Workout is not a verb -- and other grammar peeves

[Bertha Venation]

What's yours?

[Debi]

1. Grammar Nazis

;)

[Deep13]

4. Comparing people to Nazis when millions of people have not been murdered.

That's one of mine. :P

[DevonRex]

2. The use of apostrophes for plurals and not for possessives.

[geardaddy]

3. Misused apostrophes

annoying.

[ogneopasno]

5. All of them. But then, I'm a copy editor.

[RebelOne]

18. I'm a copy editor also. Too many to even list. n/t

[woo me with science]

54. You split your infinitive. :) nt

[RebelOne]

80. Hey, I'm not paid to copy edit my own writing. n/t

[timtom]

86. I have a feeling that some grammar nazi like Fowler made that

rule up.

Personally, I LIKE split infinitives, now and again.

[Odin2005]

106. The split infinitive BS was made up by some idiot who thought that because Latin...

...doesn't have split infinitives (since they are single words in Latin ("amare" = "to love") English shouldn't have any either. :eyes:

[Sheltiemama]

102. Copy editor No. 3 here.

One of my biggies is when a TV chef says he's going to "plate" something. No, no and no. You put it on a plate.

[XemaSab]

37. Me, too

Every time I read something for work I say, "Who writes this shit?" :P

[Deep13]

6. "Partner" is also not a verb.

And using "impact" as a synonymn for affect or effect. If it doesn't involve hammers, bullets or meteors, it is not an impact.

[geardaddy]

7. That's like

"plate" used as a verb. *shudder*

[XemaSab]

38. If it doesn't involve hammers, bullets, meteors, or environmental damage

:P

[question everything]

66. For people too lazy to think of the difference between effect and affect

impact is easier.

I agree, it is not the same.

[timtom]

87. I have to disagree with you.

"--part·ner v. part·nered, part·ner·ing, part·ners. --tr. 1. To make a partner of. 2. To bring together as partners. 3. To be the partner of. --intr. To work or perform as a partner." -- American Heritage, 3rd Edition

Please don't hate me because I'm beautiful.

[Deep13]

98. Well, people use it so there has to be a definition.

I still don't think it is proper usage. Cooperate, assist, help, collaborate are all better choices.

[timtom]

105. Truth to tell, I don't use that particular construction, myself.

I was just showing off how quickly I could look something up on my electronic dictionary.

[Deep13]

122. Yeah, I use the electronic dictionary all the time. nt

[Odin2005]

110. "not proper usage" to who? I use the verb "to impact" all the time.

[tishaLA]

120. I had a professor who said

only two things are impacted: wisdom teeth and colons. Otherwise, it is simply a verb created in Washington to pretend something is happening. I happen to agree with her, so now I tell it to my own students.

[Odin2005]

124. Your professor was spewing nonsense disconnected from any linguistic facts.

nouns become used as verbs all the time, and every time people criticized it for stupid reasons.

[Iggo]

125. That'd be "to whom"

:hi:

[Odin2005]

127. Only in formal writting, "Whom" is dead is informal speech. :-)

[Iggo]

129. Sez you.

:P

[Deep13]

126. I think word usage is inherently conservative.

The more the language changes, the less likely the reader or the audience will know what the speaker or writer is trying to say. Standard language is intended to be universally understood among the speakers of that language. Changes deviate from that standard. Even more, it will be less likely that a reader 100 years from know will know. I know a lot of people use impact as a synonym for affect (v.) or effect (n.) so that is unlikely to go over anyones head.

Where I do sometimes get confused is noun-subject, pronoun-object disagreement. Anyone, everyone, someone and no one are all singular (same thing if you replace "one" with "body.") Nevertheless, when gender is undetermined or mixed, it has been fashionable for a long time to say "they" or "their" as the object instead of "him" or "his." Well, when I read that, I am sometimes momentarily confused and have to remind myself that people make that substitution and that the writer is not introducing a new group of people to the story. I find it especially confusing when the writer does it when gender IS known.

"Every woman must obtain their necessary materials."

This makes my reading come to a screeching halt. Their? Who are "they?" Did the writer introduce a new group of people to the narrative that I overlooked? No, it is just that more or less standard screw-up.

