12-19-2008 'HOPEFULLY' A NEWSPAPER/ BLOGGER GRAMMAR WAR It all started relatively harmlessly with a reader complaining to our buddy Readers' Representative Derek Donovan about the paper's use of the word "Hopefully." "One reader this morning objects to what's obviously a nit -- but one that gets into print in The Star and elsewhere all the time," wrote Donovan. "In FYI's "2009: Year of the Do-Over," several events are listed under the heading, "Hopefully, in 2009." The reader doesn't think that's an appropriate usage of "hopefully," which strictly means "in a hopeful manner." That led our friends at the State of the Line site to post an article about it: "Star ombudsman Derek Donovan has gotten a lot of virtual ink around these parts for his various responses to reader queries and complaints. (Oh, and for his notorious fear of the interwebs.) Today, though, Derek takes on an entirely different kind of challenge: the usage wars of modern English. (Link to rest of article)
While we have no intention of wading into this grammar urinating contest, we would like to hear from loyal readers about their grammatical hang-ups. Our favorite? Well, let's just say that we would die happy if sports folks (see Kevin Kietzman at WHB-810) would just stop saying "Chomping at the bit" about a player/team/animal that just can't wait to get started. The correct term is "CHAMPING at the bit." Go ahead, look it up. Our second favorite? The term "first annual." Unless you have a second event you cannot call the first one "annual." It might be the first of what you hope will become an annual event, but there is no such thing as a "first annual." Send us your favorite mistakes to [email protected]. We'll use your name if you want. Or not.
12-19-2008 "I'm sick (but strangely not tired) of "literally" used incorrectly and also the slang word "lots" meant a vast quantity. I think lots are pieces of land. "On the broadcast side, there are many mistakes made. One I hear over and over is "...Chiefs play out in Denver." Are they in or out?" ---Jack Goodrich
"Another Kietzmanism that really really really drives me crazy is how he thinks that using really a lot means that it is really really really important." Signed....An 810 Fan
12-20-2008 "I love a good urinating contest, especially about language, the great, communal work to which we all contribute, for better or worse. And I've got almost as many pet grammar peeves as Tony Botello has girly pictures. The incorrect use of "hopefully" is high on the list, maybe at the very top. A few others that come to mind: "The mixing of singular nouns and plural modifiers, like this lede in a post on Tonyskansascity.com: "I hear that Kansas City's Black Chamber of Commerce [singular] can't keep their [plural] lights on." Not to pick on poor oppressed Tony; I just happened stumble on this example of a grammatical lapse a few minutes ago. This grammatical mistake has become so common, I'm sure it will complete acceptable in the future and even taught in school as correct. But not, I hope, in my lifetime. A more common example of the same lapse, from a school newsletter: "If your child [singular] plans to go on the field trip, make sure they [plural] have turned in a permission slip." The grammatically correct "his permission slip" would, of course, be considered sexist and so highly offensive, politically. I guess the equally correct "his or her permission slip" is too clumsy. "The use of the word "no" instead of "not" in the a sentence like: "Do the Chiefs suck as badly as the Royals, or no?" "The use of the phrases "on accident" and "by a reason" instead of "on purpose" and "by accident." E.g., "Did Stan Reimer push his handicapped wife off the balcony of their apartment on accident or by a reason?"
12-22-2008 "Impact is not a verb. You do not impact something or are impacted by something. This has become acceptable through usage and is something that has had an impact on me. Two correct usageds of impacted is when referring to teeth or bowels." --Malcom Haney
12-30-2008
"I have heard the clich�, "When it comes to..." way too much lately. TV broadcasters are particularly bad at this. Also, the use of "over" instead of the correct "more than" is another pet peeve of mine. "I enjoy your site. Thanks for what you do." ----Lisa Horn
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