I hesitate to post anything so controversial as this, but it's a triumph of usage over rules.
Alicia
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7 comments:
Never!
I will go to the barricades against 'alright' or using 'impact' as a verb. I will cheer every time I read affect and effect used correctly.
Sigh. All those years of pounding correct English into the offspring - please don't tell my children about this.
ABE
It's very scary when we look to the newspapers for proper grammar, punctuation, and usage. They're notorious for being badly written and edited.
What's next - irregardless?
Ugh, I hate "impact" as a verb, too. It's one of those business-speak bits of jargon that makes me cringe, right up there with utilize, paradigm, and damned near every other B-school buzzword.
Hopefully, though -- that one, I think I can live with.
Theresa
Oh, NO!!!! but it's terrible grammar. I have, in my old age, forced myself to be more fliexible with grammar. Hopefully, I won't have to use that.
What's wrong with utilize? I ask this sincerely. The dictionary I consulted indicated the verb has been used since 1800.
Anon, I agree-- but my mother-in-law the city editor will get mad at me. :)
"Alright" drives me NUTS. I mean, really, how much more space does the L take?
"impact" as a verb gets me... but I can't think of a good substitute. "affect" is too mild. Other verbs?
A
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