Grammar gripes of the month
Oct. 26th, 2011 05:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elderwittyHere's the thing. I love words. I love to push them and pull; stroke, throw, and play with them - until they mean exactly what I need them to. So it really jars me out of the moment when I'm reading and the wrong word is used. I sort of tense up for the rest of the story, waiting for the next word-shaped shoe to drop.
These are the three I've see most often lately. I wish I could go, author by author, and gently teach people the difference between what they meant and what they wrote. I don't seem to have the gentle touch (in writing, anyway) needed, so all I can do is post my frustration here and hope for the best.
reign in =/= control. This comes from the horse riding world. Rein - you know, like those things on a bridle. (See also "give free rein".)
discrete =/= on the down low. This is the one that inspired the homonym list. I'd be very discreet in my tutelage, I promise. :grin:
albeit =/= although. It is close, even if not precisely the same. I think that someone who knew how to use it correctly did, and then a bunch of people took it to mean 'although', and used it themselves not realizing it was a shade of meaning off.
That's it for now. I feel better.
These are the three I've see most often lately. I wish I could go, author by author, and gently teach people the difference between what they meant and what they wrote. I don't seem to have the gentle touch (in writing, anyway) needed, so all I can do is post my frustration here and hope for the best.
reign in =/= control. This comes from the horse riding world. Rein - you know, like those things on a bridle. (See also "give free rein".)
discrete =/= on the down low. This is the one that inspired the homonym list. I'd be very discreet in my tutelage, I promise. :grin:
albeit =/= although. It is close, even if not precisely the same. I think that someone who knew how to use it correctly did, and then a bunch of people took it to mean 'although', and used it themselves not realizing it was a shade of meaning off.
That's it for now. I feel better.
grammar gripes
Date: 2011-10-27 04:06 am (UTC)You would, wouldn't you? I don't think they want to learn. Or, judging by the way some writers group themselves, the ones who don't know any better are doing beta duty for the other ones who don't know.