The (grammar) bitch is back ...

[leethet]

I'm reading quite a bit of fanfic right now and although I am enjoying it, I've got to gripe:

The noun is exhalation or inhalation. Exhale and inhale are verbs. For fuck's sake, don't they teach kids anything in school any more? Is this like "That was a hard ask," which I keep seeing in formerly legitimate newspapers where people who are not illiterate would have written "That was a hard question"?

Sam Waterston did a Calvin and Hobbes about "verbing" language, but I thought it was a joke.

OK. I feel better. Thank you for listening (assuming someone is). As ever, anyone who wants to post a pet grammar peeve here is welcome to do so - I always find them interesting.

Comments

[elmey.livejournal.com]

I'm convinced that texting and tweeting with their need to limit word use are partially responsible for things like verbing and the growing lack of proper sentence structure.

[leethet.livejournal.com]

They do make it easier to excuse it, but when we're talking about a news article or a story, there are no word limits. Although I've also noticed that many formerly legitimate news sources rely on fucking tweets from random twits interspersed with random, semiliterate "reporting" from some other random stringer or blogger.

I mean, let's face it, that war is long since lost. I just like to complain about it over here in the cobwebby corner with the other grammar dinosaurs and supporters of graceful use of language.

[elmey.livejournal.com]

So much on-line "reporting" is garbage.

As upset as I get with the NY Times and their "on the one hand and then on the other" coverage they still have some writers that can really make a story come alive. Of course they're losing money and are adding click-bait as we speak...

[leethet.livejournal.com]

Seriously! When you read a good piece, investigative or opinion, you go "Oh, yeah. I remember when newspapers were like this."