between "a prince of a fellow" and "not too good of a time," and then we look at two things that make English especially weird.Subscribe to the newsletter for regular upda...

22 Apr 202114min

How to Write Faster. The Origin of the Odd Letter W

How to Write Faster. The Origin of the Odd Letter W

12 practical tips and tools that will help you write faster in the time you already have. Also, we explore why we call a letter that looks like two V's a "double U."Subscribe to the newsletter for reg...

15 Apr 202114min

'Borrow' and 'Lend.' When to Use 'Nor.' Boncho.

'Borrow' and 'Lend.' When to Use 'Nor.' Boncho.

We use a children's book and a Shakespeare play to talk about "borrow" and "lend," and then we help with the complexities of using "neither" and "nor."Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates. ...

8 Apr 202111min

Squirrelly Animal Verbs. 'People,' 'Peoples,' and 'Persons': Why It Matters.

Squirrelly Animal Verbs. 'People,' 'Peoples,' and 'Persons': Why It Matters.

8.17 To hog, to ram, to bird dog. We run through a fun list of animal-inspired verbs. Plus, amazingly, it wasn't that long ago that usage experts recommended "persons" instead of "people." And what's ...

1 Apr 202110min

Populært innen Fakta

mikkels-paskenotter
fastlegen
dine-penger-pengeradet
relasjonspodden-med-dora-thorhallsdottir-kjersti-idem
foreldreradet
treningspodden
rss-strid-de-norske-borgerkrigene
rss-bisarr-historie
jakt-og-fiskepodden
hverdagspsyken
sinnsyn
tomprat-med-gunnar-tjomlid
fryktlos
level-up-med-anniken-binz
gravid-uke-for-uke
rss-kunsten-a-leve
rss-kull
takk-og-lov-med-anine-kierulf
hagespiren-podcast
uroskolen