Of course the correct way to express it is thus. "Every woman must obtain her necessary materials." Gender is known and the subject is singular.

[LanternWaste]

8. "S/He 'disrespected' me..."

"S/He 'disrespected' me..."

One is not "disrespected". One is *shown* disrespect, or someone has disrespect for you.

But my biggies are twofold-- "It's like" and "you know". Half of every conversation I'm involved is seems to be taken up by these two annoying fillers.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

24. Oh man, you would not like talking to me

I say, "It's like" and "you know" constantly. Usually "you know" is in the phrase, "yo, you know what I mean, right?"

[LanternWaste]

25. Stop disrespecting me, doggonnit!

Stop disrespecting me, doggonnit!

I mean it's like bad! :evilgrin:

[XemaSab]

39. Dude, like, for real.

(And yes, that is how I actually talk too. :P )

[GoddessOfGuinness]

118. My filler theory...

We are too often impatient listeners. If the speaker pauses in mid-sentence, we rush to inject our own comments, interrupting his or her train of thought. So we use those fillers to hold the conversation the same way dogs use their urine to mark their territory.

[jobycom]

9. Linguistic "rules" given precedence over true language.

Rules in grammar are meant to follow, not lead; explain, not limit; and opportunize, not restrict.

[Orrex]

58. What the hell does 'opportunize' mean?

:evilgrin:

[question everything]

67. And incentivize is now being used often (nt)

[Orrex]

72. Yes, and more's the pity (nt)

[Lionel Mandrake]

117. It might mean something like "empower".

When a dynamic leader uses either of these words, I generally run like hell.

[jobycom]

10. Didn't Mark Twain say that any English word could be verbed?

If it wasn't him, it should have been.

[Mollis]

11. When people say "huh??" when they heard you,

and they just sound like idiots by their tone.

[geardaddy]

12. huh??

:D

[Mollis]

16. People always do that to me

right after I say that. :crazy: :P

[geardaddy]

19. Sorry...

couldn't resist.

I find that annoying too.

[Mollis]

44. lol

[WildEyedLiberal]

27. I don't know if "huh?" or "WHUT?" is more annoying

I miss being in the UK, where people would simply say "Sorry?" in a normal tone of voice if they didn't hear what you said.

[trof]

33. My Yale educated son-in-law says "Howzat?"

:eyes:

[Mollis]

43. Oh, I wish people would do that.

I have gotten a few people to, though. People I hang around enough. They learned that I will usually not respond to either.

[friedgreentomatoes]

57. I say "pardon?"

and I get weird looks !

[KitchenWitch]

74. I also say "pardon?" and also get strange looks.

It is as if "I beg your pardon" has no meaning anymore.

[geardaddy]

82. You wot?

:D

[Starbucks Anarchist]

113. I knew a guy from Iowa who said, "Whuzzuh-whuzzuh?"

:rofl:

[raccoon]

121. Not quite as bad as "huh" is "What?" Just the word "What?" sounds rude.

How about, "What did you say?" or "Excuse me?"

[dbackjon]

13. If workout is not a verb

It is only because stuffy editors of the dictionary are behind the times.


Same with partner as a verb.


Both are legitimately used NOW as verbs.



Welcome to 2009...

[NJmaverick]

15. If someone called me in the middle of my workout, I would say

I am working out. Not, I am workouting.

[DevonRex]

17. You work out. Your workout consists of cardiovascular exercise and weights.

[MorningGlow]

14. Takeaway is not a noun unless you live in Britain

and are going to pick up a curry.

The latest execu-speak catchphrase "What's the takeaway from this?" makes me :puke:

Actually I hate all execu-speak. It's incorrect, clumsy, and stupidly "trendy".

[geardaddy]

22. but you really need to be proactive

and impact the new paradigm, thus thinking outside the box.

:puke:

[Bertha Venation]

30. Well done.

:thumbsup:

[geardaddy]

35. Thank you very much.

:D

I work in Corportania.

[MorningGlow]

31. Gaaaahhh...!

:spank:

[DarkTirade]

34. ... my brain hurts now.

[Orrex]

59. Those executives need to find another way to incentivize you

Perhaps with some additional signage...

