tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451623600799551281.comments2023-06-21T03:02:13.420-07:00Common Errors in English Usage Daily EntryUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger191125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451623600799551281.post-30670335384179124832017-09-19T10:40:45.476-07:002017-09-19T10:40:45.476-07:00Hello Peter—I had to look this up and realized onl...Hello Peter—I had to look this up and realized only then that this usage is limited mainly to North America, but it is not uncommon here for "birth" to be used as a transitive verb, especially in the context of birthing legislation or birthing an idea.Tomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07339437656346986056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451623600799551281.post-30113149267954175692017-09-16T15:06:40.293-07:002017-09-16T15:06:40.293-07:00Is "birth" a verb?Is "birth" a verb?Peter Belenkyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13689669463371579948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451623600799551281.post-24626036562595938162017-07-17T11:53:36.413-07:002017-07-17T11:53:36.413-07:00What a great question, and that is an engaging and...What a great question, and that is an engaging and interesting piece of creative prose! I commend you, 13c11a, if this is original to you.<br /><br />Around here we don't like technical terms so much, so in keeping with that I'll just say that any time you're talking about something that could never be true you use "If I were," as in "If I were you. . . . " Conversely, it's natural to say, "If I was off course, I wasn't aware of it at the time," because it's entirely possible that you might have been on or off course. <br /><br />But then it gets slippery, especially since you can't always say it's one or the other. The song goes "If I were a rich man," which is fine. I get it. Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof isn't a rich man, so the statement is not true. But is there a context for "If I was a rich man"? How about "If was a rich man then, I certainly didn't feel it at the time"? <br /><br />Or how about if Tevye had just plain sung it, "If I was a rich man," with all of his life circumstances just as they are? Would that be so wildly out of bounds? No, not really, because in modern usage the "were" is not required in every case that it could be used. I'd argue no one would bat an eye at "If I was a rich man, all day long I'd biddy biddy bum, if I was a wealthy man." <br /><br />Certainly in creative prose you can let your ear guide you somewhat. In my opinion, "It's as though he was" would read better than "It's as though he were" in your passage. I could even argue it is more correct because it strengthens the metaphor of nurse/cop and patient/suspect. That is, if you go with the idea that "If I were" is for cases that are impossible and "If I was" is for cases that may or may not have been possible in the past, you can nudge your metaphor toward the latter interpretation and make the poetic declaration of "He was a cop, and I was his suspect" simply by choosing "was" over "were." <br /><br />If you do want the technical term, you call this the subjunctive mood, and a good discussion of the point is here: https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/660/when-to-use-if-i-was-vs-if-i-were.<br /><br />Hope this is useful!Tomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07339437656346986056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451623600799551281.post-17795636051001499822017-07-16T16:08:10.952-07:002017-07-16T16:08:10.952-07:00Question please: was or were?
In the piece below,...Question please: was or were?<br /><br />In the piece below, which is correct--was or were--and why? Thank you very much.<br /><br />He repeated that he would neither have the IV removed nor let me go. He went on to explain that he could not discharge me because I was in serious condition. I argued that I couldn’t have been lawfully admitted and that I was going to leave. He explained that he admitted me as an emergency and that I was far too ill to leave. I explained that I had two twenty year old cats at home who were expecting me to return on time to feed them. He was a broken record: he would not allow me to leave. I thought this strange because he was half my age. I don’t know why I thought that mattered. It was as though he was/were wearing a badge and I had been pulled over.<br /><br /><br />Happy Cookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02743786415090175681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451623600799551281.post-26054421315585183372017-01-11T01:44:58.634-08:002017-01-11T01:44:58.634-08:00regardless and irregardlessregardless and irregardlessEnrique J Elizondohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00508671692419780689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451623600799551281.post-76530540078095504162017-01-11T01:43:21.501-08:002017-01-11T01:43:21.501-08:00How about blitheHow about blitheEnrique J Elizondohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00508671692419780689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451623600799551281.post-26619702605523516702016-08-22T15:53:35.463-07:002016-08-22T15:53:35.463-07:00Nice try, nomulous, but no cigar. Overexaggerate i...Nice try, nomulous, but no cigar. Overexaggerate is not a word. This sounds like the lowbrow attempt by some to push "misunderestimate" as a word. You either exaggerate a point or you don't. You can't over or under exaggerate something.Randall P. McMurphyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15932659957755989333noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451623600799551281.post-3405076029218241742016-08-22T06:26:06.365-07:002016-08-22T06:26:06.365-07:00Actually, the word "very" is meaningless...Actually, the word "very" is meaningless, as are the words near, nearly, approximate, almost, far, few, little, . . . .<br /><br />I mean, what is the diff between good and very good?FRANK IN SALEMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13553905148103629682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451623600799551281.post-56714979997000122432016-04-13T22:33:10.826-07:002016-04-13T22:33:10.826-07:00This is an example of genericized trademark like K...This is an example of genericized trademark like Kleenex or Velcro. Another technology related one is "Photoshop".Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03713731010958516241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451623600799551281.post-60679611354647531732016-03-11T19:19:21.062-08:002016-03-11T19:19:21.062-08:00Although I object to this term's common omissi...Although I object to this term's common omission, with insistence toward its necessity, I relent that in some cases, it could be substituted by the term "thereafter", with the mere (perhaps insufficient) 'implication' that the discussed event or action would continue to occur.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16837809275654784780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451623600799551281.post-65623585627849807092016-03-11T19:12:11.427-08:002016-03-11T19:12:11.427-08:00Ongoingly is certainly the correct usage of the te...Ongoingly is certainly the correct usage of the term, when one wishes to convey a prospective continuation of a defined task - just for example...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16837809275654784780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451623600799551281.post-22238088095107323882016-01-27T11:25:19.210-08:002016-01-27T11:25:19.210-08:00This is one of those errors that has to do with na...This is one of those errors that has to do with natural language evolution. "Standard" is what's commonly used, not a blessed committee somewhere. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451623600799551281.post-28762106370819115642015-11-29T09:54:26.675-08:002015-11-29T09:54:26.675-08:00Think of rap as a latter day version of Gregorian ...Think of rap as a latter day version of Gregorian chant, except more incoherent.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16201641975270909449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451623600799551281.post-48567981647083256582015-11-29T06:24:24.205-08:002015-11-29T06:24:24.205-08:00"Tune" and "melody" are other ...<br />"Tune" and "melody" are other handy terms for describing instrumental music. I direct a youth fiddle group where I often have to gently correct the kids (and their parents) when they refer to the pieces from their repertoire as "songs," explaining that songs have WORDS. (Which are, in turn, set to a melody... which differentiates them from poetry... or rap, which to me doesn't really constitute music at all). Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12956065161147146333noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451623600799551281.post-5716692615497952322015-11-28T08:52:28.322-08:002015-11-28T08:52:28.322-08:00Good.Good.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16201641975270909449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451623600799551281.post-1506734681986720152015-11-01T02:05:56.708-08:002015-11-01T02:05:56.708-08:00thank youthank youAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10858613073997489564noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451623600799551281.post-56052177764273659832015-10-09T04:19:34.736-07:002015-10-09T04:19:34.736-07:00I just found your site, thank you! very interested...I just found your site, thank you! very interested. I hope to get better at writing. I just started a new blog. simplestepslifestyle.comsimplestepslifestyle.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17608350777423498436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451623600799551281.post-64191487869847265502015-10-09T04:17:06.910-07:002015-10-09T04:17:06.910-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.simplestepslifestyle.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17608350777423498436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451623600799551281.post-18638752072891638302015-09-16T04:17:31.795-07:002015-09-16T04:17:31.795-07:00As a Christian writer, I shutter at the thought of...As a Christian writer, I shutter at the thought of exchanging these two words. ;) truthtoshine.blogspot.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05911184699045569514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451623600799551281.post-13631098243913703752015-09-02T18:58:23.668-07:002015-09-02T18:58:23.668-07:00I agree. A common mistake by myself too. And I'...I agree. A common mistake by myself too. And I'm sure I had to write it out 6 times that way in primary school - albeit the 1970'sThommo2themountainshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12510675562805356576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451623600799551281.post-85387433897821559932015-08-13T11:44:37.284-07:002015-08-13T11:44:37.284-07:00Isn't that backwards? Don't you mean &quo...Isn't that backwards? Don't you mean "mispronounce “specific.” as “Pacific”? I have heard people say "I'm looking for a "pacific" book", but I have never heard anyone say "We went to the "Specific" ocean. MaraGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02675518710544175497noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451623600799551281.post-68716456750313882982015-08-05T08:25:23.209-07:002015-08-05T08:25:23.209-07:00 peerless peerlessAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10680256677266880740noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451623600799551281.post-9425320677266428802015-05-29T04:19:18.626-07:002015-05-29T04:19:18.626-07:00Not sure... if it is actually wrong :( In India, o...Not sure... if it is actually wrong :( In India, our teachers earlier used to stress on Pens with fluid ink as INK PENS. This was done to distinguish them from the BALL POINT PEN, with paste like ink that often smudges and hampers the writing style! <br /><br />The ink pens were always considered holier than the ball point pen!Ramjeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09794657293450252176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451623600799551281.post-72482833293623231672015-05-27T07:23:58.572-07:002015-05-27T07:23:58.572-07:00Wouldn't the British spelling support the misp...Wouldn't the British spelling support the mispronunciation?Krissy K.https://www.blogger.com/profile/10897287326909387131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2451623600799551281.post-68626810115846305262015-04-22T04:03:09.322-07:002015-04-22T04:03:09.322-07:00Happy Earth Day. In 1970, I was a fledging college...Happy Earth Day. In 1970, I was a fledging college student [non-traditional at 28 yrs.], and a registered Girl Scout leader (I'm male!). My troop and I took part in the first Earth Day Walkathon, raising some $2,000 for a local nature center. In 1970, $2K was a "chunk of change." Have never stopped being a nature nut since! Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04615188271838426469noreply@blogger.com