Tips & Tricks Travel: Where to Find the Best Airline Deals

Booking airfare can be a tricky business. Fares can change by hundreds of dollars in a matter of hours, and with so many booking options it’s hard to know where to start. While calling an individual airline or going directly to their website are certainly options, this approach will limit your options of finding the best deal. The best way to begin is to access a website that pulls airfare directly from multiple airlines. A few to check out are:

• Bing Travel - http://www.bing.com/travel/
  Bing pulls ticket prices from multiple major airlines and has a very user friendly interface. It also offers Farecast technology which utilizes past fare pricing data to predict if the fare is likely to go up or down.
• Expedia - http://www.expedia.com/default.asp
  Expedia is a well-known interface that pulls information from most major airlines and is commonly used by businesses for their travel needs. Should you need assistance, their customer service is almost always prompt and helpful.
• Booking Buddy - http://www.bookingbuddy.com/
  Unlike the other two sites, Booking Buddy pulls from the major travel sites like Expedia, Hotwire, Travelocity, etc. You can access more information this way, but it can be less user-friendly.

Things to note:

• Mondays and Fridays are popular with business travel and often result in higher fares. Changing your travel dates by just a day can sometimes save you a bundle.
• Southwest Airlines (http://www.southwest.com/) often has great deals but their information isn’t pulled by other websites. It’s a good idea to check their website before committing to another flight.
• Priceline (http://www.priceline.com/) can save you money on airfare but is definitely a gamble. You enter your travel cities and dates and name the price you want to pay but once you submit this information, you’re committed to buying the ticket if your bid is accepted. You also don’t have control of the flight times or stops. If you’re a leisure traveler who just wants to get to your end point, this can be a great option.

Whichever route you choose, the most important thing to remember is that shopping around pays off. It’s easier to head straight for your favorite airline’s website but you never know where a great deal may be waiting. Best of luck and safe travels!

Due to vs. Because of

The use of due to and because of is a common source of confusion (or perhaps you’re like me and hadn’t given it much thought before).

Did you have trouble getting to work due to the weather or because of the weather?

Here’s the scoop:

• Due to modifies nouns
• Because of modifies verbs

So what’s the correct answer? You had trouble getting to work because of the weather. Getting is the word being modified, and getting is a verb.

*Hint: After the verb to be (and forms of it including is, was, were, are), because of is usually the correct choice.

Other examples:

• Anna was late for her appointment because of a flight delay. (Modified: late.)
• Anna’s tardiness was due to a flight delay. (Modified: delay. Also, notice the verb “was.”)
  
  
• The roads were slick because of the snow. (Modified: were.)
• The slickness of the roads was due to the snow. (Modified: snow. Also, notice the verb “was.”)

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Making Sure Pronouns Agree in Number

This week’s grammar tip is to make sure that your pronouns agree in number.

First, let’s review what a pronoun is. A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun (a person, place or thing). For example, “he” would be a pronoun for Catherine’s brother “John.”

Since a pronoun should be able to stand for the noun that precedes it, the pronoun and the noun should agree in number. If the noun is plural, the pronoun should be plural. If the noun is singular, the pronoun should be singular.

In casual speech, pronoun usage when it comes to number agreement is often incorrect. For example:

If anyone wants to claim this ticket, they have to visit my desk now.

A grammatically correct way to word this sentence (even though it may sound a little awkward) would be:

If anyone wants to claim this ticket, he or she has to visit my desk now.

“Anyone” refers to ONE person, not several; therefore the pronoun must also refer to ONE person.

Nouns that you should be careful pairing with pronouns include anyone, nobody and everyone, because they are singular. It might feel natural to pair these words with plural pronouns like their or they, but this is incorrect!

More examples:

Incorrect: My neighbor always leaves their cat outside on my lawn.
Correct: My neighbor always leaves her cat outside on my lawn. (Let's assume that I know my neighbor is a she.)

Incorrect: If a student takes the exam on Friday, they’ll have to wait until Wednesday to receive the grade.
Correct: If a student takes the exam on Friday, he or she will have to wait until Wednesday to receive the grade.

However Joined

In our November 3rd Tips & Tricks post, we discussed “Run-on Sentences.” One of the ways discussed to properly join two sentences was “Inserting a comma and then a conjunction (and, but, or, yet, for, nor or so).” One of the grammatical mistakes I’ve seen lately has been the use of however as a conjunction.

To join two sentences together you need to use a conjunction (and, but, or, yet, for, nor or so); however, it is a common error to use the word however. However is not a conjunction: it is an adverb. Here are several quick tips to help you tidy up your use of however.

One way is to use a conjunction instead of however:

• Incorrect: The weather outside is frightful, however the fire is so delightful.
• Correct: The weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful.

The conjunctions but and yet work well in places you would likely use however to join two sentences.

If you are set on using the word however in the middle of the sentence, another tip is to use a semi-colon and a comma. The semi-colon does the work of a conjunction, joining two independent clauses. Place a semi-colon before however and a comma after it:

• Correct: The weather outside is frightful; however, the fire is so delightful.

The third tip is to put however at the beginning of the sentence (don’t forget to put that comma after it):

• Correct: The weather outside is frightful. However, the fire is so delightful.

Don’t fall victim to misusing however. However is an adverb and by itself cannot be used as a conjunction. The quick fixes are to either replace however with a conjunction (but or yet work best); use a semi-colon before however and a comma after; or place however at the beginning of a sentence.

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Lose vs. Loose

Lose and loose are two words that are often misused in place of one another. Perhaps the source of confusion is that lose is a verb and loose, while sometimes an adjective, can also be a verb.

Let’s examine the differences between them.

Lose is a verb. A few common definitions are:

• to come to be without (something in one's possession or care), through accident, theft, etc., so that there is little or no prospect of recovery.
• to suffer the deprivation of.
• to fail to win (a prize, stake, etc.).

Examples of the correct usage of lose:

• Allie didn’t want to lose her place in line.
• Carmen lost her mother in a car accident in 1997.
• Sharon knew that her basketball team was going to lose the tournament on Saturday.

Loose can be an adjective or a verb.

Some common definitions of the adjective loose are:

• free or released from fastening or attachment.
• free from anything that binds or restrains.
• not put up in a package or other container.
• not firm, taut, or rigid.

Examples of the correct usage of the adjective loose are:

• The eggs in the “local farms” area of the supermarket are loose; I pick which ones I want and later place them in a carton.
• The bolt on the wheel was loose; I was afraid the wheel would come off the bike.

Some common definitions of the verb loose are:

• to let loose; free from bonds or restraint.
• to release, as from constraint, obligation, or penalty.
• to unfasten, undo, or untie, as a bond, fetter, or knot.
• to make less tight; slacken or relax.

Examples of the correct usage of the verb loose are:

• On Saturday, Jenn let the parrot loose from the aviary.
• My dad loosened the bolt on my bicycle wheel to fix it.

Quick quiz (answers are below — don’t look ahead!):

1. After ____________ (-ing form) a good amount of weight, John found that his pants were ____________.
2. The doves were set ___________ on a sunny day.
3. You’re going to ___________ in this situation unless you tell him the truth.
4. I don’t want to ____________ you as a colleague.
5. He left the screw too ____________, so the frame fell off the wall.

Answers:

1. losing, loose
2. loose
3. lose
4. lose
5. loose

Thanks to www.dictionary.com for the above definitions.