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Misuse of 'Frequent' is Frequent
Q: Does "frequented" imply often? I have heard "they occasionally frequented" and even "they rarely frequented." Is that possible? — David Markowitz, West Hartford, Conn.
A: What's next? "They rarely …Read more.
'Whom' is Where the Heart is
The "who/whom" dilemma is the health care debate of grammar. The issues involved are so complicated and convoluted that no one really understands them.
That's why the late William Safire threw up his hands in 1992 and advocated a kind of …Read more.
Why Are These Sentences Loony?
What's wrong with these sentences?
1. Like the duck, the loon's nest is built near the shore.
2. The loon is a Bow Lake resident, on which several other loons live.
3. The baby loon is four times smaller than its mother.
That's right; they're loony …Read more.
Phrase Origins Served Piping Hot
Mel Kopel of Windsor, Conn., writes to ask why food is served "piping hot" and a car fresh from the showroom floor is "spanking new" (as opposed to the "clanking old" clunker you traded in for it).
You could conjure up …Read more.
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How to Avoid a Splitting HeadacheQ: Is it technically correct to say, "This will allow us to better serve you," rather than "This will allow us to serve you better"? — Joyce Nunge, Charlottesville, Va. A: Ah, the split infinitive question. Perhaps no other grammatical issue incites more righteous indignation, most of it unjustified. Just what is a split infinitive? An infinitive is the tenseless form of a verb preceded by "to," as in "to go" or "to eat." Splitting an infinitive is placing an adverb or adverb phrase between the "to" and the "verb," as in "to quietly go" or "to joyfully eat." The split infinitive was cruising along very happily in English, thank you, until the late 1800s. That's when classically-minded grammarians decreed that, because infinitive forms of Latin verbs couldn't be split, English infinitives shouldn't be split either. Soon teachers and editors were indoctrinating students and writers with this pedantic prohibition. As a young English teacher during the 1970s, for instance, I regularly scolded my students for using split infinitives. The prohibition on split infinitives does have three seductive charms: 1. It's a simple rule that everyone can understand. 2. It's sometimes valid. 3. It has a catchy name. To amplify on No. 2, splitting an infinitive is sometimes unwise because doing so buries the all-important adverb. But in many cases, a split infinitive sounds smoother and more rhythmic than an unsplit one. The classic example of a justified split is found in the phrase from the "Star Trek" TV series: "To boldly go where no man has gone before." "To go boldly" would sound stilted. Similarly, "This will allow us to better serve you" sounds more natural than "to serve you better," especially because the unsplit version places "better" in the spot where a direct object might be found, as in "This will allow us to serve you butter." And sometimes an unsplit infinitive can lead to ambiguity. In the sentence, "This will allow us better to serve you," for instance, "better" could modify the verb "allow," which changes the meaning of the sentence. So, feel free to split an infinitive when doing so prevents awkwardness or ambiguity. This will allow you to better serve your reader. Rob Kyff, a teacher and writer in West Hartford, Conn., invites your language sightings. Send your reports of misuse and abuse, as well as examples of good writing, via e-mail to Wordguy@aol.com or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 5777 W. Century Blvd., Suite 700, Los Angeles, CA 90045. To find out more about Rob Kyff and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2009 CREATORS.COM
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