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Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing

791 - 'Although' Versus 'While.' Why We Write with Cliches (and How to Stop)

Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing

Mignon Fogarty, Inc.

Society & Culture, Education

4.52.9K Ratings

🗓️ 1 October 2020

⏱️ 12 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

What happens when I discover that my pet peeve is wrong? Also, why do we write with cliches? Should we stop, and if so, how? Read the transcript: Although. Cliches. Use the hashtag #WhereIListen and tag me to show me where you listen to the Grammar Girl podcast. Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates. Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing course. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Grammar Pop iOS game. Peeve Wars card game. Grammar Girl books. HOST: Mignon Fogarty VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475) Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network. Links: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/ https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe http://twitter.com/grammargirl http://facebook.com/grammargirl http://pinterest.com/realgrammargirl http://instagram.com/thegrammargirl https://www.linkedin.com/company/grammar-girl

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

I'm a young phoagody and you can think of me as your friendly guide to the English language.

0:11.0

We talk about writing, history, rules, and cool stuff.

0:15.0

Today I have a segment about the difference between the words although and while and a segment

0:20.1

about how to write with cliches.

0:24.8

I often have to tell people that their pet peeves aren't actually hard in fast grammar

0:29.6

rules.

0:30.6

I have to tell people it's okay to split infinitives and that in some cases it's

0:34.8

fine to end a sentence with a preposition or to use the word between when you're choosing

0:39.8

among more than two items.

0:42.3

I know it's upsetting to learn your nearest and dearest beliefs are wrong.

0:47.2

So this week I'm going to talk about my own mistaken peeve.

0:51.3

That bothers me no end when people use while to mean although.

0:57.2

But no matter how hard I looked I couldn't convince myself that I'm right.

1:02.2

You see I think although means in spite of the fact that as in although Sir Freigelot

1:08.0

is tall, squiggly an art vark consider him an equal.

1:12.6

Although is what's called a concessive conjunction meaning that it's used to express a concession.

1:19.3

On the other hand I believe while should be reserved to mean at the same time.

1:25.4

It should have a temporal sense as in while squiggly gathered wood, art vark hid the

1:30.6

maracas.

1:32.5

At first I was sure I was right because in his book Usage and Abusage Eric Partridge said

1:37.9

that while for although is a perverted use of the correct sense of while which properly

1:43.6

means at the same time.

...

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