Picking grammatical nits
April 4th, 2006 by Jerry
I’ve recently noticed a particularly annoying and common misuse of the English language. Take for example this excerpt from Slashdot: “As always, the Freenet team are asking that people support…” (emphasis mine). According to most English grammar references, collective nouns (such as team) are referred to singularly unless the sentence subject includes all the individuals in the group. This means that the Slashdot story is implying that every single person on the Freenet team is, on their own, asking for support. I highly doubt that, so “…the Freenet team is asking that people support…” I personally don’t think that any collective noun should ever be treated as plural, simply because it’s just as easy to refer to the group members explicitly. E.g. “…the developers on the Freenet team are asking that people support…” Although, this could also imply that everyone on the Freenet team is individually asking for support.
As you can tell, I’m picky about bad grammar – especially when people try to overuse it without knowing how to properly wield it. Some may ask why it really matters, since probably everyone who read the Slashdot story understood that the Freenet team collectively wants support. It does matter. Although many believe that proper language is whatever is understandable to everyone it’s directed at, I believe that “proper” English exists to some degree beyond its everyday use. Sure, English is one of the most fluid languages ever, and there are more irregularities than rules, but in most cases there is a right and wrong way to word things. I guess I should give up and accept that if enough lazy or misguided people misuse a particular word or phrase, it will eventually be considered proper.
3 Responses to “Picking grammatical nits”
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on 07 Apr 2006 at 2:55 pm Jer's sisI have the same complaints about is/are being used correctly! I also cringe when I hear people pronounce words in a sloppy manner. My example is recognize. We had to go to a baby dedication service class last Sunday, and the pastor kept pronouncing it “re-cuh-nize” and I just about walked out of the class so I wouldn’t have to hear it anymore!
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on 08 Apr 2006 at 12:32 pm brandythat are just weird. i are alllways have having gramer trouble and no body don’t care. why you alllways have got to throws a fit man? mellows izout.
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on 10 Apr 2006 at 8:02 am Jer's dadAh yes. You can probably blame me for this mental malady. The fingernails on my chalkboard screetch “irregardless” and “preventative”. Although the first may be found in some lenient dictionaries, neither is an actual word. I raised a couple of editors – at the same time raising the standards of proper grammar!