A few weeks ago, I wrote about mangled grammar and misused words. Grammarians turned out in strength to provide their own examples of misplaced modifiers and annoying phrases and to share how they are just ticked off by those who abuse the English language.
One of the more intriguing messages came from a Chicago lawyer who recalled when he was a young, summer associate at a firm handling a $50 million case. He believed the case hinged on the construction of one overlooked sentence buried in a 50-page contract.
First, he had to persuade his skeptical boss to let him argue the language issue. Then he challenged a panel of Illinois Supreme Court justices to recall their grammar school skills and diagram “a very complex, compound, run-on sentence.”
They took the bait.
“The court held that the phrase that everybody in the case thought modified ‘A’ actually modified ‘B,’ so we won.”
Most language questions won’t win $50 million judgments, but concerns about grammar and usage do touch readers’ daily lives.
Another lawyer, Peter Carusona, also a part-time teacher, urges his students in a legal writing class “not to use the phrases ‘in fact’ and ‘the fact of the matter is.’ These phrases are spoken and written every day. However, what follows is usually an opinion.”
Reader Bill Hahn mentioned that he’s mostly just amused at the misuse of the language. He recalled being tickled by the wording on an ad that read: “wanted cashier, part time female.”
Mary Shen Barnidge asked why the review of a play described a character rendered justice as “just desserts” when the correct phrase is “just deserts.” She also sees in print that someone or something is “given a tight reign” when the correct word is “rein” (as in reining in a horse).
From reader Linda Wallace: “My question is, when did the word ‘iterate’ become ‘reiterate’? Wait … should there be a comma after ‘is’?”
Here’s what other readers had to say:
A very ugly phrase has entered our language: “you know.” A vast majority of radio and television dialogues are routinely sprinkled with “you know,” over and over again. It certainly is annoying to hear someone tell you that you know something before it is explained.
Fred W. Small
Saugatuck, Mich.
Our experience is that the No. 1 grammar problem is the misuse of personal pronouns, e.g., “He is older than me.” Poor grammar of this nature is used so often that when we use proper grammar, “He is older than I,” people look at us as if we are from another planet. The improper use has become the norm and the proper use is viewed as being incorrect. … The second most common mistake may be the unwarranted inclusion of the word “got” after the word “have,” e.g., “We have got to fix Social Security.” “We have to fix Social Security” is what my own 6th grade teacher would have admonished me if I had made that first statement.
Rich and Mary MacMillan
Shorewood, Ill.
One additional example that I’d like to see treated is the growing use of “for free,” as in “Try a sample of our product for free.” This is nonsense. Besides being poor grammar (an adjective following a preposition), the word “free” is superfluous.
Bob Coates
My pet peeve is the lie/lay confusion and verbal sentences beginning with him/her. I’ve almost concluded that there are so few of us who use lie/lay correctly that soon lay will be used universally and be accepted as standard English. And don’t even get me started on when to use its or it’s.
Alice Peppler
Chicago
I would like to call your attention to “You’re welcome.” Nine out of 10 times, when I tell someone “Thank you” the response will be “No problem.” It’s driving me crazy. “You’re welcome” has disappeared!
Ladd L. Lee,
Chicago
A subheadline in the Tribune read “Iraq bombings’ toll reaches 250.” Frankly, I do not believe that the word “bombings” can be possessive, in which case the subheadline should not have included the apostrophe.
Richard D. De Freeuw
Flossmoor
The word “by” has been creeping into our language in places it doesn’t seem to belong. Even weather men/women on radio and television have advised that “it will be cooler by the lake” … and “Come by my house and whistle me out.”
Karen Gavin