[CreekDog]

20. i don't like *reading* idioms

:rant:

i understand they are part of spoken conversation but they look stupid on paper.
(the exception being transcribed interviews and conversations)

[Jokerman]

21. "9 AM in the morning"

I swear that at least half of the "newscasters" around here use this redundancy.

[Lionel Mandrake]

119. That's plenty redundant enough to bother me.

I am also bothered by "warm temperatures", "the El Camino", "the hoi polloi", "ATM machines", "IRA accounts" and "PIN numbers".

[Strong Atheist]

23. I don't have none, because that is something up with which I can put.

Irregardless, to those of you who whine about double negatives, I say "Yeah, right".

[Tommy_Carcetti]

26. Misuse of the word literally.

I literally want to kill them. As in I will buy a gun and hunt them down and pull the trigger and shoot them.

Okay, not literally, then.

[WildEyedLiberal]

28. "I literally walked a thousand miles yesterday"

Did you? Literally? You really walked ONE THOUSAND MILES?

:grr:

[Seeking Serenity]

29. The use of plural pronouns to refer to singular nouns.

"Everyone needs to get their books." "The lecturer had a difficult time clearing their throat." Ugh.

The use of the word "impact" when one means "affect" (verb) or "effect" (noun). "The impact of this policy will be bad." Arrrg.

[Seeking Serenity]

78. I forgot one. "Alot." I see that all the time

and it drives me insane.

They are TWO WORDS, people!

[Odin2005]

104. Chaucer used singular "they", and "to impact" in a perfectly OK verb.

[cherish44]

32. going "antiquing"

I just want to bitchslap people who say that. Oh and bitchslap, that's a very offensive and sexist term!(There, I beat the PC police to the punch! Most of them are on GD but they pollute this board with their whiney-ass indignation sometimes) Beat the the punch? WTF does that mean? Back to my antiquing rant....When you go shoe shopping, you don't say you're going "shoeing." When you go food shopping you're not going "fooding." When you go box shopping you are NOT boxing so don't delude yourself!

I love that there are so many fellow editors here. Hey editors! I get some really piss poor submissions sometimes, do you? I don't mean a few little mistakes, but things that make me ponder :wtf: to the point where I get a migraine.

[geardaddy]

36. "Where do you doctor?"

AHHHHHHH!!!!

:scared:

[namahage]

40. "Different than" n/t

[fishwax]

45. there is nothing grammatically wrong with "different than"

The arguments against it don't really hold water. The one I usually hear is that "than" should only be used with comparatives, but while it's true that it is primarily used after comparatives, that has never been the only way that it's been used. "Different than" has been used for centuries and by some of our best writers. (I'm not sure when people started objecting to it, but I would guess that it has been within the last hundred years; I should look into that sometime.)

[kentauros]

48. Although I cannot profess to know grammar as some of y'all here

and remember to use such words like "comparative" in relation to the use of "than", I have observed a rather simple rule for both:

"Than" is a matter of Amount.
"Then" is a matter of Time.

:D

[WinkyDink]

50. Yes, there is: It's "similar TO" and "different FROM". And THAT is how one remembers.

[fishwax]

53. I don't dispute that it *can* be "different from," but it can also be "different than"

Yours is a clever mnemonic, but not really an argument for why "different from" is grammatically incorrect :)

[Orrex]

61. 'than' implies degree

As in the following:
"Mary is taller than Bill."

But no degree is implied (nor even makes sense) in the following:
"Chocolate is different than vanilla."

More simply, one thing differs from another, rather than one thing differing than another.



Regardless, I have the sense that the usage is sufficiently idiomatic and familiar that there's no point arguing about it, except as a matter of formality and compliance with the rules, such as they are.

[fishwax]

70. it can, sure, but it also can imply something other than (tee hee) degree, as your penultimate

sentence illustrates: "More simply, one thing differs from another, rather than one thing differing than another." In that sentence, the comparison isn't really one of degree, and yet "than" is perfectly appropriate.

