Showing posts with label Rants. Show all posts

Word Police! Verbing a Noun edition  

Posted by Benjie in , , ,

Perhaps you noticed that I did the very thing I intend to gripe about in the title of this post - that is, turning a noun into a verb simply by adding the ending: -ing.

Here is the situation (and why my hackles are up about it): listening to some AM radio (they talk a lot there, and I sometimes turn over to some St. Louis stations to get more information--not about anything, just more information), the topic du jour was Manti Te'o's fake girlfriend. The two men carrying on the discussion were frothing at the mouth about how the whole story was a carrying out of a huge deception against the American (especially the sports fan) public. One of the men correctly (in usage if not in context) contended that the Notre Dame athlete was "perpetrating a fraud" while his friend agreed by saying that the young man was "frauding the American public."

When I first heard the word "fraud" used in that sense I thought that perhaps I was mistaken in my understanding of the word. After all, these men were broadcast professionals. Surely they would have a vocabulary and know how to use it. But the offense continued to niggle at me until I had to look it up. And as I suspected the word "fraud" is a noun. It denotes an act of deceit or the person who tricks another. As such the word doesn't accept the -ing ending as if the fraud is being performed at that moment or toward someone (even if it is).

But take heart! There is a verb form of the word "fraud." And that word is (drum roll please) "defraud". This handy little word is a transitive verb (meaning it has an object) that indicates the action that carries with it fraud against someone. In other words, while you cannot "fraud your neighbor," you can most certainly "defraud him".

There are a number of other nouns that we have grown fond of using as verbs simply by adding the -ing ending (I'll save the list for another time), but in a profession of communicators (in this case radio broadcasters) isn't it time we learned the correct verb form of a noun before indulging in verbification?

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Word Police  

Posted by Benjie in ,


[I thought about calling this column "Grammar Police" but it's really not grammar that holds a problem for Americans--it's how we use the words (or misuse them). Anyway, I've decided that instead of correcting every little error (which I am wont to do--but that makes people cringe and run away), I'll occasionally point out a particular peeve in the way that we speak. In this way, I get my rant out and don't offend my friends. I'll only address those issues that catch my eye (or ear) when they really hack me off. For the time being I'll leave punctuation to the puncuation police. If you would like to join in the conversation, well that's what the comment section is for. Just remember that I like to keep the place clean when making your comments. And now on to . . .]


Today's Rant: Everyday


In writing, Americans have become lazy. Take for instance the word "everyday." This is a good word. It's an adjective (that means it modifies a noun). It should be used correctly in describing an item or event:


He is wearing his everyday shirt. (There is nothing special about the shirt, it could be worn any or every day.)


or, Their everyday routine is to eat breakfast before leaving for work.


Notice that in both our examples today the word everyday explains the item or event. On the other hand I have found more and more Americans using the adjective "everyday" when they mean to say every day. The difference is that when we want to indicate a daily occurence that but are not using the adjectival rendering, we should use the two word phrase "every day."


I go to the mall every day.


She eats yogurt every day.


What a world of difference one little space can make. So when writing, dear reader, remember to add the space when you are not modifying a noun.

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The Egg on My Face Doesn't Hurt Too Much  

Posted by Benjie in ,

It's time to make an adjustment to an assessment. A day or two after I posted this, I got an email from the company. Here's a snip from customer representative Brenda R:

I apologize for the inconvenience you have experienced. I have placed an
order for a lid that you will receive within 2-3 weeks. I apologize for the
service center giving you incorrect information. The part could have been
ordered direct at any time. in fact the lid is an inexpensive part and that
is why they most likely did not wish to sell it for such a small amount.

I've received the part and will expect it to work properly for some time.

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