Friday, April 25, 2014

stress on/feel stress: The Weekend Edition—Common Errors in English Usage Entry for Friday–Sunday, April 25–27, 2014

stress on/feel stress
“Stress on” is commonly misused to mean “to experience stress” as in “I’m stressing on the term paper I have to do.” Still informal, but better, is “I’m stressed about. . . .” In a more formal context you could express the same idea by saying “I’m anxious about. . . .”

It is perfectly fine, however, to say that you place stress on something, with “stress” being a noun rather than a verb.

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The Week's End Extra from the Archives: "I'd say 'minimum attention to speling,' too" (May 26, 2011).

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