In formal communication, (on edit: or communication with Brits, who have phased out "different than" along with the once popular "different to") it's often better to use different from, but that's not because there is any real rule against different than, but because some people think there is and so may judge you for it. (The same is true for things like the sentence-ending preposition.) That's my take on it, anyway, but I'm a sucker for sticking up for words and constructions that are unjustly attacked :)

[Orrex]

71. You make an interesting point

I would suggest that "different than" only makes any sense at all because people are using it. Heck, I certainly use it, so I'm in no position to condemn anyone for it.

Also, I'd say that "different than" is different from (evilgrin) the sentence-ending preposition because the latter is almost always redundant. In itself that doesn't make it wrong, but it strikes me as a bit sloppy.

YMMV, of course.

[timtom]

88. Well, then, how about

John was differenter than Yoko.

Wouldn't that be ok?

[Orrex]

94. He was the differentest

No one has ever been more differenter.

[fishwax]

115. delete

I misread the sequence of replies :)

[oregonjen]

41. "Noone" instead of "no one"

[skygazer]

42. "Where are you at?"

How about "where are you?" What's the "at" for?

[kentauros]

47. If one is sitting at one's desk, doing the work you're supposed to be doing,

then when the boss comes up behind you and asks only "Where are you?" it's much more tempting to state simply "Sitting in front of you" than to point out where you are at in the job on which you're supposed to be hard at work :P

[geardaddy]

83. Agreed.

My mom trained me not to do that at an early age.

[Odin2005]

111. "at" in that situation seems to be a tag indicating the preposition to be used in the answer.

"I'm at the park"

[kentauros]

46. Not so much a P-P that such mistakes aren't caught,

but when it's stated "I'm just doing this for fun. Why should I spell/grammar-check?" That's when it's a true pet-peeve. Otherwise, it's a simple mistake (or laziness.)

Then again, my weirdo typing skills, even when I don't look at the keys, sometimes give me such memorable spelling mistakes as

mroe
soemtimes
IN case
Missed capitalization Because i Can't Seem to Always coordinate my Shift Key with The Next Capitalized word

:P

[WinkyDink]

49. There is only one answer to this OP: The misuse of the nominative pronoun! "To he and I." "Between

she and I."

Ignorant AND TONE-DEAF!

[DevonRex]

52. OMG. That's a horrible one. Drives me crazy. Or when they say, "Him and I are

going to the store." HIM?????

Or when they say, "Me and him are going to the store." Even worse.

[DevonRex]

51. I also hate it when people say "I'm going to get a coffee." It's either just coffee

or a cup of coffee.

[woo me with science]

55. "I am giving it to whomever wins the contest." WRONG!

I see this one all the time from people who think "whomever" is the object of the preposition.

The object of the preposition is the entire clause, "whoever wins the contest." "Whoever" is the SUBJECT of that clause and thus takes the nominative case.

[Left Is Write]

56. You are right. "Workout" is a noun.

If you want to use it as a verb, it has to be two words: "I went to the gym to work out."

[Kat45]

60. It is as two separate words. "I work out in the morning."

:D

[Manifestor_of_Light]

62. "Tasked" as a verb, instead of "given a task".

:banghead:

[Mutley]

63. "Verbing" is hip.

Didntcha know? :D

:hi:

[Oeditpus Rex]

69. ...

[Mutley]

77. And just who did ya think I was thinking about when I said that?

:D

[Manifestor_of_Light]

64. The adverb shortage. It's worse than critical.

People don't use adverbs. Adverbs usually end in "ly".

"He ran fast." It should be "He ran quickly".

The Apple ads with "Think different" bugged the hell out of me. :banghead:

Apostrophe misuse.

People who don't use past perfect tenses. They put "ED" on verbs.

"Have went". It should be "Have gone".

"He done did". And all other mangled verb tenses.

"They seen", "They done". ARGGGGGHHHHH! :banghead: Ignorant, ignorant,ignorant.

[geardaddy]

90. Drive safe!

lol

[timtom]

95. After reading this, I realize now

that I should of stood in bed.

[Odin2005]

108. Language changes and languages have dialects, deal with it.

[question everything]

65. Irregardless!

I am not a grammar maven, far from it. But this word really grates on me. And by now it is part of any dictionary.

[last_texas_dem]

68. "Anyways..."

