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.
Re: grammar gripes
Date: 2011-10-28 01:05 am (UTC)