Editorial: Top 10 Errors in English that Aren’t Errors

[ariestess]

It's that time again! "What time is that?" you say? Why, for a Friday editorial, my dear fellow grammarians! This week, we'll take a look at "Top 10 Errors in English that Aren't Errors", which was published on Listverse on April 3, 2008.

The staff at Listverse give us ten different things that many people, particularly pedants, consider to be errors, based on Short Introduction to English Grammar by Robert Lowth. But here's the kicker: None of them are actually errors. Unless you talk to true pedants of the English language, who all believe these are incorrect usages. With each of the ten items, reasons are given both for why they're correct and why some consider them incorrect, complete with examples.

I actually found this article to be pretty decent. I liked the bits of history with each item listed, as well as the way they explained the pros and cons of each. I'll be honest and say that the "healthy versus healthful" item was my least favorite, because it really didn't give an explanation as to which is correct and which isn't, something that is done with all of the other items listed. To be honest, I'm not sure which is actually correct, particularly because I tend to use healthy across the board.

Beyond the one issue, I knew most of the other items listed. I just didn't know that some of them were actual issues for other people necessarily. A prime example there is "persuade versus convince", though I admit that I sometimes interchange these words, particularly when writing someone's dialogue to be more "normal" sounding.

For the most part, this is a case of do what you were taught, and if you're not sure, you can always ask another grammarian for assistance.

Comments

[china_shop]

From the article: It is also quite common in New Zealand to use “off of” as well – presumably as a result of the English being spoken in the Empire at the time of New Zealand’s founding.

I don't think so? I consider it an American construction.

[lamerezouille.livejournal.com]

In French, the difference between persuade and convince is that you persuade someone by using emotions and convince them with logical arguments. Does this distinction exist in English?

[fredbassett]

No, I don't think so. That's useful to know in French, though, thanks.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Huh. I thought the 'who vs that' point was common and accepted -- 'who' is for people, 'that' is for objects. I had no idea it was PC based... it just sounds right to me.