Published on September 29, 2004 By citahellion In Misc
Here is the third in my very occasional series of ways people write that really bother me. Today we are focusing on misused phrases.

1) Should of (and could of, would of, etc.), or "Brother, can you help a verb?"

I mostly see this hideous abomination from the younger crowd. Apparently grammar is no longer a requirement in today's elementary schools, or they would have learned that "of" is NOT A VERB, DAMMIT! It's "have". As in "I have used a helping verb correctly." Only in this case, it's "I should have used a helping verb instead of a preposition."

2) for all intensive purposes, or "Don't be like Achilles, sulking in his tense"
What the heck do people think this actually means, anyway? Just try to make sense of it in context. Why do only the intense purposes matter? What if you have a bland purpose, does that negate this qualification? No. It's "for all INTENTS and PURPOSES"; in other words, it means "regardless of what was intended."

3) free reign or reign in, or "Don't reign on my parade"

Okay, the first one, while wrong, at least makes a tiny modicum of sense. But in both cases, the correct word is "rein", as in that thing you use to control a horse. Giving "free rein" means "to turn loose," to let the horse (or other being) go wherever it wants. And when you "rein in" someone, you are bringing them back under your control.

Comments
on Sep 29, 2004
Very nice! I don't think I've set you off on any of these - although, I think I remember that single dash thing being in one of your other posts on this topic... BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
on Sep 29, 2004
Bless you, citahellion . . . will you cover "then" and "than" soon?
on Sep 29, 2004
I am sure I have ruined the English language 100 times in my writing... but I have to put my 2 cents in.... When people say Anyways.... it is Anyway. No S.
on Sep 30, 2004
Chip, while I don't like seeing " - " as a substitute for "--", I undertstand that most people are simply too uneducated or too lackadaisical to make the miniscule effort to get it right. (Which is actually less effort than it takes to get it wrong, since it's only two keystrokes instead of three....)

Tex, I considered including that in this article, but I decided to stick with phrases this time out. It is definitely something that I find obnoxious when I see it, though. Next time, I promise.

Janders, you've found one that doesn't bother me. It's just a temporizing word most of the time.
on Sep 30, 2004

citahellion, i have always had a problem with the expression "all things being equal" ... what can this possibly mean ???.


i also go nuts over the use of the word 'real' instead of 'very' ... as in "we had a real good time" arrrrrrrrggghhh !.


i loved this. please clone yourself .


mig XXX

on Sep 30, 2004
I have a few bad habits of my own. *g*

Still, I can't stand it when people use the phrase, "All in all..."

on Sep 30, 2004
I have always had a problem with the expression "all things being equal" ... what can this possibly mean ???


Well, mig, it's poorly expressed, but it is intended to convey that the next factor is being considered in isolation. It really should be something like "Everything else being equal."

Ravenblack, would "overall" be a suitable replacement for "all in all"?
on Sep 30, 2004
Don't even start on the difference between effect and affect!

Paul.
on Sep 30, 2004
Ah, great read. While I am quite positive I have used improper grammar more than I would like to admit, I don't think I have fallen into one of those specific pitfalls. Good heads up. I look forward to more citahellion.
on Sep 30, 2004
Don't even start on the difference between effect and affect!


Too late! Covered that already in my second grammar article. (see item #2 here)
on Sep 30, 2004
Chip, while I don't like seeing " - " as a substitute for "--", I undertstand that most people are simply too uneducated or too lackadaisical to make the miniscule effort to get it right. (Which is actually less effort than it takes to get it wrong, since it's only two keystrokes instead of three....)


HAHAHAHA!!! Yeah - pretty much...