Apparently, it actually has more history to it than I had expected, possibly dating back to the seventeenth century with the word "anywise"... but it just makes me think of a Valley Girl attempting to say "anyway," despite the fact that none of the several people I know that use this term are Valley Girls! So, yeah, it just sounds dumb to me, but I'm willing to bet that it will be considered standard English before I'm dead and gone...

[timtom]

96. Oh, and my particular favorite,

"anywho"

Tra la la! How incredibly droll and folksy!

[geardaddy]

97. P-U

that's a disgusting one.

Or "that's a hoot!"

[timtom]

107. You know,

I kept seeing your avatar and thinking, "Isn't Cymru Welsh for Welsh?"

[geardaddy]

112. Close

Cymru is Welsh for Wales. Cymry is Welsh for the Welsh people.

[Brewman_Jax]

73. "At this time..."

one of the most overused, redundant, and useless prepositional phrases of all time. I want to yell back, "No shit, Sherlock! We know you mean right now!" :eyes:

[Deep13]

75. Verb. That's what's happening.

[Phentex]

123. I love this statement!

:)

[raccoon]

76. Using word "stepsister/stepbrother" when "half-sister/half-brother" is the right word. nt

[question everything]

79. Interesting. Never thought of it

even though I have no step family..

[Bake]

81. Another one. "Task" is not a verb, either!!

"I have been tasked with ..."

GRRRRRRRRR!

Bake

[geardaddy]

93. People who say "tasked"

have been tasked with pissing you off. :D

[Deep13]

99. Assigned, instructed to do, ordered to do...

...but not tasked.

[S n o w b a l l]

84. Using to instead of too

:mad:

[madinmaryland]

85. "irregardless" It's NOT a word, folks!

[geardaddy]

92. That's one I really dislike

x(

[Lucian]

89. The way people spell on Facebook or in text messages.

[geardaddy]

91. "He borrowed me his pen"

"funner"
Mixing tenses such as "I had went"

[Deep13]

100. That'll learn him. nt

[Deep13]

101. "Myself" as a subject.

I read that in trial transcripts when cops testify all the time.

"Myself and the other offices executed the warrant."

"The other officers and I executed the warrant."

[geardaddy]

128. Ughhh!

I HATE that.

[Odin2005]

103. I hate Grammar Nazis that hate language change and dialectical variation.

Most other European languages have no problem with double negative constructions ("I don't got no...") and "illogical" pronoun use ("me and Bill are..."), yet in English they are considered improper because some classist twits said so.

Oh, and using "they" in the singular as a impersonal or gender-neutral pronoun is not something new, Chaucer and Shakespeare used it.

"Ain't" was a perfectly fine contraction of "am not" until said classist twits decided that they didn't like it.

There is nothing wrong with split infinitives or ending phrases with a preposition, the "rules" against them were the inventions of idiots who though English should be like Latin.

Using "man" to mean "human" (as in "mankind") is not "sexist," as iit is often claimed. In Old English a "man" was any human, a "wer-man" or "guma" was a guy, and a "wif-man" or "cwen" was a gal. "Wif-man" became "women" in Middle English and the word "wer" fell out of use, surviving only in the word "werewolf" and "world" (from wer-ald, "man-time")

[timtom]

109. Why, you insolent young pup!

You would deny the old drooling man in the corner his only pleasure of airing his linguistic grievances??

Damn you, sir!! And, again I say, damn you!


(Just kidding, of course. Having a little fun with no harm meant.)

[geardaddy]

130. I know in Welsh

it is INCORRECT to not use a double negative.

e.g.

"Does 'na neb yma" lit. "There's not no one here."

But in English, if taken literally, COULD mean "there is someone here"

[Iggo]

114. Just between you and I, it really bothers me...

...when people use the subjective form of a personal pronoun as the object of a preposition.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

116. People who won't "swear".

I mean, literally say the word, swear.

My grandmother was one of those prim-n-proper types. Would not say hell or damn.

Instead of "I swear", she said "I su-wan-ee". Made her sound like a prude from Mississippi.

Probably because she was.

[Tikki]

131. Yeah...it is...so says Jackie...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJVcgP9ve-c
Jackie Wilson..."Baby, Workout"

...Now it's plain to see
You put a hurtin' on me
But it's a natural fact
I like it like that,
So workout!.......:)


Tikki