I’ll take a break from talking about the jobs I’ve held to talking about a subject I love – the English language. I really enjoy reading things that are well-written, and listening to people who are well-spoken. Stephen Lewis is a favourite of mine. What a treat he is to listen to. Did you notice I just ended a sentence with a preposition? When I was in high school, my English teacher taught us to never do that. She made the point by saying, tongue-in-cheek, “A preposition is something you never end a sentence with”.
Over time I’ve adjusted to many changes in our use of language. Ending a sentence with a preposition is one of those changes. After all, language is dynamic, always changing, right? One just has to read Chaucer and Shakespeare to be reminded of that.
Nonetheless, as I read and listen I find I’m constantly editing. And it’s not only the obvious mistakes. For example, one of my pet peeves (and I can tell you I’m losing this battle), is the use of the phrase “try and find”. “I’m going to try and find my keys.” The correct phrase is “try to find”. An example of the correct use of the word ‘and’ is “shot and killed”. Each action has to be able to stand on its own, in order to correctly link them with ‘and’.
Another error that makes me cringe is the incorrect use of the words ‘fewer’ and ‘less’. At the checkout stand, “8 items or less” is incorrect. ‘Fewer’ is the correct word to use with any countable noun. “She makes fewer errors now.” “He has fewer friends.”
Use ‘fewer’ when the noun is countable, such as “I eat fewer apples than I used to”. Use “less” when the noun is uncountable, such as “I eat less fruit than I used to”.
And then there’s the important distinction between the words ‘number’ and ‘amount’. But, enough!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGWiTvYZR_w&feature=email (Thanks, Judy!)
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